S5: John Williams, NHL Central Scouting; WHL draft prospect analysis

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.