The 2024 NHL Draft has come to an end. It wasn't the strongest for New England.
Five locals were picked, along with many more who have ties to the region. It's an improvement over last season when only four players (Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Sean Keohane and Matt Copponi) were taken.
This year's headlining player was Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.), who went 20th overall to the New York Islanders. He fell from being a potential No. 1 pick last fall, but he still was picked in the top 20.
There was a lot more action on Day 2 for the region, with four more going — one in the second round, one in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh.
It's no surprise that Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) went in the second round. The Belmont Hill product was taken 55th overall by the Nashville Predators.
The next local off the board was Elliott Groenewold (Bellows Falls, Vt.). The coolest part: the Boston Bruins were the ones to take him, trading up to get him at No. 110.
Ben Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) went a bit later than anticipated, being plucked off the board in the sixth round (No. 166) by the Montreal Canadiens. Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.) followed shortly after, being taken in the seventh round (No. 195) by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
No prep players from outside of New England were taken in this year's draft.
Here's a full list of the locals taken, along with players with ties to the region.
Locals taken
- Round 1, Pick 20: Cole Eiserman | New York Islanders | Newburyport, Mass. | Boston University commit
- Round 2, Pick 55: Teddy Stiga | Nashville Predators | Sudbury, Mass. | Boston College
- Round 4, Pick 110: Elliott Groenewold | Boston Bruins | Bellows Falls, Vt. | Quinnipiac commit
- Round 6, Pick 166: Ben Merrill | Montreal Canadiens | Hingham, Mass. | Harvard commit
- Round 7, Pick 195: Joe Connor | Tampa Bay Lightning | Amherst, N.H. | Northeastern commit
Players with local connections taken
- Round 1, Pick 1: Macklin Celebrini | San Jose Sharks | Boston University
- Round 1, Pick 6: Tij Iginla | Utah Hockey Club | Boston Jr. Eagles
- Round 1, Pick 18: Sacha Boisvert | Chicago Blackhawks | Mount St. Charles
- Round 1, Pick 19: Trevor Connelly | Vegas Golden Knights | Providence College commit
- Round 2, Pick 43: Cole Hutson | Washington Capitals | Boston University commit
- Round 2, Pick 49: Mikhail Yegorov | New Jersey Devils | Boston University commit
- Round 2, Pick 61: Kamil Bednarik | New York Islanders | Boston University commit
- Round 2, Pick 65: Will Skahan | Utah Hockey Club | Boston College commit
- Round 3, Pick 67: John Mustard | Chicago Blackhawks | Providence College commit
- Round 3, Pick 78: Logan Sawyer | Montreal Canadiens | Providence College commit
- Round 3, Pick 92: Jack Pridham | Chicago Blackhawks | Boston University commit
- Round 4, Pick 116: Christian Kirsch | San Jose Sharks | UMass commit
- Round 4, Pick 117: Blake Montgomery | Ottawa Senators | Seacoast Performance Academy | Mount St. Charles
- Round 6, Pick 179: Xavier Veilleux | New York Islanders | Harvard commit
- Round 6, Pick 185: Tory Pitner | Colorado Avalanche | South Kent
