2024 NHL Draft: Top Undrafted Players and What’s Next

The 2024 NHL draft has concluded, and while many players had their dreams come true, a lot were left undrafted. Among these players, which have the best shot of still putting together NHL success?

The NHL draft is an imperfect process. Most players in every draft class don’t ever take a step onto NHL ice. Even fewer make it to the 200-game mark, which is often referred to as the benchmark for a player who has “made it” in the big leagues.

NHL teams making mistakes isn’t a new concept. If you ask fans of any team, their favorite squad makes mistakes all of the time. The draft is no different. Teams take players that never pan out and sometimes a player who becomes a star is never drafted in the first place. Jonathan Marchessault, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, and numerous other current NHL stars were undrafted.

Let’s take a look at some of the best undrafted players available who could find their way into an NHL lineup and maybe one day, find stardom in the league.

The smooth skater and exciting puck-mover was a risk, but he was a risk most people thought an NHL team would take, even if it was just a late-round flyer. His defensive game is lackluster, but the offensive prowess that he has is as good or better than most of the defenders taken in the NHL draft this year. The upside was worth taking a swing on.

He takes risks offensively and is undersized for a defenseman, so it’s not entirely shocking that NHL teams passed on him. But with some of the players they did take, it makes no sense that Galvas wasn’t one of them. He is probably the most egregious omission from the annual draft process.

There were plenty of swings later in the draft, but Topias Hynninen could have easily made his way onto my team. His intelligence was evident every time I watched him play. He is a detail-oriented player who looked comfortable playing at the men’s level in Finland all year. He isn’t the flashiest player, but he brings the kind of quality, workman-like effort shift in and shift out.

I’m not entirely shocked that Ludvig Johnson went undrafted, but I just think it’s a shame. The incredibly mobile and shifty blueliner was hidden away in Swiss junior hockey all year, but he had the chance to showcase his game on the big stage after entering the lineup for Switzerland midway through the U-18 World Championship. He was one of their best offensive catalysts from the back end. He defends with his feet and does a better job than most blueliners his size. This might not be the last time we hear about Johnson.

Ustinkov is a close second to Galvas when it comes to egregious omissions. His defensive game alone should have got him drafted and he is a quality puck-mover as well. There is a lot to like about what Ustinkov brings because of his mobility and smarts. He isn’t flashy or fun, but he’s effective. NHL teams typically love players like that but alas, Ustinkov was left out.

After a solid U-18s, some believed that Nieminen had caught the eye of NHL scouts and made a case for himself as a mid-late round selection in the NHL draft. Nieminen is a mobile blueliner that uses his skating at both ends of the ice. He is a steady and reliable passer on the breakout and from the blueline. He isn’t going to wow anyone, but he always seemed to be ending shifts on the right note. He might be an interesting overager if another offensive gear is his to claim next season.

Kearsey is small, didn’t blow the doors off offensively and plays in the QMJHL. Those are the reasons he didn’t go in the NHL draft. The reasons he should have gone are that he was one of very few QMJHLers who really showed the ability to play with pace and dictate play up-ice in the QMJHL for this year’s draft class, especially on the blueline. He showed poise with the puck and had an extra gear when he needed it in transition. There is a nice set of tools to build around with Kearsey but at the end of the day, he fits the prototype of the kind of player that gets undrafted.

The only overage player on this list, Vesterheim should have been drafted in each of the last two years. He is an incredibly intelligent player who often drives play for the Norwegians at international events. Vesterheim formed a dynamic duo with Michael Brandsegg-Nygard at the World Junior Championship, and then once again, he played a big role at the men’s World Championship. He plays with pace, reads the ice at a high level and showed off some really sneaky playmaking all season long.

He is a highly skilled passer from the back end who can jump into the rush and attack up ice when he sees the opportunity. Shchuchinov plated most of the year at the KHL level and looked comfortable doing so. He evades pressure on dump-ins and escapes with his feet before looking to make a smart pass on the breakout in his own zone. He’s a sub-six-foot blueliner, though, and NHL teams always seem to have a hard time making that pick, even if it is a late-round swing.

He’s an undersized blueliner who plays a defensive game and didn’t really get the chance to show off his offensive chops this year. He came into the year as a player who many believed had an outside shot at being a top-50 pick, but he didn’t have a standout trait. Because of this, he struggled to differentiate himself among the group of defenders in the mid-late rounds. Marelli should be a player that teams keep tabs on over the next few years as his role and opportunity grows in the OHL.

It’s always tricky when it comes to drafting prep school players. The hit rate on them has gone up in recent years, but it’s still quite low. Teams may have ultimately made the decision to just wait and see with Park. He plays hard and heavy on the forecheck, looking to make plays out of the chaos he creates. It’s worked well at the prep level, which lacks structure, but there were questions about whether it was going to work at the next level. He’s committed to the University of Michigan and maybe teams will look to see if he can translate his simple and effective game at the NCAA level.

Is Zetterberg a more skilled and likely better hockey player than as many as half of the players drafted this year? Probably, yes. Is he also a 5-foot-7 winger who was taken out of the U-18s because he was hit and knocked out of the action? Also yes. With Zetterberg, it comes down to his size and inability to play through traffic at the next level. He is a slick and deceptive playmaker who can whip the puck around to teammates with ease at times. He makes hockey fun with his puck skills. I want Zetterberg to be an NHLer, and maybe one day he will get there, but there are more hurdles for him to reach the top level of hockey in the world than most players. 

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