THW NHL Prospects & Draft Substack - Nov. 4, 2023
Welcome to the THW NHL Prospects & Draft Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our great team of writers.
In today’s edition, we have an early mock draft for the 2024 Draft, Connor Zary’s NHL debut, a look at Logan Cooley vs. Juraj Slafkovsky, and much more!
It would be great if you’d share the THW NHL Prospects & Draft Substack with your friends and family so that they can subscribe and enjoy all the latest.
Now on to the good stuff…
2024 NHL Entry Draft: Horn’s Early Top-16 Mock Draft
November 2, 2023 by Logan Horn
We’re a few weeks into the 2023-24 NHL season and now is the time that many hockey fans turn to the upcoming draft, especially fans of NHL teams who are outside of the playoff race. If your team isn’t going to be much fun to watch this year, the least you can do is have some fun dreaming of the great prospects they could land in the 2024 Draft.
I am using the NHL standings as of November 1, 2023 and teams are ranked by points percentage rather than point totals. This is obviously a super early mock draft so it is more an exercise in showing off the top prospects and how they could land on draft day rather than an example of the teams most likely to be picking this early.
Flames’ Zary Continues Success At NHL Level
November 4, 2023 by Derek Olsen
In his first matchup in the bigs, Zary did not look out of place. Placed on a line with Nazem Kadri and Yegor Sharangovich, he was able to score his first career NHL goal on Stars starting netminder Jake Oettinger within the first six minutes of the game.
Zary also finished tied with Kadri for the most shots on goal among forwards with six. Unfortunately, the Stars scored twice when Zary was on, so he had a minus-1 rating for the contest. In addition, Zary took a minor penalty for cross-checking, though lucky for him, the Flames were able to kill it off.
Bruins’ Lohrei Makes Dynamite NHL Debut
November 3, 2023 by Brandon Share-Cohen
Living up to hype is a hard thing for any professional athlete to achieve. While there are undoubtedly talented prospects who seamlessly transition from their previous level of play to the big leagues, many others grapple with the pressure, struggle to adapt, or, in some cases, never even get the opportunity to showcase their skills on the grand stage.
This pressure is intensified when coupled with the actual demands of competing in a faster, more physically taxing version of the game. Mason Lohrei’s NHL debut, however, defied the typical narrative.
Coyotes’ Cooley & Canadiens’ Slafkovsky Square Off For First Time
November 2, 2023 by Cooper Krigbaum
Expect the unexpected. This is the phrase Arizona Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong has typified since he arrived in the desert. From shocking signings, trades, hirings, or draft selections, he always pulls a rabbit out of his hat – or suit. He wasn’t afraid to draft two Russian prospects at the 2023 NHL Draft, Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But. However, what stood out the most was when he drafted Logan Cooley third overall in 2022.
Cooley has played nine NHL games and, so far, he’s lived up to the hype. On Thursday (Nov. 2), he’ll go toe-to-toe with Juraj Slafkovsky, who went first overall in the 2022 Draft. With Shane Wright still on the board, it was a shocker that the Montreal Canadiens selected Slafkovsky. That said, the Coyotes also passed on Wright. With both facing off for the first time at Mullett Arena, how did both get to the NHL and how have they fared to begin their young careers?
Last Edition’s Poll Results
Last time I asked you to predict who you think will be the first defenseman drafted in the 2024 NHL Draft and the vast majority of you (56% percent) chose Sam Dickinson of the London Knights. Dickinson has the size, skating, and defensive game to be a very early pick but personally I think Anton Silayev will be the first defender off the board.
Silayev is such a unique prospect, with his 6-foot-7 frame and a remarkably smooth skating stride. There’s a world where he becomes the NHL’s Victor Wembanyama (though he’s like 8 inches shorter than Wemby), a massive player with surprising mobility and skill for his size.
New Poll!
Minnesota Wild - Minnesota Wild’s Marco Rossi Finally Playing Like Top 10 Pick
Winnipeg Jets - Jets’ Brad Lambert Off to a Hot Start in the AHL
NHL Awards - NHL 2023-24 Calder Trophy Predictions
Draft Coverage - 2024 NHL Draft: Horn’s Top 32 for October