The 2024 NHL Draft will be held in June at a location to be determined. NHL.com will take a closer look at some draft-eligible players to watch.
Cranbury, Pennsylvania— Sacha Boisvert saw a potential future in the NHL early in the season.
The 17-year-old center for Muskegon of the United States Hockey League participated in the USHL Fall Classic, which was held Sept. 20-25 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Center, the training facility of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
This coincides with the start of Penguins training camp, which opens on September 21st. Boisvert, a Grade A skater on NHL Central Scouting’s 2024 NHL Draft preliminary watch list, spent some time watching Penguins captain Sidney Crosby play before Sept. 23 day game.
“I’m taping my stick,” Boisvert said. “I walked over and looked at it a little bit, looked at Crosby and tried to get some cues from it. He’s a center who’s good at draw plays and focusing on draws and things like that. It was fun.”
But Boisvert considers his favorite player to be Evgeni Malkin, Crosby’s center partner for the past 18 seasons.
Boisvert, who was born in Trois-Rivières, Que., has a photo of him as a youngster with Malkin, who ranks second among Russian-born players in NHL history with 1,240 points (476 goals, 764 assists). Second in scoring behind Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (1,493 points; 824 goals, 669 assists).
Boisvert (6-foot-2, 174 pounds) has a similar frame to Malkin (6-foot-3, 195 pounds), which Muskegon coach Parker Burgess said can be good applied to the NHL.
“Obviously, he’s a big, strong center fielder with a great bat,” Burgess said. “He has a power element to his game where he’s able to get the puck into the net and likes to get into hard areas of the ice, like the middle of the ice, and try to get shots in a lot of different areas.
“When he’s confident, he can be one of the most dominant players I’ve ever had the privilege to coach. He has the ability to take over games.”
Another fitting comparison for Burgess is center Anze Kopitar, who had 1,151 points (398 goals, 753 assists) in 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. He is only 4 points away from Luc Robitaille who is second in team history, second only to Marcel Dion (1,307 points). The Kings captain is also five shy of Dieng’s record of 757 assists.
“He can score, he can check, he can defend, he’s a leader,” Burgess said. “How many 17-year-olds wear letters and have this level of leadership? So I think a guy like Kopitar, who has a very strong 200-foot game, is super competitive and has a strong The ability to predict.”
Boisvert’s size continues to pay off early in his second season with Muskegon. After scoring 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 57 games last season, he scored 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) on 37 shots in 12 games.
There is still work to be done. Burgess hopes he understands that, as center, he doesn’t have to do it all himself.
“I think when you’re a 16-year-old young player, it’s a difficult transition to make that transition,” Burgess said. “So just getting better at faceoffs and finding different ways to win draws or draws. And then, just his 200-foot game, he got better at it.
“I know that’s an area of focus that we’re going to continue to work with him on, just making sure his D-zone coverage is clean and he knows his routes and his responsibilities in the D-zone and continues to use his teammates.”
Boisvert could further develop at the University of North Dakota, potentially becoming the first Quebec-born player to commit to the program.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the United States, it’s always been a dream of mine,” Boisvert said. “When I had the opportunity to go there, I took it without hesitation.”
Looking ahead to the draft, Boisvert is excited, but not overwhelmed.
“Ever since I was a kid, it’s been my dream to make the NHL,” Boisvert said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a big step, but I’m not going to overthink it. If I just play the game and play the right way, everything will come.”
Prospects on the radar (in alphabetical order)
Ivan Demidov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg (Russia): A dynamic puck mover who was briefly compared to Matvei Michkov earlier this season, who was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Demidov (5-11, 181 points) is scoreless in four games in the Kontinental Hockey League with SKA St. Petersburg. He injured his knee in October and is expected to be out until January. He can play wing or center and is a good skater who can operate in tough areas of the ice.
Artyom Levshunov, Ph.D., Michigan State University (NCAA): The Belarus-born right-hander (6-2, 208) had seven points (three goals, four assists) and a +9 rating in eight games as a freshman. The 18-year-old is part of a top-tier defensive unit and has earned significant minutes in key situations. The third-youngest player in NCAA Division I men’s hockey this season, he scored 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists) in 62 games with USHL Green Bay last season and was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Cayden Lindstrom, center, Medicine Hat (WHL): The left-handed shooter (6-3, 210 points) is tied for ninth in the Western Hockey League with 22 points (13 goals, nine assists) and tied for third with six power-play goals in 15 games. two. The 17-year-old has a winning percentage of 55.6% in faceoffs (148 of 266 games played).
“He’s a big, strong player who can skate and has good hands,” said John Williams of NHL Central Scouting. “He’s improved a lot in the last year or so and could be Be the first player drafted by the WHL in June.”
NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report