2024 Mock

Don’t give me too much hope!

He's my number one choice but I'd be happy with Lindstrom as well, although I think he'll be taken before we pick.

For the Montreal via Winnipeg pick, Henry Mews would be a prospect Montreal would target, we may have drafted Reinbacher but our depth at RHD is still light. Hughes went the unpopular route last draft because it was what we needed, we still kinda need it.
Also Ottawa only has the option to void one of their own picks, not a pick acquired via trade. Nothing stopping them from getting a pick in the 20-32 range and voiding it to avoid losing one of their top 16 picks in the next 3 years.

If the Blues don't trade up and Yakemchuk actually falls to them at 12, yeah you can probably take that pick to the bank. That said, if Dickinson is also still available one pick before then, again a trade up is quite possible.

I agree. Would probably take Dickinson over most prospects in this draft, but would fret grabbing Silayev, Buium, Yakemchuk, or Jiricek in our pick range.

I would not even slightly fret over Yakemchuk and barely over Silayev. I love Buium, but he's only the right type to grab if Krug and Leddy are both gone or Faulk has been replaced with a capital D defensive Dman (such as Jokiharju, as one example). Maybe that's weird, but it's how I feel. Jiricek only concerns me from an injury standpoint, which is of course not nothing. If he can play Derian Hatcher to David's Kevin Hatcher, I'd be perfectly happy with that. The only one I want to pull out the cross and garlic for in that range is Parekh.

I mistyped. I meant "Wouldn't"
My D preference is
Dickinson
Levshunov
Silayev
Yakemchuk
Buium
Jiricek
Parehk

I do not want any timeline where we come out of this 1st round with Parekh. I think we can manage one of the other six. If there's any part of the team still operating in championship mode, it's the scouting/drafting department. They've been killing it since Jarmo arrived.

I agree that if Parekh is the best defenseman on the board when we pick something has gone wrong. At that point we honestly would be better off picking a forward and using our seconds on defenders.

Ottawa has to void one of their own first rounder so that doesn't work.

If Sennecke's still on the board at the Habs second first rounder I really hope they grab him, aside from Slaf none of our prospect screams top 6 winger. Gotta start taking shots at high upside wingers a little.