The Big 6 Defensemen in the 2024 NHL Draft

It's no secret that we are witnessing a stacked defensive class despite it being a weaker draft year.
However, 6 in particular stand out to me. Here are the timeslots for each.
Artyom Levshunov 1:00
Anton Silayev 3:11
Carter Yakemchuk 5:37
Sam Dickinson 7:13
Zayne Parekh 8:55
Zeev Buium 10:46
RANK THESE DEFENSEMEN IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! I love seeing the general public's feeling on each of these special defensemen.
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Music: Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest (instrumental)

[@slipperynodd578]

And the Sens reach for the 6th best one as the 2nd off the board 😂

[@karmavores]

Parekh Buium Levshunov Yakemchuk Dickinson Silayev *based on fantasy hockey potential in a points only league

[@jasdosanjh7211]

I think the Canadiens at 5 really need to consider Zayne Parekh at 5. The kid is going to be special. However I think they will take Iginla or Lindstrom if he falls to 5.

[@AnaheimRob]

With the Ducks picking third and more than likely picking a Defenseman, if Silayev didn't have two years left on his Russian contract I would want them to pick him The Ducks have plenty of offensive minded D prospects and need a shut down guy. Silayev fits that bill perfectly. With that I feel Anaheim will pick Levshunov. They also need another top line RD after losing Drysdale in the Gauthier trade and Levshunov would be a very good replacement!

[@CouldntBeFowler]

I like your thoughts here but I’d like to suggest that the Ducks already have their top 3 (protectable in the coming expansion draft) defenders as they are very high on Luneau (RD). If they decide to pick up Pesce or Hronek they will be stacked on D on both sides and would be better suited by drafting a forward (in particular a RW) In an expansion draft a team could protect 7 Forwards. That means they would be able to protect Gauthier, Carlsson, Terry, Zegras, Mctavish, Sidorov and one more high end, young offensive talent. That would leave only aging contracts for the expansion draft to swoop in on. With this likely being the last pick this high for this era, it is important to make sure it is an asset you can protect and an investment you can make good on.

[@agenterf]

Silayev is garbage I’m a ducks fan and NO THANKS

[@AnaheimRob]

@@agenterf How is he garbage? Have you watched any vids of him playing. There aren't tons out there but enough to see what he can do. He hits hard and stops plays in his zone and what most are saying about his skating is accurate. He is a good skater.

[@agenterf]

@@AnaheimRob Bad passer, bad situational awareness, very bad with puck control as well. Also a lefty. His game isn’t translatable at all to the NHL. PV won’t pick that bust.

[@AnaheimRob]

@@agenterf His passing will improve and I think his awareness is pretty good considering his age and professional experience...that said he is a lefty. The Ducks are stacked with quality, young LD's but they don't have a huge, hard hitting shut down guy like Silayev. I doubt they pick him but I wouldn't be upset at all if they did. That would open the door to the Ducks solidifying their pure defensive needs and having a guy that would be perfect on the PK. If that happened the Ducks could unload some of their D prospects for a solid RW.LW. More than likely the Ducks end up picking Levshunov which would be just fine since his overall skillset is very good and his ceiling is up there. If Chicago takes him, even though Demidov isn't the size Verbeek likes, Anaheim may pick him due to his potentially elite offense. The Ducks are going to improve no matter who they pick. This draft isn't as deep as last year but there is a ton of exceptional talent in the top twelve or so picks.

[@jasdosanjh7211]

My order for these 6 1. Parekh 2. Levshunov 3. Buium 4. Dickinson 5. Silayev 6. Yakemchuk

[@Mralanyrx]

2018 produced Dahlin, Hughes,Bouchard and Dobson, I say pretty good lol

[@BaneOfV]

Its really going to be amazing to watch this draft play out. These 6 D are unbelievable. I think it goes Lev, Dickinson, Buium, Parekh, Silayev, Yakemchuk. But tbh silayev yakemchuk is a 50/50.

[@MTLGSE]

Silayev, Dickinson and Buium are the three I feel have the most complete games. Parekh though has the best offense Ive seen since Hughes. Levshunov has great tools but I don't find he has the refined game of the first three, he'll have a lot of development to do, but he probably has the most upside. Yakemchuk is very fun to watch, very tough, but my issues are his athleticism, defensive IQ and skating agility.

[@YoungMatt81]

Only thing im confused by is slapping down the Silayev/Chara comparisons but okaying the Silayev/Hedman comparisons. Hedman has been way more productive and dominant, chara was dominant defensively who developed a strong offensive game. To me, that defensively dominant chara is far more comparable, but i doubt silayev ever achieves those types of offensive numbers. For me, i think its: 1. Buium 2. Levshunov 3. Dickinson 4. Parekh 5. Yakemchuk 6. Silayev

[@Newwavehockey]

I personally wanted to highlight the offensive upside that I see with Silayev in my comparison for him. Love how you ranked your defensemen here!

[@agenterf]

This is correct, Silayev isn’t that guy

[@lukeheintzman]

I'd say Parerks wirst shot is better than his slapper, but I agree with the rest.

[@agenterf]

1. Levshunov 2. Buium 3. Parekh 4. Dickinson 5. Yakemchuck 6. Silayev

[@genericchannel5899]

As a Wild fan, I hope you're right about Buium. He looks amazing!

[@Newwavehockey]

@@genericchannel5899 I am a flyers fan (I try to be unbiased) you guys ripped my heart out, I love Buium so much he’s gonna be a great Pair with Brock Faber

[@genericchannel5899]

@@Newwavehockey ​@Newwavehockey I'm still trying to figure out how that went down. I assumed Philly wanted a C, so they picked up the free 3rd rounder to move down. Makes sense, right? But then they skipped two far better Centers to reach for the Jett. They could have had him in the 2nd round!

[@Newwavehockey]

@@genericchannel5899 I guess that was briere’s guy and there were a couple of lists that had Jett in the top 20

[@genericchannel5899]

@@Newwavehockey Well, I hope he works out for you. Atm it feels like those three Bruins first rounders a few years back, when they went way off the board instead of taking some obvious studs.

[@draftlegend11]

It’s so hard to rank there D man there no clear 1 or clear 6 it’s just what traits u prefer

[@BaneOfV]

They all have top 4 floors imo. So its very very very hard to determine the order they will be picked. Especially when who chicago drafts practically is what determines the outcome, not the value of the D. If chicago takes Lev, i think it leads to anaheim taking Dickinson, montreal taking buium, if not utah, parekh to utah/ottawa, yakemchuk to ottawa/seattle, silayev to whoever takes the steal russian who fell. If chicago takes demi. Ana takes Lev, montreal/utah take Dickinson, utah/ottawa parekh, ottawa/seattle take buium, seattle/calgary take yakemchuk and silayev is just always a russiam dropper 😂

[@yockshocks6234]

The cuse 😎

[@LucaC27]

1. Levshunov 2. Buium 3. Dickinson (Go Knights) 4. Silayev 5. Yakemchuk 6. Parekh

[@billbaker3357]

For me it goes (in 3 tiers): 1. Buium - I think he's the best of this group. 2. Dickinson - Best all around defender in the draft. He has no real issues compared to the others but might not have the same ceiling. 3. Silayev - I think he will be the best defender of the group, but will lack the offense compared to others. Perfect for a team that already has a primary offensive defenseman. 4. Parekh - all offense, no defense. He'd need the right coaches to fix his issues. Of the group, he's the biggest risk. 5. Levshunov - My hot-take, but I think he's overrated (still good). A lot have him at 2OA but I'd take Buium, Dickinson, or Silayev over him. 6. Yakemchuk - Im not a fan. Yes he hits hard, but there are so many other issues to me. That said, I'm not a fan of Troubaesq guys.

[@Br27rb]

I think if you draft lev over buium you are only drafting him bc he is right handed. Both late 05s in ncaa and buium was better offensively and arguably better defensively ( defence is much more opinion based). Buium is listed at 6’2 as well so you aren’t giving up height assuming that is true. Baffles me so few have buium above lev when you can compare them at same level and one guy was quite a bit more successful. Still think lev is great player just higher on zeev

[@Newwavehockey]

I do agree! Zeev is the better overall player but not by much. Arty is an excellent defenseman and is definitely better defensively. It’s easy to love Zeev because he makes all the flashy moves and harder to love levshunov because he gives the unforgiving tough defensive effort so coveted at the next level. I think you can’t go wrong with either player but I think Zeev just offers a little bit more offensively that teams will definitely love and appreciate. So yeah. Both guys are studs.

[@Br27rb]

@@Newwavehockey very fair. Hate to make it seem like I don’t like lev I think he will be a legit #1, I just think buium will be a top 10 even top 5 dman one day but not many giving him that credit. Great video btw!