For the first time since 2010, the NHL Draft Lottery had absolutely zero changes from the regular season standings. As a result, the San Jose Sharks hold the first overall pick for the 2024 class. In all likelihood, they will take the clear-cut best prospect, center Macklin Celebrini, with their selection.
In a pretty miserable season for the Sharks, finishing 19-54-9, they have the choice to add a top-end forward to their impressive group of prospects that includes Will Smith, Quentin Musty, and Luca Cagnoni to name a few. Their rebuild is now in very good hands, and they have the 14th pick to help with that, too.
Related: Sharks’ Top-5 Farm System Reflects Increase in Prospect Talent
As for some of the other teams, the Chicago Blackhawks can take either a highly skilled forward such as Ivan Demidov or a high-end defenseman such as Artyom Levshunov at second overall. Either way, they can’t be too upset about where they landed. 18-year-old forward Connor Bedard and this future draft pick could do wonders for the Blackhawks in the future.
Even the teams toward the end of the drafting order such as the Minnesota Wild, Sharks, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues can land a star. The 2024 class is a very good one with a lot of great prospects early on. There should be plenty of talent to go around for the teams that just barely missed the postseason.
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