With the 2023-24 season coming to a close in most leagues, and many prospects’ draft seasons nearing the finish line, I think it’s time to do another ranking of the top prospects available in the 2024 NHL Draft. Some players will still have the chance to show what they’re made of in their league’s playoffs or even at the upcoming U18 World Championship, but others will have nothing to do but prepare for the draft combine.
This draft class has grown on me over the course of the year, and it looks like the lottery picks (picks one through 16) will be a very strong group. Draft classes are always defined by the stars, the players who not only make it to the NHL, but excel at hockey’s highest level. I believe the top 12 prospects in this year’s draft all have a great chance to be top of the lineup type players who will be either top-four defenders or top-six forwards.
Macklin Celebrini has slowly pulled away from the pack this year, but has done so consistently enough that there’s no doubt in my mind he’s first off the board this year. I believe he’s the best draft eligible prospect not named Connor Bedard since Auston Matthew back in 2016 (and even then there’s a case for Celebrini I think). Now, I’m not saying Celebrini is going to be a near-generational talent in the NHL, but his NCAA play this year has shown that he can be a dominant two-way center capable of being an excellent first line center on a competitive NHL team.
I’ve seen many draft rankings with a similar group for picks 2-12 and I think most arrangements are valid as the gaps in talent aren’t massive. I expect guys like Konsta Helenius and Berkly Catton could slide toward the end of this group on draft day simply given their size, though both of them look like future NHL centers to me given their high compete level and hockey sense.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Cayden Lindstrom is a player I’ve loved over the past 18 months or so in Medicine Hat, and I’ve been careful not to drop him too far this season as he’s missed significant time. Lindstrom’s speed and athleticism are exciting on their own, but what makes him such a tantalizing NHL prospect is his size and goal scoring ability. I expect he’ll be a top-five pick in this year’s draft although he’s ranked a bit lower than that here.
Most of the players in my top-12 are centers or defensemen (as is usually the case given the additional…
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