Canadiens land a pair of potential stars in Team-by-Team NHL Mock Draft

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All right, so this team-by-team NHL mock draft outlines what the Montreal Canadiens might do next Friday with the No. 5 and No. 26 selections. That said, I’ve used FC Hockey’s mock draft simulator to decide on who each of the other 24 teams also selected within the first 26 picks may do.

Now, you will see some reaches in this one, but even more potential steals, and I may have grabbed one of those steals at pick No. 26 while playing the role of general manager Kent Hughes. Oh, and I’m also convinced I got a steal with that No. 5 pick, too, and one I was sure would not be available when I was on the clock.

Anyway, keep reading to discover how this team-by-team mock draft turned out and who I had headed to the organization in this exercise.

1st Overall: San Jose Sharks - Macklin Celebrini, C/Boston University

The San Jose Sharks won’t budge on this one and we will see Macklin Celebrini in a teal sweater shortly after the first round commences. Look for him to jump straight to the NHL and start proving why he was the consensus top pick in this draft.

2nd Overall: Chicago Blackhawks - Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, RW/Mora IK

Mock draft simulations love throwing random picks at you, but they don’t always come so early. While I like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, I would have to question the Blackhawks if they took him with the second selection in the draft.

3rd Overall: Anaheim Ducks - Berkly Catton, C/Spokane Chiefs

As with the Brandsegg-Nygard pick, Berkly Catton wouldn’t be my first selection here, but I also wouldn’t critique it to the same extent. Catton’s playmaking tells me that one can at least justify taking him early, even if it meant passing on Artyom Levshunov or Ivan Demidov.

4th Overall: Columbus Blue Jackets - Artyom Levshunov, D/Michigan State

Speaking of Artyom Levshunov, it wasn’t long until the simulation put him with a struggling franchise that needs to rally the organization and the fan base. Artyom Levshunov is one of the remaining players in the draft who could do that for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

5th Overall: Montreal Canadiens - Ivan Demidov, RW/SKA St. Petersburg

Thanks to the way the top four picks shaped up, there was no way Ivan Demidov was falling any further. This is a player who, even if Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Nick Suzuki make up the top line, could provide outstanding productivity with second-line minutes.

6th Overall: Utah Hockey Club - Cole Eiserman, LW/USNTDP

I’m not the biggest fan of Cole Eiserman because I feel he’s too one-dimensional, but if there’s the best fit for him, it’s the Utah Hockey Club. Eiserman’s exciting game coming to the new organization will provide an immediate spark, even if it will be a minute before he debuts and plays full-time in the NHL.

7th Overall: Ottawa Senators - Konsta Helenius, C/Jukurit

There may be a few more exciting players still available at this spot, like Cayden Lindstrom, but Konsta Helenius could be on the fast track to the NHL. Let’s not take that too far out of hand - he will still need to develop, but he’s already playing well against men in Liiga, and it’s the first step to a successful NHL career.

8th Overall: Seattle Kraken - Zayne Parekh, D/Saginaw Spirit

In a defensive-heavy draft, teams will have the option of rolling with blueliners who can score at will, and Zayne Parekh may epitomize that in the 2024 draft class. That said, I’m surprised he lasted this long in the simulation, and I can see him landing somewhere in the top six come next Friday.

9th Overall: Calgary Flames - Sam Dickinson, D/London Knights

Yet another high-scoring blueliner goes to the Calgary Flames in this sim, and one with NHL size, so once again, I would have a high opinion of this pick should it be the case on June 28th.

10th Overall: New Jersey Devils - Zeev Buium, D/Denver

I’ve been sold on Zeev Buium since the college hockey season, and in the simulations I’ve run so far, he’s rarely fallen out of the top 10, if that even was the case. He’s yet another high-scoring defenseman and right now, the Devils need a few more blueliners in their prospect pool period.

11th Overall: Buffalo Sabres - Anton Silayev, D/Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Everyone knows the Buffalo Sabres have lacked physicality throughout the 2020s, and few prospects in this draft class can inject a hitter’s mentality more than Anton Silayev. Mattias Samuelsson currently fills that role, but he’s injury-prone, so a pick like this makes a ton of sense.

12th Overall: Philadelphia Flyers - Cayden Lindstrom, C/Medicine Hat Tigers

Way too many teams passed on Cayden Lindstrom in several simulations, and injuries could be the main reason he’s been falling back. Though I doubt it, maybe that will be the case next Friday, and if it is, someone’s getting a steal here, and you can say the same for the next pick.

13th Overall: Minnesota Wild - Tij Iginla, C/Kelowna Rockets

Tij Iginla has fallen to the middle of the first round in other simulations, but it’s something I don’t see happening in reality. Maybe he’s in the top 10 or even the top eight, but there are few prospects at this point who would invigorate the Minnesota Wild’s system more if they did manage to take him at No. 13.

14th Overall: San Jose Sharks - Emil Hemming, RW/TPS

He’s already 6’1 and 205 pounds and still just 17, and someone like Emil Hemming could easily pair up well with Macklin Celebrini, who possesses similar size. He proved he was too good for SM-sarja this past season with 18 points and 11 goals across 13 regular season games (he did return for the playoffs and picked up where he left off), so Liiga will be calling him this year.

15th Overall: Detroit Red Wings - Beckett Sennecke, RW/Oshawa Generals

Beckett Sennecke was the best remaining prospect here, and in real life, Steve Yzerman would likely roll with the best available at No. 15. The simulation had similar ideas, and yeah, this is a remarkable system that just became even more luxurious if Sennecke is the pick.

16th Overall: St. Louis Blues - Lucas Pettersson, C/Modo Hockey

I’m 1,000 percent on board with general manager Doug Armstrong going with a defenseman, and that’s something I haven’t changed my mind on for the Blues. Still, a two-way center operating at over a point-per-game pace against peers his own age is more than enticing, so I’ll agree with the simulator here, even if my preferred pick for St. Louis is going at No. 17.

17th Overall: Washington Capitals - Stian Solberg, D/Färjestad BK

Perhaps the most underrated defenseman who should go in the first round, Stian Solberg’s game is pure defense, and there may not be another player in this mock draft who enjoys contact more. If the Washington Capitals take him here, they aren’t getting any future help in the offensive zone, but they will be getting a player who will wreak enough havoc to give them chances to regain puck possession.

18th Overall: Chicago Blackhawks - Adam Jiricek, D/HC Plzen

Whereas Stian Solberg is one of my favorite defensive prospects in this draft, Adam Jiricek is someone I’m not sold on. Not that it matters, but as far as this simulation goes, it would be everything the Chicago Blackhawks shouldn’t do in the first round of this draft.

19th Overall: Vegas Golden Knights - Jett Luchanko, C/Guelph Storm

He’s currently a smaller player, but Jett Luchanko is 17 and if he can add size while keeping up his awesome skating ability, the Golden Knights prospect pool just added an outstanding talent that doubles up as an absolute playmaker. If he lands with Vegas next week, Luchanko is someone general manager Kelly McCrimmon may want to keep in his prospects pool.

20th Overall: New York Islanders - Carter Yakemchuk, D/Calgary Hitmen

Any draft pick at this point would vastly improve the New York Rangers prospects pool, but Carter Yakemchuk falling here would be the ideal scenario. While I can’t quite see it happening, general manager Lou Lamoriello wouldn’t be complaining here, nor would anyone else following the Isles.

21st Overall: Los Angeles Kings - Igor Chernyshov, LW/Dynamo Moskva

I was wondering when Igor Chernyshov would fall here; while he’s not likely going to be a playmaker when he makes it to the NHL, he won’t be afraid to do the dirty work, so I’m commending whichever organization scoops him up, most likely in the first round.

22nd Overall: Nashville Predators - Nikita Artamonov, LW/Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

For an 18-year-old, playing 54 games in the KHL and putting up the type of production Nikita Artamonov did - 23 points and seven goals in 54 regular season contests, I’m interested in seeing what the encore looks like. Thanks to Artamonov’s contract, he won’t be available until the 2026-27 season, but he would be more than worth the wait.

23rd Overall: Toronto Maple Leafs - Liam Greentree, RW/WindsorSpitfires

If there’s a common denominator here, it’s that Liam Greentree has dropped in many of these mock draft simulations, and if he falls to the Toronto Maple Leafs, that prospects pool just got exciting. The size and productivity have been there for a while, and there’s playmaking power forward potential - a perfect fit for the Leafs system.

24th Overall: Colorado Avalanche - Jesse Pulkkinen, D/JYP

Another prospect with excellent size plus value for when his team possesses and does not possess the puck, Jesse Pulkkinen would make a remarkable organization even better if he landed with the Colorado Avalanche.

25th Overall: Ottawa Senators - Michael Hage, C/Chicago Steel

Once again, size and productivity immediately jump out with Michael Hage, who would also be a solid pick to revitalize the Senators prospects pool. Overall, if one team had the best mock draft in this simulation, I’m very tempted to roll with the Senators, but you may like the 26th pick here that I have coming up for the Canadiens.

26th Overall: Montreal Canadiens - Sacha Boisvert, C/North Dakota

Leadership and productivity - I feel like I’ve said the latter a lot lately, should convince the Habs fan base that Sacha Boisvert would be worth it with the 26th overall pick if he’s still available. No, he wouldn’t see NHL ice as quickly as Ivan Demidov (No. 5 overall in this draft), but still, could he be the final piece to the top-six if drafted in this slot?

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