NHL Draft Odds: Who Will Chicago Pick At Second Overall?

For the first time in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks will make the first overall pick at an NHL draft. That pick will be used on Boston University's Macklin Celebrini.

Everyone is sure Celebrini goes No. 1, including sportsbooks. You can't get odds on who San Jose picks first overall. It's a lock! But after that, it's pure chaos. 

Who Will Be Drafted Second Overall At The 2024 NHL Draft?

The odds are that Artyom Levshunov will go second overall. The Chicago Blackhawks have met with the Belorussian defenseman playing for Michigan State and even took him out to dinner. That shows a lot of intent from the Blackhawks.

Odds as of June 28

There's a lot to like in Levshunov's game but his skating is his main asset. And in today's game, a mobile blueline is an effective one. Adding Levshunov's transitional abilities to the elite offensive talents of last year's first-overall pick Connor Bedard is every GM's dream.

But it's hard to pass up an offensive talent like Ivan Demidov. The left-shot forward scored two points per game in the Russian version of the AHL, which is up from the 1.5 last year (as a 16-year-old).

Can we interest you in some Ivan Demidov highlights? pic.twitter.com/d8R4hm52ab

— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) May 7, 2024

Adding that type of talent to Bedard's wing could be deadly. Remember, Bedard is a righty so the two would have that lefty-righty synergy from day one.

Chicago could go either way, which is throwing oddsmakers for a loop with the third overall market as you'll see below.

Who Will Be Drafted Third Overall At The 2024 NHL Draft?

Odds as of June 28

You might be initially confused when you look at the board for the third overall pick. With Levshunov such an overwhelming favorite to go at no.2 Demidov should be the favorite to go third overall. No? 

Sportsbooks don't know how to navigate the possibility of Chicago pivoting to Levhshunov or Demidov with the second overall pick. So they've made Silyaev their favorite. Which is an odd choice. The Nizhny-Novgorod prospect is fourth in line on the "to be drafted second overall" oddsboard. 

Unless Levshunov is available I have a hard time seeing the Anaheim Ducks take a defenseman like Silayev. They've got 20-year-olds Pavel Mintyukov and Olwen Zellweger taking their first steps as puck-moving D in the NHL. Why add a third?

It really feels like Chicago is leaning towards Levshunov at second overall, there's value in this market by betting on Demidov to go third overall.

Also, how does Beckett Sennecke have better odds than Demidov?! Are sportsbooks mad? Don't get me wrong, he's a good prospect, but third overall? The only knock on Demidov is that he might stay in Russia for a few years. But remember that was the same knock given to Matvei Michkov in the last draft and we found out Michkov is coming to America this year. if Levshunov goes second Demidov should go third. 

Total Americans Drafted In First Round

Odds as of June 28

Over the last five years, we've seen an average of six American-born players get drafted in the opening round. Based on that trend you might be wondering why the UNDER is so heavily favored at -250.

That's because we already know the pool of candidates. And when it comes to the first 32 picks at the draft I doubt we see four Americans called up. We're likely to see three Americans called in the first round:

Trevor Connelly might not make the cut as a first-round pick. Years ago, the American forward posted a picture of a friend with a swastika to social media. Some teams will avoid drafting him altogether even if he's seemingly taken steps to prove he's a better person than that upload would suggest.

The right play here is UNDER 4.5. Lock that in now, even at -250.

Last 10 First Overall Picks

Talk about Eastern "domination". Over the past 10 drafts, an Eastern Conference side has selected first overall eight times. Domination might not be the right word, because, well, all of these teams were bad enough to win the first overall pick. But it does suggest there's a recent concentration of elite talent in the East.

Teams That Have Never Had The First Overall Pick

Some teams - like the Edmonton Oilers - have had four first-overall picks in six years. Other teams have never picked first. How do you think those fanbases felt seeing Edmonton waste those first-overall picks? (Except for McDavid, who's stupidly good at hockey.)

Don't feel bad for Vegas. They have a Cup. But how about Calgary!? They've been in the league for 43 years and have never had a top-three pick. 

NHL Draft Lottery Odds

Being the worst doesn't automatically give a team the first overall pick. It should, but the NHL is so scared of tanking (which happens anyway) that they've created a lottery to (unsuccessfully) stop it.

Here's how the lottery works and the odds attached to each team ahead of a draft lottery:

*Odds to move up if a team can't jump into the top 3