Kraken draft eighth in upcoming amateur draft

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The Seattle Kraken have scooped up the number-eight pick- about where the Kraken would have selected minus the lottery- in a draft that the `experts’ say is top-heavy with defensemen.

A lottery was used to determine draft order, with the 11 teams who failed to make the playoffs this season, eligible to win the top pick. The NHL like most leagues goes to a lottery format to discourage blatant `tanking’ by a team trying to secure the top pick. Only the top two selections are determined by lottery, after that teams are seeded by record.

The San Jose Sharks captured the number-one pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft- yes, the NHL draft lottery has a sponsor. The Chicago Blackhawks, who picked `can’t-miss’ prospect Connor Bedard with last year’s number-one pick, will draft second followed by the Anaheim Ducks.

The Sharks are expected to take Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini, at 17, the youngest player in Division 1 men’s hockey this season and the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award, presented to the top NCAA men’s hockey player.

Since the Kraken have gone heavy for forwards in previous amateur drafts, selecting a defenseman in round one would be no surprise this time around. Top-ranked defenders include Michigan State defenseman Artyon Levshunov and Anton Silayev out of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. The NHL scouting bureau projects them as the top two blueliners in the draft, possibly going as high as second and third overall.

Other names to look for are Zeev Buium (NCAA champion Denver), Sam Dickinson (London, Ontario Hockey League), Zayne Parekh (Saginaw, OHL) and Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary, Western Hockey League).

According to Glenn Dreyfuss, the Kraken’s Hockey News correspondent, another player who might intrigue the Kraken – center Tig Iginla, who played for the Seattle Thunderbirds two seasons ago and the Kelowna Rockets this past season, both members of the Western Hockey League.

Iginla, who also played on Canada’s Under-18 world championship team, is the son of Hall-of-Famer Jerome Iginla, arguably the best black player to compete in the NHL. Interestingly, the Kraken pick just ahead of the Calgary Flames in the draft. The elder Iginla is an advisor to the Flames, who also retired his jersey.

Celebrini recorded 32 goals and 36 assists in his only season with the Terriers. He actually played one season with the San Jose Junior Sharks when his father worked as director of sports performance for the Golden State Warriors.

The actual NHL draft takes place at the Sphere in Las Vegas, June 28-29, a $2.8 billion, 18,600-seat, globe-shaped music and entertainment venue that features immersive video and audio technology, including a 16K resolution LED screen. This will be the first event televised from the Sphere which opened last September. The NHL draft will be televised on ESPN.

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