We do need more depth at RD, and we may need a top 4 RD in the near future. But, the thing is, we really don't need a "right now" RD. We can afford to draft someone that is gonna take some time. In fact, we almost need to. I do like Levshunov A LOT, though. I had concerns about him earlier in the season, but he seems to have overcome some of those concerns. Players usually look a little rough early in the season, anyway.

There are probably stronger needs available with our first pick, like another top 6 forward. Currently all we have is Bedard and a bunch of maybes that probably top out as 2nd line forwards.

This draft is defenseman top heavy. I still like Howe but his stock has fallen since last season where he was routinely part of the consensus top 5. Artyom Levshuno is someone who can learn on the job under Richardson and be at the top of his game when this team is relevant again. Which forwards do you see as top 5-10 material?

So I definitely wouldn’t be complaining if the Hawks walked out of the draft with the best RD prospect in the fold, however:
As stated, it is a draft with a lot of depth of quality defenseman. So Hawks could pass on Levshunov & still have a good chance at nabbing a future top 4 RD. Hopefully Rinzel continues to develop & is the other too 4 RD.
I remember the days when Hawks had no scoring depth beyond Roenick’s line. I do not want Bedard’s future to look like this year where all the pressure to score was exclusively on his shoulders.
Lindstrom looks like he could be a physical force like the Hawks a rarely (ever?) had.
Eiserman looks like he is going to slide. I still think back to last year’s under 18s & how much offensive ability he displayed as a 16 year old. I think he is going to make a few teams regret their decisions to pass on him. Unless of course if Hawks pull the trigger. Bedard sniping on the first line & Eiserman snipping on the second line would be difficult for other teams to contain.

Eiserman or Demidov would help get some real wings around bedard lindstrom looks like a beast down the middle.. agree D seems to be at the top of this draft and getting a RD would be a good idea

I’d really like hawks to get zeev.. I don’t think he makes it to our second pick though

I see forwards all throughout the top 10. There are a lot of Dmen that could go there too. So some are gonna get pushed out simply because... math. haha. But, Lindstrom, Demidov, Helenius, Eiserman, and Catton could all go top 10. Also, there are a bunch forwards and dmen more than capable of sneaking their way up the rankings by draft day. The great thing about this draft being heavy on Dmen, is that we can wait and still get a great dman or even multiple great dmen.

There are also some really exciting forwards, though, that should be going later as well. Parascak, Iginla, Misa, Artamonov, Masse, Basha, Gridin, Humphreys, Stiga (who I think could be a real sleeper pick), Letourneau, among many others. Some of the dmen that will likely go outside of the top 10 through the 2nd round are Yakemchuk, Hutson, Jiricek, Emery, Elick, Wallenius, Kiviharju, Buium, Solberg, and also many more. This draft is deeper than it's getting credit for, simply because it doesn't have the hype of Bedard, Carlsson, and Fantilli.

Also, I think I might like Hagens more than anyone in the 2024 draft, including Celebrini. Hagens is on the short side, but he is strong and solid against much bigger players his age. I think he is gonna be really special.

I think if Tampa's pick lands in the 11-15 range, I'd like to take a forward with our pick and then take a RD with tampa's pick. There are just so many good defensemen, you can afford to wait for one to fall to you while you take the best forward available at the top.

Agreed. Especially seeing as we already have Jones and Murphy on the roster, and Rinzel on the way. Sure, more RD depth would be great, and the idea of moving them and drafting a young stud replacement is alluring, but they are here and, so far, all indications are that they aren't going anywhere until their contracts are up. Which is a long time from now. I think what we need is more project RD, some guys that will likely need 1 or 2 years in the AHL after they finish their junior/college careers.

I'm with you on Leshevnov. He's a legit top pair NHL D man. If the Hawks aren't picking at #1 (Celebrini), then to me there are only two choices: Lindstrom if the Hawks pick 2nd. Leshevnov if they pick 3rd.

I'm going to pay a little more attention to Lindstrom. 6'4" 216lbs is very impressive for a 17 year old.