Final Mock Draft Roundup: Experts Have the Ducks Selecting a Defenseman at 3

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The 2024 NHL Draft will begin on Friday at 4 pm PST and the dreams of 32 young men will be realized before the night is over.

For months, or even years in some cases, NHL media draft experts have done countless hours of research on each draft-eligible prospect, spoken to sources, and concocted mock drafts based on their findings and sense of the landscape.

The Anaheim Ducks hold the third overall selection in this year's draft and most high-profile outlets have them leaning toward drafting one of the class' three top defensemen.

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The Ducks are notoriously tight-lipped about leaking information and keep their cards close to their chest. Every rumbling to come out of the Ducks' camp is a mere whisper.

Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek doesn't let much slip, and that's the way he prefers to operate.

Speculation about the Ducks leaning toward a defenseman comes primarily from evaluating their core of U23 forwards already playing meaningful roles in the NHL. Trevor Zegras (23), Mason McTavish (21), Cutter Gauthier (20), and Leo Carlsson (19) are seemingly intended to be the Ducks' present and future at the forward position. This has led experts to suggest they will pass on adding to that area of their roster and focus on the blueline.

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Here are the three names mocked to go to Anaheim early on Friday afternoon at the NHL Draft by the most high-profile outlets:

Anton Silayev

Corey Pronman (The Athletic), Scott Wheeler (The Athletic), Chris Peters (FloHockey), Steven Ellis (Daily Faceoff), Rachel Dorrie (ESPN), Adam Kimelman (NHL.com), and Mike G. Morreale (NHL.com) all mocked 6-foot-7 left-shot defenseman from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL to be the Ducks selection at third overall.

The most interesting piece of information tying Silayev to the Ducks comes from Pronman's final mock, when he stated, "I don’t think Verbeek would love the idea of taking a Russian at No. 3, but he has a strong relationship with Silayev’s coach Igor Larionov, who told The Athletic he’s talked to Verbeek quite a bit during the season about Silayev."

Verbeek played with Larionov during his time with the Red Wings in 1999-00 and 2000-01. One can assume they've kept in contact through the years.

One of the biggest risks in taking a player signed to a KHL contract is the NHL club's lack of influence over that player's development. Verbeek could remain in contact with Larionov over Silayev's progress and be allowed to make suggestions.

Anaheim Ducks 2024 Draft Target: Anton Silayev

Silayev scored 11 points in 63 KHL regular season games before adding two assists in five playoff games. Shortly after, he was sent to the MHL to play for Torpedo's junior team's playoff games, where he added three assists in ten playoff games.

While to this point, Silayev has offensive limitations, his defensive game is as polished as they come for a defenseman who recently turned 18 years old. He is an incredibly mobile and agile skater, especially for a defenseman with a 6-foot-7 frame.

He gaps well, forces attackers away from the middle, and seals them at the offensive blue like a ten-year NHL veteran. His reach allows him to be disruptive and his speed allows him to win races to loose pucks and retrievals.

The Ducks have plenty of offense from their blueline in young players like Pavel Mintyukov (20), Olen Zellweger (20), and Tristan Luneau (20). They could use a player to pair with one of them and become potentially one of the top defensive pairs in the NHL. They could truly elevate each other to the point of maximizing their potential.

Artyom Levshunov

Tony Ferrari (The Hockey News), Sam Cosentino (Sportsnet), and Jason Bukala (Sportsnet) have all predicted the Blackhawks will select forward Ivan Demidov at second-overall, leaving the Ducks to select right-shot defenseman Artyom Levshunov.

According to the consensus from public scouts, Levshunov is the 2024 draft's top defenseman. Most outlets have mocked him as the Blackhawks selection with their second-overall pick.

Levshunov has come a long way in his progression during the last two years. In 2021-22, he was playing in the Belarusian U18 junior league. 2022-23 saw him transition to the USHL and play with the Green Bay Gamblers, where he scored 42 points in 62 games. In 2023-24, he made another huge transition and played in the NCAA for Michigan State University, where he finished ninth in the country among defensemen in scoring with 35 points in 38 games.

Levshunov has an unorthodox stride that he uses to effortlessly cover a lot of ice. At times he will passively allow his defensive partner to retrieve loose pucks he can easily get to and he can display lackadaisical defensive tendencies, but his offensive capabilities are undeniable.

Anaheim Ducks 2024 Draft Target: Artyom Levshunov

He will always err on the side of offense, activating seamlessly and effectively. He reads the ice well on or off the puck and diagnoses a defense with great acumen.

Though he's a right-shot, there doesn't seem to be a perfect fit with one of the Ducks' young blueliners. His style could be seen as a redundancy, but if he were to be paired with Zellweger or Mintyukov, they could become a nightmare defensive pairing for opponents from an offensive perspective.

Zeev Buium

Craig Button (TSN), Jeff Marek (Sportsnet), and Elite Prospects have predicted the Ducks will select Southern California native defenseman and Denver University standout Zeev Buium.

Marek had the most interesting note on Buium to Anaheim claiming, "Based on my conversations, it is my belief that Chicago will take Levshunov second, Anaheim will take Zeev Buium third.”

Buium is one of the more dynamic defensemen in the 2024 NHL draft. He was a key piece to Denver's NCAA National Championship run and led all college defensemen in scoring with 50 points in 42 games.

Dark Horse Anaheim Ducks Draft Target: Southern California Native, Zeev Buium

He is remarkably shifty whether from a standstill, skating the puck up ice, or dancing on the offensive blue line. He is clever on breakouts and times his activations perfectly.

He has a solid understanding of fundamental defensive principles and because of that, he may have the best chance of any defenseman in the draft to become a team's true number-one option on the blue line.

Buium is from San Diego and his family moved to Laguna Niguel when he was young. He played youth hockey for both the Junior Kings and Junior Ducks. The Hollywood/Disney script is practically writing itself.

31st Overall Pick 

The Ducks also hold the 31st pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers along with a conditional 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick.

Nearly every outlet has the Ducks selecting a different player with the 31st pick. Forward Sam O'Reilly and forward Andrew Basha were the only players mocked by the Ducks by more than one outlet.

There's always a possibility the Ducks move up or down from that pick as well. The common theme is that Pat Verbeek doesn't show his hand, especially this late in the game.

The Ducks third overall pick is the first true inflection point of the draft and it's looking more and more like that's where the draft truly starts. That pick will have a ripple effect felt through the rest of the first round and beyond.

The Ducks hold two first-round picks, two second-round picks, three third-round picks, a fourth-round pick, and a sixth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas, NV and it's sure to have some twists and turns.

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