Post by Cooper B. on Jun 21, 2024 0:30:30 GMT -8
Top Shelf Gazette
2024 Offseason Edition
June 21,2024
Welcome back everyone! Some quick hits to fill your offseason void.
2023-24 TSDHL Champions:
DJ (Chicago Blackhawks)
First things first, a HUGE congratulations is in order for DJ and his Blackhawks for taking home TSDHL Cup in the leagues inaugural season! Rightfully so, he will have bragging rights, until dethroned.
DJ showed that it takes a a multi-cat team to win it all. He had great contributions from several players this year including Joel Eriksson-Ek (30G) and Connor Bedard (61pts) on offense, Michael Matheson (51A) leading the way on D, and L.Thompson/Dostal (46/44gp) splitting starts between the pipes.
DJ and Blackhawks will be looking to repeat again this year, but he will be met with stiff competition from across the league. In looking to repeat, Hawks are said to be searching for scoring help, as (surprisingly) they had no player reach the 70pt mark in the last regular season, another testament to the diversity and genius of DJ’s roster.
To The Rest Of The League,
Welcome back, as well as welcome in. After team check-in's, we learned that a few of our original owners would not be coming back. Those teams are COL, CAR, and NYI. In short time, each orphaned team will find itself with a new, owner as the leagues 'Recruiters' are on the search. The state of the league remains strong.
The best news? We have finally found a worthy replacement for Minnesota Wild. The team had been orphaned for the entirety of last season, post-inaugural draft.
From all of us, welcome to the league, Clint! Clint will have his hands full as Minnesota's new GM, making sure the roster is ready for next season. It has been reassuring to see him already make a flurry of trades to improve the team, which I will discuss in-depth, later on.
Breakdown Of Available Teams
COLORADO AVALANCHE
2023-24 Season Record:
10-10-1
Colorado is a team that is already capable of making the playoffs. With, arguably, the best trio of FP's in the league, consisting of Nathan Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar. It's safe to say the core is in great shape. Avs are also in possession of two great young, forward talents in Quinten Byfield and Matty Beniers. The duo are both former #2 picks in consecutive NHL draft years (2021 and 2022) and boast high hockey-IQ's and offensive acumen. Byfield, 6'5" and 220Lbs, is just starting to grow into his size and using his body more often.
Matty Beniers took a step back in production last season after a horrid, snake-bitten first half. His point totals dropped from 57 as a rookie, to 37 as a sophomore. They don't call it a "sophomore slump" for nothing. A better showing by Beniers in year three is integral to the success of Avalanche. He was drafted early in the 1st Round of the Inaugural Draft, going 5th ovr, so expectations are high.
The rest of the roster is peppered with budding stars, including Drake Batherson, Thomas Harley, Alex Holtz, Marco Rossi, Josh Norris, and David Jiricek.
Joey Daccord is the man between the pipes after coming off a great season in which he posted a 2.46GAA and .916SV%, in 50GP.
With a few "tweaks" this roster is easily playoff caliber.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
2023-24 Season Record:
12-8-1
While they managed to finish the season with a 12-8-1 record, Islanders are bit more of a project team.Islanders made several major moves last season, including trading away star players Ilya Sorokin, Jake Guentzel and Frank Vatrano, and lost some initial firepower in the process. However, they did bring in more picks and prospects. Islanders hold 11th ovr pick in upcoming draft, plus an extra set of 2nd and 3rd rounders, curtesy of Vancouver. In 2025, they also have two 1st rounders, the other, once again, being Vancouvers.
Roope Hintz, Matt Barzal, Martin Necas, and Andrei Kuzmenko are the driving force on offense, however the biggest star may just be defenseman Noah Dobson. Dobson, 24yr, averaged 50pts in 79gp between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season, but broke out in a major way last year with a whopping 70pts in 79gp. Its safe to say Dobson has entered ‘elite’ status.
The current goalie situation is a bit more murky. As of now, John Gibson is Islanders #1, and if last season is any indicator, he is quickly losing his starting job to young standout, Lukas Dostal. Its not all bad, as they have two premium goalie prospects in Jakob Fowler and Joel Blomqvist, both acquired last year through trades. Blomqvist is the older of the two at 22yr and is nearing NHL appearances, currently playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Fowler, 19yr, had a stellar first year at Boston College, posting a 2.14GAA, .926SV% and coming just shy of an NCAA title, losing out to Denver University in the Finals.
Players in the pipeline include, Jordan Dumais, Dimitri Simashev, Colby Barlow and Brayden Yager.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
2023-24 Season Record:
9-10-2
Hurricanes finished the year just under the .500 mark with a 9-10-2. They boast an aging core group, Brent Burns (39yr), Sidney Crosby, Jeff Petry and Cam Talbot (36yr), Erik Karlsson, Hitting machine Luke Schenn and Fredrick Andersen (34yr). Joe Pavelski, now retired, will be a hard loss for Canes after a 67pt final season.
The ageless wonder, Sid the Kid, has showed no signs of slowing down, piling up 94pts in a full season.
If a new GM came in and wanted to begin a rebuild by trading away some older talent, I’m sure he’d get many calls from around the league on several different players, as their is a lot of value to be found in 35yr+, 2-way contracts.
Hurricanes do have some top-tier younger talent in Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Spence. They still have all draft picks for this year and next, with the earliest in the upcoming draft at 10th overall.
Roope Hintz, Matt Barzal, Martin Necas, and Andrei Kuzmenko are the driving force on offense, however the biggest star may just be defenseman Noah Dobson. Dobson, 24yr, averaged 50pts in 79gp between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season, but broke out in a major way last year with a whopping 70pts in 79gp. Its safe to say Dobson has entered ‘elite’ status.
The current goalie situation is a bit more murky. As of now, John Gibson is Islanders #1, and if last season is any indicator, he is quickly losing his starting job to young standout, Lukas Dostal. Its not all bad, as they have two premium goalie prospects in Jakob Fowler and Joel Blomqvist, both acquired last year through trades. Blomqvist is the older of the two at 22yr and is nearing NHL appearances, currently playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Fowler, 19yr, had a stellar first year at Boston College, posting a 2.14GAA, .926SV% and coming just shy of an NCAA title, losing out to Denver University in the Finals.
Players in the pipeline include, Jordan Dumais, Dimitri Simashev, Colby Barlow and Brayden Yager.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
2023-24 Season Record:
9-10-2
Hurricanes finished the year just under the .500 mark with a 9-10-2. They boast an aging core group, Brent Burns (39yr), Sidney Crosby, Jeff Petry and Cam Talbot (36yr), Erik Karlsson, Hitting machine Luke Schenn and Fredrick Andersen (34yr). Joe Pavelski, now retired, will be a hard loss for Canes after a 67pt final season.
The ageless wonder, Sid the Kid, has showed no signs of slowing down, piling up 94pts in a full season.
If a new GM came in and wanted to begin a rebuild by trading away some older talent, I’m sure he’d get many calls from around the league on several different players, as their is a lot of value to be found in 35yr+, 2-way contracts.
Hurricanes do have some top-tier younger talent in Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Spence. They still have all draft picks for this year and next, with the earliest in the upcoming draft at 10th overall.
Rookie Draft Preview
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The Draft Lottery has concluded and the big ticket winner is none other than new Minnesota Wild GM, Clint. The grand prize, Boston University forward, Macklin Celebrini.
MACKLIN CELEBRINI
Teams are known to pick outside of projections from time to time, but that should not be the case this year. Celebrini took the NCAA by storm as a freshman, finishing 2nd in the nation for goals (32) and 3rd in points (64), in only 38gp. Quite impressive stats that become even more impressive when you see all the awards he won, including Hockey-East Rookie of the Year, Hockey-East Player of the Year, and the historic and coveted, Hobey Baker award, as the top NCAA player, the youngest to do so in collegiate history.
Celebrini will more than likely find himself a member of San Jose Sharks after the upcoming NHL Draft, paving the way for him to jump pro right away. It's hard to say he isn't ready for the NHL, after winning most individual awards already.
He should bode well with San Jose as he will have NCAA rival and former #4 pick, Will Smith, out of Boston College to play with, as well as William Eklund, who was drafted #7 overall in 2021 NHL Draft.
Minnesota GM, Clint, should be very excited with the prospect of drafting a player of Celebrini's caliber.
TSN's, Craig Buttons Mock Draft
IVAN DEMIDOV
The only other player who is close to the same level as Celebrini is Russian forward, Ivan Demidov. Many have him projected to be drafted 2nd overall, but if fellow Russian Forward Matiev Michkov shows us anything, its that the “Russian Factor” is a real thing. Michkov also, was slated to go #2 but fell to #7, and could still make the teams that passed on him, regretful. The “Russian Factor” is in no regards about his talent, character, or work ethic, but has everything to do with the fact that between KHL and NHL, there are strict contract and transfer rules that they both strongly adhere to, and as he is currently locked in for at least one more year in the KHL, they are not known to void contracts often in favor of a North American transfers, which may ultimately prove to be best for his development.
Currently, Demidov is playing for SKA-1946 in the MHL where he scored 60pts in 30gp. He also played in a few games for St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL, receiving minimal minutes, as is notorious for rookies in the KHL, without recording a point. There is a steep step in talent going from the MHL to KHL, so its hard to tell exactly where Demidov lies as far as being “NHL ready”.
More minutes for Demidov in the KHL setting would help indicate this. He is said to have “explosive offensive talent”, the is most giftedly talented player in the draft, besides Celebrini. If Chicago Blackhawks feel confident in drafting him 2nd overall, then they could have a deadly future pairing in Demidov and Bedard.
In reality, there are many great defensive prospects up for grab in the top-10, including complete package, Artyom Levshunov (Michigan State, NCAA), 6'7" giant Anton Silayev (Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, KHL), and the undersized, but offensively gifted Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit, OHL). If Demidov is not selected #2, expect to see one of these names being called.
New Jersey Devils hold the #2 pick in the TSDHL Rookie Draft, and time will tell who Devils GM, Troy, has his eyes set on. Something important to note, as of right now, Troy has the #2 pick on the Trade Block, not sure what the ask would be, but could we see a Blockbuster Draft Day trade? I assume the price would be steep, and rightfully so.
GM Joel and the newly-Utah Hockey Team, hold picks #4 and #16, the only team in TSDHL with two first rounders. the #16 pick was acquired from Vancouver in return for Alex Ovechkin and Marc-Andre Fluery.
Joel has the potential to improve upon an already good pipeline with the two 1st rounders, and will be looking to make the most of it. Unlike New Jersey who has their 2nd overall pick on the Trade Block, the 4th overall pick has not been put on the Trade Block, however, insider information suggests that there are a couple teams who would be more than interested in acquiring #4, if it were to become available.
Before concluding our draft preview, Ill profile a prospect that I’m very high on. None other than the second coming of Jarome Iginla, son Tij Iginla.
Tij had an absolute breakout campaign, climbing the draft rankings after going from 18pts with WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23 to an astonishing 84pts with his new team, Kelowna Rockets, in 2023-24. based on stats alone, its easy to see how Tij climbed the rankings this year, also why it is hard to pin down when exactly a team will call his name on draft day.
His father, Jarome Iginla, in case you may have forgotten, was long-time Calgary Flames captain (2003-2014), three-time olympian, two-time gold medal winner, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020. Jarome was loved by many and was known as an consummate professional, and leader of the sport, in his time. If Tij has a career anywhere near as successful as his fathers, we are in for a fun next 15yrs. Projections for Tij have him all over the place, at some points as high as #5, other times as low as #16. Interestingly enough, the Calgary Flames hold the #9 pick in the NHL Draft, could we see another Iginla dawn the Red and Black? This writer hopes so.
That concludes Part-1 of Top Shelf Gazette's 2024 Offseason Edition.
Part-2 will be released tomorrow, including Trade Breakdowns from the past week
Part-3 will be released the day after, finishing with a look ahead into Free Agency
MACKLIN CELEBRINI
Teams are known to pick outside of projections from time to time, but that should not be the case this year. Celebrini took the NCAA by storm as a freshman, finishing 2nd in the nation for goals (32) and 3rd in points (64), in only 38gp. Quite impressive stats that become even more impressive when you see all the awards he won, including Hockey-East Rookie of the Year, Hockey-East Player of the Year, and the historic and coveted, Hobey Baker award, as the top NCAA player, the youngest to do so in collegiate history.
Celebrini will more than likely find himself a member of San Jose Sharks after the upcoming NHL Draft, paving the way for him to jump pro right away. It's hard to say he isn't ready for the NHL, after winning most individual awards already.
He should bode well with San Jose as he will have NCAA rival and former #4 pick, Will Smith, out of Boston College to play with, as well as William Eklund, who was drafted #7 overall in 2021 NHL Draft.
Minnesota GM, Clint, should be very excited with the prospect of drafting a player of Celebrini's caliber.
TSN's, Craig Buttons Mock Draft
| 1. | San Jose | C | Macklin Celebrini | CAN |
| 2. | Ottawa | D | Zayne Parekh | CAN |
| 3. | Chicago | D | Artyom Levshunov | BEL |
| 4. | Anaheim | LW | Ivan Demidov | RUS |
| 5. | Columbus | C | Cayden Lindstrom | CAN |
| 6. | Utah | D | Anton Silayev | RUS |
| 7. | Montreal | LW | Cole Eiserman | USA |
| 8. | Buffalo | C | Berkley Catton | CAN |
| 9. | Minnesota | D | Zeev Buium | USA |
| 10. | New Jersey | D | Sam Dickinson | CAN |
| 11. | Pittsburgh | D | Carter Yakemchuk | CAN |
| 12. | St. Louis | LW | Tij Iginla | CAN |
IVAN DEMIDOV
The only other player who is close to the same level as Celebrini is Russian forward, Ivan Demidov. Many have him projected to be drafted 2nd overall, but if fellow Russian Forward Matiev Michkov shows us anything, its that the “Russian Factor” is a real thing. Michkov also, was slated to go #2 but fell to #7, and could still make the teams that passed on him, regretful. The “Russian Factor” is in no regards about his talent, character, or work ethic, but has everything to do with the fact that between KHL and NHL, there are strict contract and transfer rules that they both strongly adhere to, and as he is currently locked in for at least one more year in the KHL, they are not known to void contracts often in favor of a North American transfers, which may ultimately prove to be best for his development.
Currently, Demidov is playing for SKA-1946 in the MHL where he scored 60pts in 30gp. He also played in a few games for St. Petersburg SKA of the KHL, receiving minimal minutes, as is notorious for rookies in the KHL, without recording a point. There is a steep step in talent going from the MHL to KHL, so its hard to tell exactly where Demidov lies as far as being “NHL ready”.
More minutes for Demidov in the KHL setting would help indicate this. He is said to have “explosive offensive talent”, the is most giftedly talented player in the draft, besides Celebrini. If Chicago Blackhawks feel confident in drafting him 2nd overall, then they could have a deadly future pairing in Demidov and Bedard.
In reality, there are many great defensive prospects up for grab in the top-10, including complete package, Artyom Levshunov (Michigan State, NCAA), 6'7" giant Anton Silayev (Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, KHL), and the undersized, but offensively gifted Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit, OHL). If Demidov is not selected #2, expect to see one of these names being called.
New Jersey Devils hold the #2 pick in the TSDHL Rookie Draft, and time will tell who Devils GM, Troy, has his eyes set on. Something important to note, as of right now, Troy has the #2 pick on the Trade Block, not sure what the ask would be, but could we see a Blockbuster Draft Day trade? I assume the price would be steep, and rightfully so.
GM Joel and the newly-Utah Hockey Team, hold picks #4 and #16, the only team in TSDHL with two first rounders. the #16 pick was acquired from Vancouver in return for Alex Ovechkin and Marc-Andre Fluery.
Joel has the potential to improve upon an already good pipeline with the two 1st rounders, and will be looking to make the most of it. Unlike New Jersey who has their 2nd overall pick on the Trade Block, the 4th overall pick has not been put on the Trade Block, however, insider information suggests that there are a couple teams who would be more than interested in acquiring #4, if it were to become available.
Before concluding our draft preview, Ill profile a prospect that I’m very high on. None other than the second coming of Jarome Iginla, son Tij Iginla.
Tij had an absolute breakout campaign, climbing the draft rankings after going from 18pts with WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 2022-23 to an astonishing 84pts with his new team, Kelowna Rockets, in 2023-24. based on stats alone, its easy to see how Tij climbed the rankings this year, also why it is hard to pin down when exactly a team will call his name on draft day.
His father, Jarome Iginla, in case you may have forgotten, was long-time Calgary Flames captain (2003-2014), three-time olympian, two-time gold medal winner, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020. Jarome was loved by many and was known as an consummate professional, and leader of the sport, in his time. If Tij has a career anywhere near as successful as his fathers, we are in for a fun next 15yrs. Projections for Tij have him all over the place, at some points as high as #5, other times as low as #16. Interestingly enough, the Calgary Flames hold the #9 pick in the NHL Draft, could we see another Iginla dawn the Red and Black? This writer hopes so.
That concludes Part-1 of Top Shelf Gazette's 2024 Offseason Edition.
Part-2 will be released tomorrow, including Trade Breakdowns from the past week
Part-3 will be released the day after, finishing with a look ahead into Free Agency