The 2024 National Hockey League Draft was held on June 28 and 29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The Sphere is a unique performance venue ideal for both audio and visual spectacles, seating 18,600 people. The NHL took advantage of these capabilities, using the high quality light emitting diode screens to display custom graphics to get fans and players alike excited about this annual affair. 

The first pick of the 2024 draft was Macklin Celebrini, who had turned 18 just 15 days before the draft. The Boston University student won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award following his first-year season, being the youngest recipient in history. Celebrini accept- ed his position to be drafted to the San Jose Sharks, following their last season finish with the worst record in the league. The team is in need of a rebuild and according to scout accounts Celebrini is a strong player in every area. 

The second pick of the draft was Artyom Levshunov, going to the Chicago Blackhawks. This Michigan State player comes from Belarus, and is commonly known as the best defenseman of this draft class. Levshunov will be joining last year’s first year draft pick, Connor Bedard. While Bedard is a star player, the Blackhawks had stripped their team of the opportunity to sign him to their line. The rebuild surrounding Bedard is going well with the addition of this strong defenseman. 

Beckett Sennecke was the third pick of the draft, going to the Anaheim Ducks. Sennecke is known for his ability to get around defencemen and impressive forechecks. Fourth, Cayden Lindstrom went to the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is the first draft since 2012 without Jarmo Kekalainen as the general manager, following his dismissal from the position earlier this year. Their new general manager is Don Waddell, coming from the Carolina Hurricanes. According to ESPN, “the days of the Blue Jackets being the NHL’s donut — nothing in the middle — appear over.” 

Fifth, the Montreal Canadians chose Ivan Demidov for their line. For the past few years they have focused on drafting strong defense players, meaning it was time to introduce a new foreword to the team. They fulfilled this objective with Demidov, ESPN projecting him to be “a top-six difference-maker in the NHL.” Demidov was followed by Tij Iginla who went to the Utah Hockey Club. Yet to be officially named, the club obtained all draft picks when purchasing the former Arizona Coyotes. Iginla is the first ever pick of the franchise, and in addition to his own talent he is known for his Hall of Famer father, Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames. 

The seventh draft pick was Carter Yakemchuk to the Ottawa Senators. This pick was one that had eyebrows raising, as ESPN stated “it’s a bit of a bizarre dynamic for a franchise that’s been trying to shed the title of rebuild and transition into a playoff team, only to miss the postseason for the past seven campaigns.” Although he is excellent at puck distribution, he is really known for his mean streak. Eighth, the Seattle Kraken took Berkly Catton for their line. Catton is known to be flawless with transitions. He is also known to be a very challenging player to guard for defenders. ESPN believes that he has the capability to fill the team’s scoring needs, due to his past records and skill set. 

Zayne Parekh went to the Calgary Flames ninth, where he was catego- rized as the top offensive player of the draft. While Parekh is a very strong choice, many fans are upset that the team was unable to draft Utah Hockey’s Tij Iginla, due to his familial connection with the team. The final pick of the top ten went to the New Jersey Devils, who drafted Anton Silayev. Silayev is 18 years old and one year into his contract with the Kontinental Hockey League. He has been cited as having much potential and viewers are excited to see him grow into the lineup. 

The rest of the draft followed these ten picks, with teams not being solidified until after the beginning of the season. The first game of the season will take place in Prague, Czechia with the New Jersey Devils playing the Buffalo Sabres. 

While the season has yet to begin, projections have already been made. The NHL staff released their predictions for the next year. The two teams with the highest vote percentages were the Edmonton Oilers, with 46.9%, and the Dallas Stars, with 21.9%. The bracket for the championship’s runner up was separate. For the runner up slot the New Jersey Devils are in first with 31.3% of the votes, followed by the New York Rangers with 25%. While these numbers are just estimates, this season is already shaping up to be much different than last year.