The Stanley Cup might be mere hours from finding its new home for the next year, but for the 30 other NHL teams, it is now officially draft week.
The Ducks own nine picks in this weekend's 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas, headlined by the third overall selection and either the 31st or 32nd overall pick, to be determined by tonight's Game 7 (Anaheim owns Edmonton's first-round pick).
With just three days to go before meeting the newest young Ducks, and a year after the Ducks shocked the hockey world with the selection of Swedish center Leo Carlsson at No. 2, AnaheimDucks.com takes a look at what industry experts are predicting for this Friday night.
Corey Pronman (The Athletic) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"Anaheim is one of the most interesting decisions in this draft," . "If Chicago took someone other than Levshunov, I think they make this decision less stressful for Anaheim, who can take the highly talented defenseman who played in North America. The league thinks they want to get bigger and need defense. That turns us to Silayev. He is big and great. He is also a KHL player. He fits Pat Verbeek’s prototype perfectly, but if they don’t want to go Russian, then you start talking about alternatives like Sam Dickinson or Carter Yakemchuk here and the draft gets interesting."
Scott Wheeler (The Athletic) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"The Ducks have been pretty quiet about where they’re leaning but the feeling I and others I’ve spoken to from around the league have about their pick is that they’re going to take a D at No. 3," ." They’ve got a really strong track record of hitting on D in recent years, I think they’d trust their group to develop a player like Silayev properly, we all know what they now have at forward with Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and company, and Silayev’s length, skating and defensive upside would just fit so naturally next to an Olen Zellweger or a Pavel Mintyukov long-term."
Mike Morreale (NHL.com) - Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg - Jr.
"The 18-year-old left-handed shot is one of the most naturally skilled players in this draft class," Morreale said. "He possesses smarts and adapts well in stride. He had 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) in 30 regular-season games and 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 17 playoff games in Russia's junior league."
Adam Kimelman (NHL.com) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"The left-shot defenseman is one of the most intriguing players in the draft because of his size (6-7, 211) and developing offensive side of his game," Kimelman wrote. "The Ducks have stockpiled young offensive-minded defensemen, among them Tristan Luneau, Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov. Silayev, 18, has the potential to be a tremendous complementary piece on a top defense pair."
Sam Consentino (Sportsnet) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"Pat Verbeek came from a Tampa organization that had solid ties to Russia," Consentino said.
Chris Peters (FloHockey) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"The Ducks have so many options available to them and are often unpredictable, but there seems to be a clear fit for them with Silayev, who is a 6-foot-7 defenseman with mobility and strong shutdown traits that the Ducks are going to be able to use in a few years when he comes over from Russia," Peters wrote.
Craig Button (TSN) - Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg - Jr.
Ryan Kennedy (The Hockey News) - Anton Silayev, D, Nizhny Novgorod
"The Ducks have a pretty great youth corps already, but Silayev could help their blueline in the future thanks to his huge frame and mobility," Kennedy said in predicting the Ducks to take the big Russian defenseman. "Scouts see shades of Victor Hedman in the big Russian, who will only get stronger in the coming years."
Lyle Richardson (Bleacher Report) - Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State
"A talented puck-moving defenseman with a right-hand shot, the 6'2", 209-pound Belarussian has the size and skills to be an impactful NHL blueliner," Richardson wrote. "Levshunov finished third among Spartan scorers with 35 points. He could address the Ducks' requirement to add another right-shot defenseman to their prospect pipeline."
Tristin McKinstry (Clutch Points) - Artyom Levshunov, D, Michigan State
"Michigan State was one of the best college hockey teams in the nation this year. Artyom Levshunov was a major reason for their success," McKinstry said of the freshman blueliner. "He emerged as one of the best rearguards in the Big Ten even as a freshman. The Michigan State product is a creative offensive force from the blueline. His hockey sense, in particular, stands out. On the defensive end, there is work to be done. But the Ducks traded Jamie Drysdale to the Philadelphia Flyers during the season. So they have room to add an offensive blueliner to their prospect pipeline."
