Team by Team NHL Mock Draft: Most intriguing forward falls right to the New Jersey Devils
With just under two weeks before the 2024 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils can make a significant splash if they keep the No. 10 pick.
With less than two weeks to go before the NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils could be planning on using the 10th overall pick for a future prospect or in a trade package. But unless the latter occurs, let’s keep acting like they’re going to use Pick No. 10 on a prospect, and wow, did they land an intriguing one in this team-by-team mock draft simulation via FC Hockey.
Since this was a simulation for the top 10 picks of the draft, selections No. 1 through No. 9 were not under my control, and yes, there were a few surprises. One of those surprises included who was still available at No. 10 when I made my selection for New Jersey, and I couldn’t have been happier to see this prospect fall to them.
But before I unveil who I took while playing the role of general manager Tom Fitzgerald, let me give you a rundown on Picks No. 1 through No. 9 and my honest opinion on them.
1st Overall: San Jose Sharks - Macklin Celebrini, C/Boston University
Last year, the Connor Bedard sweepstakes were epic, and you can argue the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes were almost as big. This season, though, it was the Sharks, not the Blackhawks, who took the gold, and just as will be the case in real life, the simulator wasted little time pairing the Boston University star with San Jose.
2nd Overall: Chicago Blackhawks - Artyom Levshunov, D/Michigan State
This pick should come down to between Artyom Levshunov and Ivan Demidov, with the former getting the nod here. It would make sense theoretically - land a future star at forward who is now a current star that is Connor Bedard, or at least one tier below current star status, and get a future star on the blue line next. Therefore, the simulator got this one right once again, so let’s see if they make it three for three.
3rd Overall: Anaheim Ducks - Cayden Lindstrom, C/Medicine Hat Tigers
While I would think Ivan Demidov won’t go past third overall next Friday, Cayden Lindstrom shouldn’t be the most surprising pick. He already has NHL size, and his productivity could have threatened 100 points had he been healthy all season.
4th Overall: Columbus Blue Jackets - Anton Silayev, D/Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Anton Silayev would be a sneaky good pick here if the Columbus Blue Jackets went with him over Ivan Demidov in real life. While I felt the simulation would stop here for Demidov since that wasn’t the case at No. 3, I wouldn’t complain if the Blue Jackets took Silayev instead. I can see him as more than just a defensive defenseman in North America, but if not, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal - he will disrupt a lot of sequences, and it would be his primary job.
5th Overall: Montreal Canadiens - Ivan Demidov, RW/SKA St. Petersburg
Okay, we finally saw Ivan Demidov’s freefall stop here, and this would be an epic pickup courtesy of general manager Kent Hughes should it occur next week. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Alex Newhook are already an intriguing core four, but when you add someone of Demidov’s caliber to the mix, you’re getting a future top-six that will eventually rank among the NHL’s best.
6th Overall: Utah Hockey Club - Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW/Mora IK
Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s game won’t impress everyone, and a contingent of the new Utah team’s fans may not like the pick over Cole Eiserman. But as far as this one goes, it’s the “safe pick” over the intriguing goal-scoring machine. Both have their pros and cons, but as far as the simulation went with this one, I feel it was the right choice.
7th Overall: Ottawa Senators - Cole Eiserman, LW/USNTDP
Nobody will deny that Cole Eiserman has superstar potential, and he will ultimately wind up as one of the league’s better scorers. But the burning question for a long time will be whether he can do more than just score. Hey, scoring is the object of winning a hockey game, but a lot must happen to create scoring opportunities and goals, and Cole Eiserman must add more to his repertoire.
8th Overall: Seattle Kraken - Zeev Buium, D/Denver
This draft class is loaded with two-way blueliners, and Zeev Buium is one the most, if not the most exciting of the bunch. Yes, I realize others have scored more, but from a potential standpoint, Zeev Buium could be the No. 1 two-way defenseman here, and that includes Artyom Levshunov, so if I were a Kraken fan, I would be very, very excited with this pick.
9th Overall: Calgary Flames - Sam Dickinson: D/London Knights
With one pick before the New Jersey Devils were on the clock, the Calgary Flames rolled with Sam Dickinson. Calgary is a team that can go either way here as they have plenty of improvements to make for their solid but unspectacular prospects pool, but a two-way defenseman is a good place to begin.
10th Overall: New Jersey Devils - Konsta Helenius, C/Jukurit
Quite a few draft prospects have climbed the boards recently, and with FC Hockey giving Konsta Helenius a fifth-overall ranking when I concocted this mock draft, it took about two seconds for me to push the ‘Draft’ button. Helenius, despite lacking a wow factor with any of his attributes, is one of the more consistent and, thereby, intriguing forwards in this draft class.
While we likely won’t see Helenius playing full-time in North America until 2025-26, it shouldn’t matter too much, as he could end up dominating in Liiga. At 17, he played in 57 games when you count the playoffs and finished with 42 points and 16 goals, telling us he can be a good scorer and an even better playmaker.
Before the 2023-24 season, Helenius was one of the best players Tappara’s U20 SM-sarja team had to offer, and he finished the year with 28 points and eight goals in 19 games, but Liiga was already on the radar. He saw action in 33 games and put up three goals with 11 total points, which set the stage for a breakout this season.
Overall, he’s going to be a fun prospect to follow, which would be a bonus if he ended up in the Devils system on June 28th.
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