New beginnings are on the horizon for the Utah Hockey Club entering the 2024 NHL Draft. General manager Bill Armstrong will be making his first handful (13!) of draft picks on June 28 and 29 in Las Vegas. It’ll be a historic pair of days, as it’ll be the first bunch of players ever drafted to the team since the relocation from Arizona. Thus, the 2024 NHL Draft has a bit more meaning to it than others, and Armstrong has the opportunity of drafting at six for the second year in a row, meaning an elite prospect will be heading to the Beehive State.
Related: THW’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide
Of course, we all know the direction they went in last year’s draft with Russians Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But, which, needless to say, was a surprise to the majority of fans. No mock drafts or any scouts had predicted such picks, and it seems like every year there’s that one pick that makes you gasp and go who’s that guy? This year, they have plenty of options, and lots of defensemen, which offers them a wide range of playstyles, which we’ll touch on later.
For Utah, there are a plethora of questions being asked, and while they don’t all have answers, it’s okay to ponder them. That’s what we do. Now, let’s dive in and see what the five biggest questions are entering the 2024 NHL Draft for Armstrong and Utah.
What Comes of Ivan Demidov?
Ivan Demiov, the Russian spectacle of the 2024 NHL Draft, lit up the MHL (Russia’s top junior league), and there’s no doubt the skill is there. Now, it’s a matter of pondering these questions: When will he arrive in North America? How will he perform against men in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as opposed to the MHL? What’s his ceiling? Of course, we don’t have all the answers to these questions, and quite frankly, we may not until a couple of years down the road.
That being said, the Gold Star Hockey pre-draft camp in Fort Lauderdale held numerous draft-eligible prospects, including Artyom Levshunov, Zayne Parekh, and, of course, Demidov. As many remember, the 2023 NHL Draft housed a similar situation with Matvei Michkov, who was drafted seventh overall by the Philadelphia Flyers. While there’s no denying the jaw-dropping skill Michkov possesses, there’s still uncertainty about when he could see the ice in Philadelphia.
Even GM Daniel Brière isn’t fully aware of what could happen with Michkov, which shows the unpredictability in drafting Russians, at least as of late with the current war in Ukraine. Given how recent and ongoing the Michkov situation is, teams will likely be hesitant to draft Demidov; there’s no question about that. It’s now a matter of how many teams will be reluctant, which leaves us with our next question: could Demivov fall to Utah at six?
While this question is highly complex, as the draft floor, anything can happen; it’s not certain he’ll fall after recent news on the Russian superstar. “He has lived up to everything we expected from last year,” said one scout. “He has those silky hands in tight, the ability to finish around the net and that heaviness on his stick. You see a lot of his goals where he’s heavily contested by defenders and he still scores because he’s a natural in tight.”
This next season, 2024-25, will be his last contract year with SKA St. Petersburg, so theoretically, he could be on American/Canadian soil by the end of the regular season. While lots of things have to go right for that to happen, it’s encouraging, especially in the situation where he falls to six.
Does Armstrong Prioritize Height With Silayev, Dickinson, or Yakemchuk?
Height matters in the NHL, but to what extent does one go to build the biggest NHL team? That’s a good question for GM Armstrong, but seriously, who will he add during this year’s draft? Last year, he drafted 6-foot-4 defenseman Simashev along with his teammate But, who stands at 6-foot-6. Don’t forget he also took Maveric Lamoureux (6-foot-7) and Conor Geekie (6-foot-4) in 2022. This isn’t a basketball team, but they’d probably be pretty good on that front, too.
In all seriousness, there’s a handful of players that enter the 2024 NHL Draft with big frames. The one that’ll likely get the most attention is Russian defenseman Anton Silayev. He stands in at 6-foot-7 and saw most of his production during the first handful of games this season in the KHL. His skating is top-notch, but there are other concerns about his hockey IQ. Despite that, there’s no teaching height in the NHL, you either have it or you don’t, and Silayev certainly does.
Carter Yakemchuk is another big defenseman at 6-foot-3. He played with the Calgary Hitman in the Western Hockey League this season, leading the WHL in goals by a defenseman with 30. It was an impressive season, to say the least, and there’s a lot to like about his size and offensive presence. There’s also London Knight Sam Dickinson, who lit up the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and played a massive role in the Knights’ postseason run, which ultimately fell short to the Saginaw Spirit. At 6-foot-3, he knows how to use his size and is going to be an everyday NHLer down the road.
All three players have unique traits that set them apart and it’ll be interesting to see what order they go in on draft day. Dickinson could go as high as three, but then you look at Yakemchuk, and so could he; it’s a coin toss. Nonetheless, after Celebrini is taken first overall by the San Jose Sharks, chaos will ensue.
Will Utah See Any Action on the Trade Front?
One of the most exciting things as a fan is seeing trades occur during the draft. Seeing commissioner Gary Bettman announce the trade(s) and the crowd’s reaction is priceless, especially if it’s your team. In this case, we could see some movement with Armstrong and Utah as they look to make a splash—a splash that’ll go down as the first-ever trade in Utah history.
So, the first option is trading up into the top five. Is it possible? Well, of course, it is; Utah has an abundance of assets that could be used to trade up, similar to what they did when they traded up with the Sharks at 11 and took Geekie. That trade included a late first (27th overall) and two second-round picks (34th overall and 45th overall), so it would cost a fortune if they were to. At this point in the rebuild, it’s probably not the most wise to trade up unless an offer comes along that makes sense and benefits the team now and five years in the future.
The other part of the equation is trading down, which is indeed very possible too. Let’s assume the draft order plays out as such: Celebrini, Levshunov, Silayev, Demidov, Lindstrom, or a variation of those five players; there will be plenty of talent at six. If Armstrong’s goal is to come away with an elite defenseman, trading down to eight or even nine, there will still be one of those defensemen available. If they like Dickinson, Buium, Parekh, and Yakemchuk equally, they are relatively the same, so why not acquire even more assets and trade down? In that case, if they can guarantee that they can land one of those defensemen or a forward of their liking, it’s a no-brainer.
Is Beckett Sennecke an Option at 6?
Each year, some prospects seem to come out of nowhere and push for the top ten, top five, and sometimes even the top three. That prospect last year was probably Simashev, whom Armstrong drafted and is currently the top-ranked defenseman in the Utah system. Simashev going six was a surprise to everyone. Not a single mock draft had him landing with the Coyotes, but so far, it’s looking like a pretty good pick.
That player is Beckett Sennecke this year, who certainly has a wide range of opinions around the NHL and scouting world. He has a lot of likable traits: size, physicality, and his shot, all of which will help him get drafted in the first round. Now it’s a matter of how high he’ll be drafted, which is where scouts, fans, and analysts have seemed to have some controversy.
“Sennecke provides a great balance of intensity, skill and awareness on both sides of the puck. He excels down low, along the boards and in small spaces to win puck battles as he has soft hands to maintain control and manipulate defenders in the offensive zone. He’s extremely crafty and his improved size allows him to protect the puck effectively and push his way through traffic. He definitely has the strengths that could make him a strong power forward.” – Peter Baracchini, The Hockey Writers
Adding Sennecke at sixth overall wouldn’t be the worst, as there are a lot of other players that wouldn’t be ideal, but drafting him this early shouldn’t happen. While he could go fourth overall to the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they took him to dinner during the 2024 NHL Draft Combine, Sennecke to Utah likely won’t happen.
Will Armstrong Add an Offensively Gifted Defenseman in Buium or Parekh?
Currently, Utah’s system doesn’t have a game-changer. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s also a problem you want to find a solution to. Simashev is on track to be a minute-eating defensive defenseman, but not quite a game-changer. While Geekie and But could have that ceiling in them, it’s not certain they will hit it. That brings us to two players in the 2024 NHL Draft who could take you out of your seat at any given moment. That’s no one other than Zeev Buium and Zayne Parekh.
Buium, who comes from the University of Denver, had a stellar freshman season, putting up 50 points in 42 games. He is a dynamic offensive defenseman who is so fun to watch in the offensive zone; it’s truly a spectacle. He knows how to use his skating to his advantage and has an edge to him despite not being the tallest. In my three-round mock draft for Utah, I had Armstrong taking Buium, and it’s safe to say that if they were to, they could be coming home with a superstar.
Parekh is also extremely gifted in the offensive zone. Recording 33 goals this season with the Saginaw Spirit and winning the Memorial Cup, it was quite the season for him. His motor simply doesn’t stop, which makes it so hard for teams to predict what he’ll do, whether that be in the offensive zone or defensive zone.
One of these two players at sixth overall makes a ton of sense, and to be quite honest, one of them should be the pick, all things considered.
2024 NHL Draft Will Be Full of Surprises
The 2024 NHL Draft is nearly a week away and will undoubtedly be full of surprises. In Nashville last year for the 2023 NHL Draft, no trades were made during the first round; I’d expect that to change this season in Vegas. Other than Celebrini, no one is penciled in, which could make for some big surprises, whether that be via trade or draft selection. Nonetheless, we’re incredibly close to the highly anticipated draft and it’ll be a big couple of days for all the teams, especially Utah.
