The Anaheim Ducks will select third overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft set to take place June 28-29 in Las Vegas.
This will mark the second time the franchise will have selected third overall. The Ducks selected Mason McTavish with the third pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
The San Jose Sharks won the Draft Lottery and the right to select Macklin Celebrini (17), star forward and 2024 Hobey Baker winner from Boston University.
The Ducks finished the 2023-24 season with 59 points and in 30th place in the NHL standings. They had the third-greatest odds of winning the Draft Lottery.
In 2022-23, the Ducks finished with the worst record in the NHL and set a salary cap era record for most goals allowed in a single season (335). They had a 25.5% chance of winning the 2023 NHL lottery and the right to select likely Calder Trophy award winner and anointed generational talent, Connor Bedard. The Chicago Blackhawks won the first drawing of the 2023 Draft Lottery and the Ducks won the second and the right to select second overall.
2023 is the only year in the past four years (2021-2024) in which the team with the greatest odds of winning the NHL Draft Lottery did not.
Behind Celebrini in the 2024 Draft is a collection of 8-12 players in which an argument can be made for any of them to be selected second overall. They each possess elite skills in several areas, but they also come with significant question marks. The order of their selections will likely remain a mystery until draft day and will be based on each team’s preference when they’re on the clock.
Names to keep an eye on include:
THN.com/anaheim will be covering each of these draft-eligible prospects and more in the coming weeks heading into the NHL Entry Draft at the end of June.