Now that the draft lottery has come and gone and we know the draft order for the top-16 picks in the first round, as well as the winner of the first overall pick, I wanted to do a quick top-16 mock draft. Since many of the picks in the back-half of the first round are still up in the air, I’ll hold off on doing another full first round mock until the playoffs are over.
There have been quite a few changes in the scouting world since my last mock, with the U18 World Junior Championship being one of the biggest events on the draft year calendar. Some of the biggest name prospects in this year’s draft weren’t in attendance (Macklin Celebrini, Artyom Levshunov, etc.), but there were still plenty of exciting names competing in this year’s tournament, and several prospects did themselves some big favors.
Tij Iginla stands out as someone who was on the fringes of the top-16 conversation for the past few months before giving himself a real chance to go in the top-10 after showing his goal scoring and forechecking habits on the big stage.
Related: 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Unlike some years, it’s unlikely that many high-end prospects changed their draft position much at this year’s tournament, though some players have established themselves as being worthy of a first round pick such as Canadian centers Marek Vanacker and Cole Beaudoin, who both look like hard-working pivots who could comfortably project as NHL centers. Teddy Stiga was also phenomenal for Team USA, which should solidify him as a first round caliber talent.
Without further ado, let’s dive into a post-draft lottery mock draft!
1. San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University (NCAA)
The San Jose Sharks are the winners of the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft. They will certainly select Macklin Celebrini, a two-way center prospect who is the youngest ever winner of the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey. He isn’t going to single-handedly end their rebuild, but having him will solve a lot of issues that rebuilding teams often face.
Celebrini has stated that he’s comfortable returning to the NCAA next season if his NHL team wishes, and that could certainly be in play with the Sharks rather than parading him out to get shelled for 20 minutes a game next season in the NHL.
2. Chicago Blackhawks: Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg…
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