Some quick news bits from the last few days. First, Evgeni Kuznetsov is in the process of having his contract with the Carolina Hurricanes terminated – quick article here on the background of that, assuming it does get finalized. Whether the actual legal part of the contract termination is a mutual termination or a buyout, there would be different cap ramifications.

In short, this should free up some cap room in addition to roster space for the Hurricanes who were in need of both. Kuz was a decent gamble for the Canes, but he hasn't returned to his same peak level, and without that the more perimeter style of play without the shot volume is something that wasn't as much of a fit for the Hurricanes.

This could allow them to find a contract that works with Martin Necas as well and makes it a little more likely that we see one of Bradly Nadeau, Jackson Blake, or Ryan Suzuki. The forward group is still crowded though, so it's certainly not close to a lock.

*

Mailbag writer extraordinaire Rick Roos has already received enough questions for a two-part mailbag, with the first part appearing next week and the second the week after. Because of that he can fit in even more questions, so keep them coming. To get your questions to him, private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or email [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line. No one does a deeper dive to these answers than Rick.

*

TRANSACTION: We have acquired forwards Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Roby Jarventie and the #Sens 2025 4th round draft pick.

Les #Sens acquièrent les attaquants Xavier Bourgault et Jake Chiasson d'Edmonton en retour de… pic.twitter.com/el6X64gJ0g

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) July 15, 2024

Not much to note here from a fantasy perspective, but Xavier Bourgault ends up with a slightly easier path to decent minutes in Ottawa rather than Edmonton. For the Oilers, Roby Jarventie is also a former first rounder who hasn't quite hit yet. We'll see what he can bring to the Oilers' organization as he's probably the better player today – albeit with a lower ceiling.

Looking back to 2022, Edmonton was all lined up and could have taken Jesper Wallstedt, who was exactly what their system needed even back then. Nowadays the decision to trade down there looks even more puzzling.

*

Joe Pavelski officially announced his retirement, though this came as no surprise. Best wishes to an all-star player who sounds like one of the most kind and genuine players around the game.

After 1,332 games, Joe Pavelski has announced his retirement. 🫡

Congratulations on an incredible career! 👏 pic.twitter.com/IIUf87dlvc

— NHL (@NHL) July 16, 2024

*

Now to get into the fun stuff. I know we've all been missing Tom Collins and his take on the top-10 column since he stepped back in the spring, but Flip Livingstone has done a great job filling in. Unfortunately for Flip, there's one top-10 article of Tom's that he can't replicate, and that's the annual "Top-10 picks from a Fantasy Draft" column, specific to the WHL fantasy league. Luckily for us, the WHL that Tom always discussed in that article is a league that I'm a part of as well. As a result, I took the time to interview each of our GMs who made the top-11 selections, to get their takes on their picks, and how they felt about each. I'm going to the top-12 just because I can, and because I picked at #12, so that felt like a good stopping point.

In this 24-team dynasty league, each of the teams are owned by a Dobber forum member, and our five-round prospect draft started on Monday July 15^th.

To give you some idea of our league, during the season, each team has three centers, three left wingers, three right wingers, three forwards, six defensemen and a goalie in an active roster spot. We have six reserve spots and 15 minor league spots. By the time the season starts, 960 players are already drafted. There are also four injured reserve spots.

We're also a cap league, with a $100 million budget. It’s a head-to-head league, with points assigned in each category. For instance, goals and assists are each worth one point, with a power-play point worth an extra 0.5 points. There are also points for plus/minus, blocked shots, shots, hits, PIM and faceoffs, but those are all much lower than the points scores. The goalies have their own categories and scoring that I won't get into here because it's not all that relevant.

Each week you match up against one other team, and whoever has the most points at the end of the games on Sunday wins the matchup. The top eight teams make the playoffs based on their win/loss records, with the bottom-16 fighting it out in their own consolation brackets for their change to bump their first round picks up a slot or two.

Now, let's get to it:

1. Macklin Celebrini, picked by James Bay Cougars (InForAPenny)

There was no surprise with this pick, partially as it was a shoe-in, and partially because James Bay had made it clear he was planning to hold the pick and take the consensus number-one. Here's his note: “My pick was straightforward this year. My first time picking first overall, so it would have taken a lot to move it, especially in the current stage of my rebuild. Other than a few early musings about dropping back, it was Celebrini throughout.”

2. Ivan Demidov, picked by Hamilton Steelheads (Dennis)

This is another pick where Hamilton had noted early what his intentions were, and as the team who also owns Matvei Michkov (as well as Jack Hughes and others), it's an excellent selection. Dennis had this to say: "Watching Demidov I see a player with the potential to become a point producing star in the NHL. To add to that, part of the fun in drafting young fantasy players is watching them develop. Demidov is an electrifying prospect who often makes bold decisions as if he's a step ahead of his competition. I'm going to have a lot of fun watching him this season."

3. Cayden Lindstrom, picked by Montreal Canadiens (newfcollins)

The first selection where there was a bit of debate, our old buddy Mr. Collins went with the big centre that projects like the real Montreal Canadiens have been trying to find for years. He noted that: "I was 50-50 on Lindstrom/Levshunov until Sunday night. I spent the first few years of my rebuild taking defencemen (Evan Bouchard / Adam Boqvist / Mikhail Sergachev). It can be a viable strategy if you get the right defencemen." In the end it sounds like he didn't want another, and to me it feels like the right call here.

4. Tij Iginla, picked by Fort Frances Muskies (Burgundy)

This feels like a very safe pick in fantasy, in part due to the name value on the trade market and that doesn't mean it's a low upside one either. Here's Fort Frances' thoughts: "I knew that I wanted to go winger with the fourth pick. I did see if first or second was available to trade up and snag Demidov but that was a no go. Figured Lindstrom would go at three, so my choice would come down to Iginla, Catton or Sennecke since I wasn’t going to go for defence. I was close to trading down but then I kind of let nostalgia lead me on because I loved Jarome Iginla and couldn’t pass up taking his kid. Good fit for my team and fun seeing an Iginla on my roster."

5. Zayne Parekh, picked by Fresno Firebirds (Pit Bulls)

The first defenceman goes off the board, and it's not the first one from the NHL draft. Fresno noted that he was: "targeting either Lindstrom or Iginla at 5, hoping one of the top-four would take a defenceman. That didn’t work out so then I was considering moving down, but in the end took the most dynamic defenceman in the draft as I need help in virtually all positions. I’m hoping Parekh can be the next Quinn Hughes". It's a great home run swing after the top few forwards are of the board.

6. Berkly Catton, picked by Sasky's Full Cups (finny's_fanatsy)

Catton was a top-four name on my draft board, and it sounds like he was for Sasky too. H noted: "I wasn’t expecting Catton to be there, so I was considering one of Parekh or Levshunov with my pick. With Catton available it was an easy call after Parekh was taken ahead of me, and Levshunov being tagged by some as more of an all-around defenceman".

7. Artyom Levshunov, picked by Maine Moose (GinFizz)

8. Zeev Buium, picked by Maine Moose (GinFizz)

Getting the #2 overall pick here is great value, regardless of position or anything else. Levshunov has upside everywhere, and could end up being the powerplay merchant on defence for a roster built around Connor Bedard. With the second of back-to-back picks, Maine nabbed my favourite defence prospect in Buium. He had the highest NHL equivalency markers in the draft, and his big issues is that he's "only" six-feet tall. Here's what Maine had to say on this pick: "It's no secret that the 2024-2025 season will be a rebuilding one for the Moose. I basically traded away every star player and will start all over from scratch. With four really good centres on my roster already, and with picks seven & eight, my plan was to build a very strong defence. This was a defence-heavy draft year so why not capitalize on that.

When it was my turn to pick, I was pretty shocked that Levshunov was still there. Had to grab the highest ranking defenceman on my board plus the player that has the very likely potential of running PP1 alongside Bedard. Love his shot, his two-way play style and his hockey IQ. Levshunov at 1-7, yeah I'll take that.

I expected to be drafting both Parekh and Buium when it was all said and done but Parekh went with the 5th overall, so it was a no brainer to select Zeev! Zeev is a hard-nosed, super skilled defenceman that will anchor the Moose for many years."

9. Beckett Sennecke, picked by South Carolina Stingrays (BlackhawksFan)

The third overall pick from the NHL draft then fell all the way to pick nine here. He was a slam dunk selection at this point, and one I did try to trade up from pick #12 to make here. South Carolina didn’t get me a blurb about his pick, but I know from the general chat that he was set on a defenceman. Unfortunately his targets were all taken, so he “had” to take the third overall pick Sennecke.

10. Konsta Helenius, picked by Sudbury Wolves (Butch)

Finland has had a wide range in outcomes with high picks between Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen becoming stars while Jesse Puljujarvi and Kaapo Kakko have not. Helenius seems to lean more towards the mould of the former, so I have some confidence this should turn out to be a good pick. Here's what Sudbury had to say: "Wolves management had their eye on prospects that would realistically be available in the 10th range with a side-dish of unexpected interest in Cole Eiserman due to being an Isles fan. I probably invested most of my time reading up on Konsta Helenius / watching his available Youtube clips more so than any other prospect that could be available at 10th. I like that he’s so involved with the play whether it's on offense or defense, very good at zone entrys and has a nice wrister and doesn't shy away from contact. He reminds me of Elias Lindholm who is one of my current favourite NHL’ers because of his ability to play a 200ft game while contributing offense."

11. Sam Dickinson, picked by Windsor Spitfires (Pengwin7)

Windsor has spent a few years stockpiling early picks, and many of those thus far have been used on forwards. I knew he was leaning towards a defenceman in this draft, and the Dickinson pick makes a lot of sense there. He told me that he would have really liked to get Buium but wasn't expecting him to fall to 11. Here's his thought on Dickinson: "I'm fine with the pick, he's the best defence prospect for the Sharks, so with Celebrini hopefully a lot of points there. Maybe even developing into someone like Bouchard someday [another London Knights product]".

12. Cole Eiserman, picked by Thornhill Rebels (Me!)

Yes, this was my pick. At some point previously I had picks eight and 10, but through a few trades I ended up with pick #12 instead. To me it came down to Cole Eiserman or Carter Yakemchuk, though I had expected Eiserman to be selected at #10 in place of Helenius, so that was the initial decision I was wrestling with. In the end, I decided with the forward over the raw defenceman – I had Eiserman one spot a head of Helenius on my draft list, so it wasn't too tough of a decision in the end. In this case Eiserman can go back to college, light it up with his scoring (maintaining his fantasy value) while working on some of the other facets of his game that caused him to drop a little in the NHL order.

There was one other player on my draft list who I did have ranked this high, but I thought he was a decent bet to slide to my next selection at 17^th overall.

The rest of our first round went:

13. Carter Yakemchuk

14. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

15. Anton Silayev

16. Trevor Connelly

17. Michael Hage

Hage was my second first rounder, and he was 11^th on my board at the start of the draft. I discussed moving up a few spots to ensure I got him, but I was pretty sure he would fall this far so I didn't end up paying the higher asking price that was presented. I feel like Hage has some similarities to Hendrix Lapierre in his draft year, where on skill and upside alone he should be a top-12 pick, but injuries delayed him on the runway, so we don't know how quickly he will rise or whether he will be able to catch that ultimate upside. Lapierre rebounded fast, and was one of the first of his class to make his NHL debut – I'm hoping for something similar from Hage.

18. Terik Parascak

19. Igor Chernyshov

20. Liam Greentree

21. Jett Luchanko

22. Matvei Gridin

23. Emil Hemming

24. Sacha Boisvert

Overall it seemed like everyone did their homework, as there were no reaches that left me scratching my head. When you have a high-quality group of GMs, it makes it more fun, and in some ways it also makes it more predictable as to which players are going to be left for your later picks.

*

See you next Wednesday, and if you want to keep up with it you can find me on Twitter/X here, or BlueSky here if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.