The breadth of defensive talent in the top half of the first round is one of the major storylines entering the 2024 NHL Draft.
Macklin Celebrini, a forward, is expected to be selected by San Jose with the No. 1 pick. After Celebrini, Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov is the most popular choice among media analysts to be selected by Chicago with the No. 2 pick.
But even beyond Levshunov, as many as seven other defensemen have been talked about in the top 15 conversation, including a group of five – Anton Silayev, Carter Yakemchuk, Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh, and Zeev Buium – who have been mocked by many experts in the top 10.
That said, there are also talented options at forward, meaning one of those defensemen could end up being available when the Sabres select at 11th overall.
We’ve already looked at seven forwards who could be available for the Sabres in the first round. Today, once again with analysis from FloHockey’s Chris Peters and NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, we’re examining seven potential defense options with the No. 11 pick.
Find Peters’ full top 100 rankings here and listen to his commentary on the “Talking Hockey Sense” podcast.
Morreale’s latest mock draft can be found here in its entirety. You can listen to Morreale and NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman break down the draft on their “NHL Draft Class” podcast.
Adam Jiricek – RHD, Plzen (Czechia)
6-foot-2, 182 pounds
2023-24 statistics: 19 GP – 0 G – 1 A – 1 P
The Sabres’ current defense corps features three young players on long-term contracts (Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Mattias Samuelsson) plus a fourth who was acquired last season in Bowen Byram.
Jiricek checks multiple boxes that could make him a complementary piece within that larger picture. He’s a right shot - Byram, Dahlin, Power, and Samuelsson are all left shots - while his 6-foot-2 frame is a tool he uses to his advantage defensively.
Coming off a season that ended in December due to a knee injury, Jiricek has been ranked in a variety of placements. Peters has him 16th on his overall list; Morreale has him eighth among defensemen (behind Levshunov and the other six defenders on this list).
NHL Central Scouting Services (NHL CSS), meanwhile, ranks Jiricek fourth among international skaters, offering the following description: “Two-way player that likes to join the rush. Still at his best in the defensive zone, where he is an effective checker who stays with his man. Excellent competitor who works hard on every shift. Keeps his play simple and effective. Has all the tools needed to become a star.”
What he’s saying:
Adam’s older brother, David, is also a right-shot defenseman who was drafted by Columbus with the sixth-overall pick in 2022. Still only 20 years old, David has already appeared in 47 career NHL games and helped lead their AHL affiliate in Cleveland to the league’s Eastern Conference Final this month.
Adam was asked during the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo to compare his game to David’s.
“I always say, he has a better shot and I have better skating,” Adam said. “… He’s more offensive and I’m more two-way defending.”
Anton Silayev – LHD, Torpedo (KHL)
6-foot-7, 211 pounds
2023-24 statistics: 63 GP – 3 G – 8 A – 11 P
This may be the biggest long shot on this list, as Silayev – thanks to his 6-foot-7 frame, skating, and pro experience in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) – is typically projected in media mock drafts to be selected in the top five, if not the top three.
The one slight wild card with Silayev is his KHL contract, which reportedly runs through 2025-26.
“I mean, there’s always the chance that even an Anton Silayev slips because of either concerns about the Russian factor or whatever else,” Peters said. “The fascinating thing is this D class is about as good as you could hope for at the top of the draft.”
Silayev’s 11 points were the most ever by an under-18 player in the KHL. NHL CSS describes him as a “tower on ice with an excellent physical presence.”
Carter Yakemchuk – RHD, Calgary (WHL)
6-foot-3, 201 pounds
2023-24 statistics: 66 GP – 30 G – 41 A – 71 P
Yakemchuk is a popular selection to Buffalo in media mock drafts. He, like Jiricek, is a towering, right-shot defenseman. But Yakemchuk is also coming off a prolific offensive season that saw him lead Western Hockey League (WHL) defensemen with 30 goals.
“Yakemchuk is really fascinating,” Peters said. “He’s a dynamic offensive talent. He’s got size, he’s got some skating ability. He needs to get stronger and he needs to make some better decisions with the puck at times, needs to get better defensively. But he’s got the willingness and he’s got some jam to him. So, you have the size and the skill factor and the fact that he’s a right shot, and that’s more interesting.”
Added Morreale: “He’s a big, mobile guy, he’s active along the blue line, real strong on his skates. He’s confident, likes to really move the puck up the ice. He can beat defenders one-on-one as a defenseman with his speed and he’s got some dangles to his game, too.”
NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman is among those who have mocked Yakemchuk to the Sabres, citing his potential to one day fit alongside the organization’s current stable of young defensemen.
What he’s saying:
Yakemchuk was asked who he models his game after in the NHL.
“I like Evan Bouchard on the Oilers,” he said. “Just the way he plays in the offensive zone, his creativity as well as his shot.”
Sam Dickinson – LHD, London (OHL)
6-foot-2, 199 pounds
2023-24 statistics: 68 GP – 18 G – 52 A – 70 P
