The quality of the 2024 NHL Draft is debatable. To try to evaluate it based on known data, we asked three recruiters the following question: Where would David Reinbacher and Juraj Slafkovsky rank in this class?
Obviously, in order to answer as best as possible, recruiters used the information they had about Reinbacher and Slafkovsky in their draft year as the basis for their considerations, without considering what they have done since then.
As for the draft in general, the consensus is pretty clear: This is a good year to draft in the first half of the first round. After that, the cut is quite drastic and the rest of the draft offers little depth.
In itself, this is good news for the CH, which is in fifth place overall, and perhaps less good news for its 26th placee Overall selection at the end of the first round.
In short, to return to Reinbacher and Slafkovsky, the following emerged from our discussions with recruiters.
Slafkovsky would still be at the top of the table, but…
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When the Canadian selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the very first pick of the 2022 draft in Montreal, it wasn’t exactly a consensus decision. In fact, there was no real consensus this year. For a while, we thought Shane Wright was sailing alone to the top spot, but a lackluster season had dampened the enthusiasm of several teams. Dynamic American forward Logan Cooley was among the serious candidates, as was defenseman Juraj Slafkovsky and fellow Slovakian Simon Nemec.
The three scouts interviewed do not agree exactly where Slafkovsky would be ranked in 2022 this year, but one thing is clear to them: He would not dethrone Macklin Celebrini.
“He would definitely be in the top three,” says a recruiter who works in the East.
The same goes for another who works for a team in the West: “He’s in the top five, but not number 1.”
Our third speaker is either more critical of Slafkovsky or more complimentary of this year’s early draft prospects.
“I see him kind of in the same category as Cayden Lindstrom, who for me is between six and ten.”
Reinbacher has nothing to envy this year’s defenders
Photo credit: Photo Getty Images via AFP
One thing we can say without a doubt is that the 2024 class is one of defensemen, especially at the top of the table. Six defensemen have the potential to be voted among the top ten players on June 28 in Las Vegas.
According to one recruiter interviewed, Reinbacher would be one of the best defenders in this draft.
“For me, Artyom Levshunov would perhaps be the only defender I would rank ahead of Reinbacher. I liked him a lot in his draft year and thought he was a perfect fit for Montreal. At the World Junior Championships, he was by far the best player with Austria. He was all alone on his team.
The other two scouts interviewed want to be a little more cautious.
“In this class, Reinbacher would be one of the three or four best defensemen,” one of them told us. He would be in the top 10. People in Montreal are critical of him and I don’t understand why. If he becomes a Noah Dobson, I think everyone will be happy.”
“I think there would be three defenders ahead of him: Artyom Levshunov, Anton Silayev and Sam Dickinson,” says the third speaker.
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