Ducks, Kings feeling a cool draft
Kings hoping a (Green)tree can grow in L.A., while the Ducks add to talent their stockpile
Beckett Sennecke was everyone who has ever been so completely and utterly surprised by a bit of news that suddenly up becomes down and down becomes up and your brain can’t make sense of what your ears have heard and your eyes have seen.
Ranked 13th among North American skaters for the NHL’a annual draft on the strength of second-half scoring surge with the Oshawa Generals, the 18-year-old Toronto native had settled in to wait Friday night when the first round began at the Las Vegas Sphere. As expected, the San Jose Sharks, picking first overall, called out the name of forward Macklin Celebrini, who excelled last season at Boston University and won the Hobey Baker award as the best player in college hockey. The Chicago Blackhawks, picking second, chose defenseman Artyom Levshunov from Belarus, via Michigan State. He’s projected to become poised and physical cornerstone-type defenseman for the rebuilding Blackhawks.
No surprises there.
But then the Ducks, represented on stage by Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer, shook things up by announcing Sennecke as their pick, No. 3 overall. Sennecke’s instinctive reaction reflected a pure and profound sense of shock, his comically stunned expression destined to become a meme and a reference for actors to copy when they try to portray being surprised.
“I had a couple meetings yesterday and today and Anaheim wasn't one of them," Sennecke said Friday during the ESPN draft telecast. "I didn't think it was a possibility, but obviously I'm super happy."
Sennecke scored 27 goals and 68 points in 63 games in the Ontario Hockey League last season. Continuing a late scoring spurt, he led all draft-eligible players in goals and points in the OHL playoffs, with 10 goals and 22 points in 16 postseason games.
He’s a nice piece for the Ducks to add to a sizeable collection of young players as the team tries to return to respectability. The Ducks have missed the playoffs each of the last six seasons and were swept by San Jose in their last postseason appearance, in 2018. They had the NHL’s third-worst record last season, behind bottom-feeding San Jose and Chicago. It’s time for them to accelerate their upward climb, and they have a deep pool of kids to help them get there.
Sennecke likely won’t have an immediate impact on their fortunes, but no one should be surprised if he steps into a big role in a few years.
“Beckett is an impact player, that plays with high-end skill and intelligence, and has the potential to be a dynamic player,” general manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement released by the team.
“He plays with purpose, drives to the net, has incredible hands and vision. in our many viewings, his drive to be successful was evident. He will fit in well with our current group, of elite young players already in the NHL, and support our goal to build a perennial contender.”
The Ducks, scheduled to also pick 31st in the first round, traded that pick (and a second-rounder) to Toronto to move up to 23rd. They used that pick to select 6-foot-2 Norwegian defenseman Stian Solberg, who has a reputation as a hard hitter and fierce defender around his net. That sound you hear is Ducks goaltenders applauding the notion of having someone who will clear bodies out of their crease. He’s likely to continue his development by playing in Sweden next season.
Earlier Friday, the Kings had traded their pick (No. 21) to Montreal for the 26th, 57th, and 198th overall picks. It was a moderate gamble but it was worked out for them, netting them a promising power forward and a couple of extra draft picks to help them replenish their farm system.
They didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022 (dealt to Minnesota in the Kevin Fiala trade) or in 2023 (traded to Columbus with Jonathan Quick in the deal that brought them defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo). Quick wasn’t a Blue Jacket long enough to earn an invitation to the alumni golf tournament; he was soon flipped to Vegas, where he earned a third Stanley Cup championship. Korpisalo left the Kings via free agency last summer. But that’s another topic for another time).
The Kings used their first-round pick Friday to select Liam Greentree, whom their scouting staff had ranked 21st, according to team insider Zach Dooley. Greentree was the captain of the OHL Windsor Spitfires last season and compiled career-best totals in goals (36), assists (54) and points (90). He was ranked 14th among North American forwards.
“I think I’m a power forward, drive the net and win battles, and I think I have a little bit of finesse to my game, as well,”: he told Dooley. “I can stickhandle in tight areas and I think I have a really good shot that can be deployed.”
The draft will continue in Las Vegas on Saturday, with rounds two through seven.
Per the NHL, 19 Canadian-born players were drafted in the first round, tied for the most over the past 36 years and two short of the record. Also drafted were four Russians, three Americans, two Norwegians, two Finns, one player from Czechia, and one from Belarus. The first American selected was University of Denver defenseman Zeev Buium, a San Diego native who was chosen 12th, by Minnesota.
Also of note: the Utah Hockey Club (which moved from Arizona on such short notice that it had no time to come up with a more compelling name) made its first draft pick. Selecting sixth, Utah chose Tij Iginla, son of Hall of Fame forward Jarome Iginla. The kid has bragging rights over his father, who was drafted 11th by Dallas in 1995.
Unless you have the time to make deep dives into scouting websites and services, it’s difficult for most fans to evaluate the NHL draft beyond the first few elite players. Because the kids are so young (18) and many are still growing, it can be difficult to project what a kid will look like in a year or two. It’s easy to watch future NFL and NBA players competing in college, but it’s not as easy to closely follow junior or college hockey. Despite all the analytics, there’s still a lot of hope involved in the process, and that’s what makes it so much fun to debate and to watch.
Finally, a personal note: I’d like to thank the Association for Women in Sports Media for awarding me its Mary Garber Pioneer Award for 2024. When I began my sportswriting career back in the Stone Age, there were so few women in the business that we all knew each other and we traded information on which clubhouses, locker rooms, players and managers were hostile to female reporters and which were allies. AWSM has done some wonderful work mentoring and guiding young reporters. It’s an honor I’ll cherish.
Congratulations on your award! It’s a privilege to have you in Los Angeles. You took a gamble coming to a market that at the time had about 12,000 fans that knew what hockey was. You have been a big part in helping it grow to what it is today.