NHL Draft Class

National Hockey League

Adam Kimelman and Mike Morreale of @nhldotcom are your go-to resources on the NHL Draft. From ranking top prospects and dissecting team needs to chatting with scouts and executives and conducting mock drafts, NHL Draft Class provides comprehensive and exclusive coverage of the NHL Draft that can’t be found anywhere else.

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152 episodes
Updated June 30

Episodes152

Newest first

Jun 18, 2024 · 24 min
S6: Janne Vuorinen, NHL Central Scouting; Top International prospects
Janne Vuorinen, chief European scout for NHL Central Scouting, joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top International prospects for the 2024 draft, including Nizhny Novgorod defenseman Anton Silayev and SKA St. Petersburg forward Ivan Demidov, each of whom could be selected in the top five. There's also talk about Vaxjo defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius, who could be the only Sweden-born player selected in the first round, and two Norway-born players who could go before him, Mora forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Valerenga defenseman Stian Solberg.
Jun 13, 2024 · 24 min
S6: Nick Smith, NHL Central Scouting; Top OHL prospects
Nick Smith of NHL Central Scouting joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top 2024 draft prospects from the Ontario Hockey League, among them Saginaw defenseman Zayne Parekh, Oshawa forward Beckett Sennecke, and defenseman Sam Dickinson and forward Sam O'Reilly of London.
Jun 6, 2024 · 41 min
S6: NHL Scouting Combine - PART II: Cayden Lindstrom, Zeev Buium & Cole Eiserman
Adam Kimelman and Mike Morreale sit down with top prospects Cayden Lindstrom (2:10), Zeev Buium (13:22) and Cole Eiserman (25:37). The guys get to know each prospect and discuss what makes each player special and highly rated prospects headed into this year's NHL Draft. Plus, find out where they project each guy goes as they reiterate their mock drafts.
Jun 5, 2024 · 49 min
S6: NHL Scouting Combine - PART I: Macklin Celebrini & Chris Morehouse
NHL Draft Class is at the 2024 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo. Macklin Celebrini, expected to be the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, joined the show (4:55) to discuss his season, how his meetings with the San Jose Sharks have gone and what will go into his decision to turn pro or return to college for another season. Co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale also are joined by Sharks director of amateur scouting Chris Morehouse (21:36), who talked about Celebrini, options with the No. 14 pick in the first round, how they are approaching the draft as a whole and more.
May 29, 2024 · 45 min
S6: David Gregory, NHL Central Scouting & Jason Bukala, Sportsnet; NHL Scouting Combine preview
NHL Draft Class previews the upcoming NHL Scouting Combine with David Gregory of NHL Central Scouting, who shares his behind-the-scenes insight in how the Combine has grown, and his opinion on several top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft. Sportsnet draft expert Jason Bukala also is on the show to talk Combine, a potential Memorial Cup bump for a couple top draft prospects, a possible landing spot for U.S. NTDP forward Cole Eiserman and much more.
May 21, 2024 · 29 min
S6: John Williams, NHL Central Scouting; WHL top prospects
John Williams of NHL Central Scouting joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top 2024 draft prospects from the Western Hockey League, among them Medicine Hat forward Cayden Lindstrom, and what Hockey Hall of Fame member Lindstrom reminds him of. Williams also touches on forwards Berkly Catton of Spokane and Tij Iginla of Kelowna, Calgary defenseman Carter Yakemchuk and more. Plus the hosts touch on the order of selection being set for the first 28 picks of the first round of the draft.
May 14, 2024 · 26 min
S6: Pat Cullen, NHL Central Scouting; Top USHL/NTDP prospects
Pat Cullen of NHL Central Scouting joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top 2024 draft prospects from the United States Hockey League and USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, among them NTDP forward Cole Eiserman and defenseman Cole Hutson, Muskegon forwards Sasha Boisvert and Matvei Gridin, plus Pat's memories of watching projected No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini during his USHL time.
May 8, 2024 · 38 min
S6: Mock Draft 1.0; NHL Draft Lottery
With the San Jose Sharks winning the NHL Draft Lottery and the No. 1 pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, NHL Draft Class hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale go over their first mock draft, for the 16 teams in the lottery. They discuss the impact Macklin Celebrini is expected to have in San Jose, what the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks could do with the No. 2 and No. 3 pick respectively, and how the rest of the top half of the first round of the draft could shake out.
May 3, 2024 · 26 min
S6: J-F Damphousse, NHL Central Scouting; Top QMJHL prospects
J-F Damphousse of NHL Central Scouting joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top 2024 draft prospects from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, among them Chicoutimi right wing Maxim Masse, Rimouski defenseman Spencer Gill and Saint John left wing Eriks Mateiko. Adam and Mike also discuss the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, to be held May 7.
Apr 26, 2024 · 28 min
S6: Al Jensen, NHL Central Scouting: Top goalie prospects
Al Jensen, the goalie guru of NHL Central Scouting, joins the podcast to discuss the top goalies available, including Mikhail Yegorov of Omaha of the USHL and what pushed him up to No. 1 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American goalies, Carter George from Owen Sound of the OHL, Lukas Matecha of Tri-City in the WHL and many more.
Apr 17, 2024 · 33 min
S6: Dan Marr, VP, NHL Central Scouting; Final Rankings
VP of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr joins co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss Central Scouting's final rankings of the top North American and International skaters and goalies for the 2024 draft. Among the topics are how long it took to determine Macklin Celebrini would be No. 1, how Central parsed the top available defensemen, why Anton Silayev ended up at No. 1 on the International skater list and so much more.
Mar 1, 2024 · 30 min
S6: Jason Bukala, Sportsnet scouting analyst; NHL.com's Top 32
Sportsnet scouting analyst Jason Bukala joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss some of the top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft. Bukala shares his NHL comparisons for consensus No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini, discusses why he has forward Ivan Demidov of SKA St. Petersburg's junior team No. 2 on his top 40 ranking, what NHL player NTDP star forward Cole Eiserman reminds him of, and much more. There's also some discussion around the NHL.com Top 32 ranking, including why Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov is No. 2.
Jan 23, 2024 · 18 min
S6: Tij Iginla, Kelowna Rockets forward; CHL Top Prospects Game
NHL Draft Class is on the road in Moncton, New Brunswick for the CHL Top Prospects Game. Hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale talked to Tij Iginla, the No. 11 prospect on NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings and son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, about his season, crafting his own identity out of the spotlight of his father and the other sport he considered playing.
Jan 16, 2024 · 29 min
S6: Dan Marr, VP, NHL Central Scouting; Midterm Rankings
NHL Central Scouting vice president Dan Marr joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to discuss Central Scouting's midterm rankings of the top North American and International skaters. Dan goes in-depth on the NHL readiness of the No, 1 player, Boston University freshman forward Macklin Celebrini, the placement of NTDP star forward Cole Eiserman, and the top defensemen available, topped by Artyom Levshunov of Michigan State. Adam and Mike also discuss the USA Hockey All-American Game played Monday, which included Eiserman and top 2025 draft prospect James Hagens.
Dec 19, 2023 · 31 min
S6: Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff; 2024 World Junior Championship preview
Steven Ellis, associate editor and prospect analyst for Daily Faceoff, joins hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale for an in-depth preview of the 2024 World Junior Championship, with a special focus on top 2024 NHL Draft prospects Macklin Celebrini of Canada, Zeev Buium of the United States, Konsta Helenius of Finland and more. There's also some talk about The Sphere in Las Vegas, the expected host of the 2024 draft.
Nov 1, 2023 · 23 min
S6: Player to Watch List; Top prospect Artyom Levshunov joins
NHL.com's Adam Kimelman and Mike Morreale kick off the sixth season of NHL Draft Class by discussing the release of NHL Central Scouting's preliminary players to watch list, including Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini and USA Hockey National Team Development Program forward Cole Eiserman. They're also joined by one of the top defenseman prospects in the 2024 NHL Draft, Artyom Levshunov of Michigan State University.
Jul 12, 2023 · 48 min
S5: Craig Button, TSN scouting director; Draft recap & analysis
Craig Button, TSN scouting director, joins co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to close the books on the 2023 NHL Draft, with his thoughts on the future potential of Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson, among others. Button also gives a preview of some of the top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft
Jun 29, 2023 · 29 min
S5: First Round Recap: Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson & Adam Fantilli
Adam and Mike recap the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft and discuss their favorite moments, biggest surprises and best stories of a memorable night in Nashville. They are joined by Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli. The guys wrap the episode talking about the facts and figures of the first round and what teams stood out to them with the selections made.
Jun 23, 2023 · 34 min
S5: Sam Cosentino, Sportsnet and NHL Network; 2023 NHL Draft Preview
Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet and NHL Network joins co-hosts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to preview the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, including what the Anaheim Ducks could do at No. 2, where Russia-born forward Matvei Michkov could go, how many defensemen are selected within the top 20 picks and much more.
Jun 21, 2023 · 28 min
S5: John Williams, NHL Central Scouting; WHL draft prospect analysis
Connor Bedard is one of many top prospects from the Western Hockey League available for the 2023 NHL Draft, and John Williams from NHL Central Scouting joins NHL Draft Class to provide his expert opinion on several of them. In addition to Bedard, he covers Kelowna forward Andrew Cristall, Vancouver forward Samuel Honzek, Tri-City defenseman Lukas Dragicevic and many more.