The 2024 NHL Draft is in the books and it’s consistently one of the most difficult drafts to try and parse. A mixture of extreme youth, paired with multi-national scouting, the majority of the players selected on Friday and Saturday won’t see the ice in the NHL for a few years — making it more of an exercise in strengthening a pipeline, rather than build a team directly.
While it can be difficult to evaluate classes immediately following a draft, the best we can do is look at a class based on how well each team did with its draft capital — and based on what scouting services through of these picks prior to the event itself. To this end we had some massive winners in 2024, and some absolute head-scratching picks.
Winner: San Jose Sharks
When you have the No. 1 pick and get the best player you’re going to be a winner by default, but there’s more to what the Sharks did than just Macklin Celebrini. This team got incredible value up and down their draft board, bolstering their defense with Sam Dickinson and nabbing Igor Chernyshov with the No. 33 pick (he was 17th on my big board).
This was a forward-heavy class for the Sharks who are in dire need of scoring. There’s a clear approach here to rebuild the team the right way, and we could very well be looking at this class as a turning point for the franchise that finally brings some teeth back to the shark tank.
Loser: Anaheim Ducks
Things weren’t so great for the Sharks’ northern neighbors, and yes a lot of this has to do with taking Beckett Sennecke with the No. 3 overall pick. It’s not that Sennecke is a bad player — in fact, he could be pretty good. The issue is a complete misunderstanding of draft capital and how to work the board.
Multiple teams wanted to move up into the Top 4 of this class where the elite NHL-ready players were. Not only did the Ducks manage to not take one of these top guys, but they also didn’t move back and get anything for it. When you shock everyone so much that even your top pick is stunned … well, it’s not a great sign.
Across their first three picks the Ducks were a -15 in their pick vs. consolidated rankings, meaning they consistently took players earlier than independent scouting projected. Now, this could mean they were right and everyone else is wrong — but that rarely plays out well.
Winner: Montreal Canadiens
The biggest benefactor of the Ducks going off script were the Canadiens, who got an absolute steal at No. 5 in Ivan Demidov. The No. 1 wing in this class, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him go at No. 2 if the Blackhawks elected to go offense over defense.
Montreal really needed to find star-power in this class, and they did just that with both Demidov and Michael Hage. The Canadiens might need to wait a little while for Demidov to take the jump, but he’s going to be worth the weight. He’s been dominating the MHL as a true 18-year-old, finishing with 60 points in 30 games. If this can continue in the KHL we’re going to see a monster player in the pipeline who can finally turn this team’s fortunes around.
Winner: Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes consistently find a way to be competitive while also keeping their shelves stocked, and the 2024 NHL Draft was no different. While this will definitely be an offseason with a lot of change in Raleigh with Jake Guentzel set to sign with the Lightning, and Martin Necas being a wild card. Despite this the draft itself was a massive boon for the first test for the organizations since GM Don Waddell left to join the Blue Jackets.
Despite moving back in the draft multiple times, the Hurricanes still managed to be a +24 in their first three picks — getting massive value in their selections vs. consolidated rankings. This was really set up by selecting Nikita Artamonov with the No. 50 pick, despite being the 25th best player in ranking and the No. 29 on my board.
There was very real potential for Artamonov to be a Top 15 pick, and the Canes have the luxury to allow him to develop in Russia until it’s time to bring him over. A do-everything forward with legitimate 2nd line potential, we could see him being a future star.
Loser: TRADE ALERT
Having the NHL Draft in the Las Vegas Sphere made for some of the most incredible images in the history of the event. Unfortunately this also made for abject terror whenever a trade happened during the draft and the Sphere had a massive warning horn and the words “TRADE ALERT.”
It was enough to terrify everyone watching.
my therapist: “the 2024 nhl draft trade alert and horn are not real they can’t hurt you”
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again proven itself worthy of a terrific U.S. Open venue. It has tested the best players in the world, punishing poor shots while rewarding good ones.
Hence, only eight players sit in red figures after 54 holes, with Bryson DeChambeau leading the pace at 7-under. He holds a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, Matthieu Pavon, and Patrick Cantlay as he eyes his second major. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in September 2020 during the pandemic.
So after another fun day at Pinehurst, here are the winners and losers from North Carolina:
Winners:
Bryson DeChambeau’s Game
Bryson DeChambeau entertained the golf world all day on Saturday. His clutch putts, his 350-yard drives, his spectacular shot from the sand on the 13th hole, and his tremendous approach on the 14th hole all added up to a 3-under 67.
Diabolical approach.
Brandel made a great point about the angles here too. Bryson had nothing, and yet went right at it. A confident, aggressive mindset is a dangerous one and it’s paying off!
He looks like one of the best golfers in the world, relying on his power and short-game finesse to take a commanding lead going into Sunday. He did stumble on the 16th hole, where he made a double bogey, but that did not phase DeChambeau at all. He bounced back with a birdie on the 17th hole, thanks to an ultra-aggressive line he took off the tee.
But every hole DeChambeau plays is must-watch television, whether he birdies or bogies. He is the most entertaining golfer on the planet, which explains why his popularity has skyrocketed.
Ultimately, if he shoots another round in the 60s on Sunday, the U.S. Open is his.
DeChambeau’s Balls
Bryson DeChambeau apparently puts his golf balls in Epsom salt before every round. A reporter asked him about it after his round, and DeChambeau’s response about his balls is priceless:
“Thanks for the salty balls question. I appreciate that. Yeah, I put my golf balls in Epsom salt. I’m lucky enough that Connor, my manager, does that now. I don’t have to do it. But essentially, we float golf balls in a solution to make sure that the golf ball is not out of balance,” DeChambeau explained.
“There was a big thing back in the day where golf balls are out of balance, and it’s just because of the manufacturing process. There’s always going to be an error, especially when it’s a sphere, and there are dimples on the edges. You can’t perfectly get it in the center. So what I’m doing is finding pretty much the out-of-balanceness of it, how much out of balance it is. Heavy slide floats to the bottom, and then we mark the top with a dot to make sure it’s always rolling over itself.”
To quote CBS Sports reporter Kyle Porter’s mantra, “Normal Sport.”
Can Rory McIlroy do it?
Rory McIlroy’s 10-year major drought has been well documented. But what amazes me about McIlroy, at least this time, is that he is back in the mix for a sixth straight U.S. Open. Despite the outside fray with LIV Golf, his dreams of a world tour, and most importantly, the uneasiness of his family life surrounding a potential divorce, McIlroy still has a chance to win a second U.S. Open title.
Rory McIlroy shakes hands with Tony Finau after their third round at the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
He shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday despite making two late bogies that stalled his momentum. And yet, anything can happen on this golf course, and McIlroy knows that. He also has plenty of confidence going into round four. Plus, he is hitting his driver better than anyone, so if he can clean up his irons a tad, he should have a shot at the end.
All of this gives McIlroy—and golf fans everywhere—hope, and hope is an amazing drug.
Losers:
Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg
The 13th hole all but ended their chances, as Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg made triple bogies on this short par-4.
Each golfer played a game of ‘ping-pong,’ chipping back and forth across the green, which took them out of contention. Even if each player walked away with a bogey, they would still have an outside shot at winning their first major title on Sunday. But a triple bogey is too damaging of a score to overcome. Finau now sits six shots back of Dechambeau while Åberg, the 36-hole leader, is now five.
Because of this, Johnson Wagner of the Golf Channel analyzed this hole on ‘Live From the U.S. Open’ after the round:
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler played much better on Saturday.
But his third round was a day filled with ‘What-ifs?’ Those question marks mainly stemmed from his putter, as Scheffler could not get a putt to drop all day. He gave himself plenty of chances to climb the leaderboard, but his flat stick kept him at bay. As such, the World No. 1 settled for a 1-over 71, but he could have easily shot a score in the mid-60s.
Scottie Scheffler during the third round.Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Pace of Play
My god. The final two groups played at a snail’s pace, with Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau as the main culprits. Cantlay is notoriously slow and has been for quite some time. Just ask Brooks Koepka.
Similarly, DeChambeau, who needed to get stretched out on the 11th hole, loves to take his time. Given his scientific and mathematical approach to the game, DeChambeau has to dissect every single shot he plays, even putts from inside of 18 inches.
As such, the United States Golf Association (USGA) should have levied a penalty. They supposedly provided a warning to DeChambeau and Åberg, who, for what it’s worth, flies around a golf course, but a steeper penalty should have been assessed. Pace of play is a problem, especially considering that DeChambeau’s group—the final pairing—finished nearly 45 minutes after McIlroy’s, who played in the third to last group.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
The opening round of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 did not disappoint. The widely-discussed ‘Turtleback’ greens made some players look foolish, while others struggled to navigate the native areas that line the fairways.
And yet, after all 156 players finished their rounds, two players sit atop the leaderboard by themselves. Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy shot impressive 5-under 65s, with Cantlay posting his score in the morning while McIlroy did so during the afternoon.
Interestingly, when Martin Kaymer won at Pinehurst in 2014, he, too, carded a 65 to open the championship. Kaymer held a three-shot lead after that first round and won by eight. Cantlay and McIlroy, meanwhile, have plenty of company within striking distance. They hold a one-stroke lead over Ludvig Åberg, while Bryson DeChambeau and Matthieu Pavon lurk two shots back. Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton, and Akshay Bhatia sit at 2-under.
Here are the winners and losers from round one:
Winners
Rory McIlroy has history on his side
Rory McIlroy posted the best round of his season, bar none. He shot a 5-under 65, which included a pair of birdies on the 16th and 18th holes. But in doing so, he carded a bogey-free opening round in a major for the fourth time in his career.
The previous three instances?
The 2011 U.S. Open, the 2012 PGA Championship, and the 2014 Open Championship.
Hmmmm. What do these three tournaments have in common? Oh yeah, McIlroy won each, each by a sizable margin, too.
Rory McIlroy during the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Before this week, I wrote that, for McIlroy to win the U.S. Open, he needed to take advantage of Pinehurst’s par-5s, remain patient, and gain strokes putting.
He checked all three of those boxes Thursday, even though his birdie at five came via a chip-in—no pictures exist on a scorecard, however. All jokes aside, McIlroy had a stoic vibe about him all day. He remained conservative when needed, and never got overly aggressive with his approaches. Most importantly, he gained one stroke on the field with his putter, the ultimate determining factor for McIlroy’s success. Now, thanks to this solid start, he has given himself a terrific opportunity to break that 10-year-long major championship drought.
Patrick Cantlay
Patrick Cantlay is currently ranked 9th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), but he has not played up to that standard so far this season.
His numbers are down across the board from a year ago when he ranked 3rd on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained. At this point in the season, he is currently 77th and has recorded only a pair of top 10s to date.
Patrick Cantlay on the 13th tee.Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Yet, he showed everyone why he is still a top player on Thursday, carding a 5-under 65 to shoot to the top of the leaderboard. But he does not have a terrific major championship resume. He only has four career top 10s in major, none of which have come in a U.S. Open.
Nevertheless, if his short game continues to perform as it did on Thursday, a day in which he led the field in strokes gained around the greens, watch out for Cantlay to possibly join his close friend Xander Schauffele as first-time major winners this season.
The golf course itself
So much talk was made of Pinehurst No. 2 coming into the championship: the history, the sandy waste areas that line the fairways, the greens, and the areas surrounding these putting surfaces, too. All of it has lived up to the hype and then some. The course tested the best players in the world both adequately and fairly while also producing some quality entertainment.
Look no further than Collin Morikawa, who ‘ping-ponged’ his way around the 15th hole en route to a double bogey. Two holes later, he holed out from the sand for a birdie.
Keep an eye on Morikawa, too. He did not have his best stuff on Thursday, but he closed with a pair of par breakers to get back to even for the championship.
Ludvig Åberg
How can you not be impressed with 24-year-old Ludvig Åberg?
In his U.S. Open debut, Åberg looked like a seasoned veteran, firing to the middle of the greens while making little mistakes. When he tallied up his score, it totaled to a 4-under 66, an impressive mark for anyone, let alone someone playing Pinehurst No. 2 for the first time.
The young Swede relied heavily on his driver and ball striking, ranking in the top three in both categories on Thursday. Typically, good results follow when a player has both of these facets working. That was the case for Åberg, who said afterward that he has “nothing to complain about.”
Matthieu Pavon’s putter
Nobody gained more strokes on the putting greens (4.31) on Thursday than Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, who rolled in a pair of eagles on both of Pinehurst’s par-5s.
Matthieu Pavon putts on the 16th hole.Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
The first eagle came at the par-5 5th, where he rifled a 4-iron to 17 feet and made the putt. Five holes later, at the 617-yard 10th hole, Pavon launched a 3-wood from 288 yards away to 27 feet. He made that, too. He had his putter rolling, a necessity to score well on these diabolical, ‘Turtleback’ greens at Pinehurst No. 2.
If he can keep his putter hot, who knows? Perhaps Pavon can contend, and win, much like he did at Torrey Pines—another U.S. Open course—earlier this season. But he still has a long way to go before we can have that discussion, and he needs to improve his ball striking, which ranked 62nd among the field on Thursday.
Losers:
Peacock
You have the best three golfers in the world, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy, playing in the tournament’s marquee pairing on Thursday afternoon. Scheffler and Schauffele struggled somewhat, relative to how they have played as of late, while McIlroy put together his best round of the season. But to watch them finish their opening rounds, you needed to do so behind a paywall.
Peacock aired the first round’s final three hours, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET, a prime time slot that cable television should have picked up.
The U.S. Open prides itself on providing hours of coverage, but it fumbled this time slot badly. I’m fine with putting coverage behind a paywall in the morning but not in the afternoon, when everyone’s attention is on the tournament while the workday wraps up.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson grimaces during the first round of the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
Twenty-five years ago, Phil Mickelson came agonizingly close to winning his first U.S. Open title. But he will not come close this time around.
The 6-time major champion made nine bogies during his opening round, carding a 9-over 79. He could not get anything going with any club in his bag, as he hit only 6-of-14 fairways. But perhaps even more shocking is that Mickelson found only three greens in regulation. He lost nearly three strokes to the field on approach.
He will need to shoot in the mid-60s on Friday just to make the cut, which, given how he hit the ball on Thursday, seems rather unlikely.
Mickelson last made a U.S. Open cut in 2021.
Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas has been trending in the right direction over the last month, which includes a top-10 finish in his hometown at the PGA Championship.
But he looked nowhere close to replicating that form on Thursday. Thomas signed for a 7-over 77 on Thursday, struggling heavily with his irons. He even had Tiger Woods watch him hit balls on the range after his round, per Golf.com’s James Colgan.
Tiger stepping in to give Justin Thomas a few pointers on the range after a tough opening round.
Like Mickelson, Thomas made nine bogies during the first round, but unlike the left-hander, he did make two birdies: one at the par-5 5th and another at the par-4 18th.
Regardless, Thomas will need to have a better ball-striking day on Friday, or else he will miss a cut at a major for the second time this season. It would also mark his fifth missed cut over his last seven major starts. Yikes.
Temporary TIO Relief
The temporary immovable obstruction (TIO) rules in professional golf are ridiculous. These guys have more talent than anyone else in the world, and yet, when a tower, sign, or even wiring obstructs their line somewhat, they must seek relief.
That happened to both Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler on Thursday.
DeChambeau rifled his tee-shot way right on the par-5 5th hole, destined for trouble. But it came to rest with a “wire” obstructing his view. As such, DeChambeau got to take a drop in a much easier spot a few yards to the left, which provided him with a clear line to the green. He went on to make birdie.
Scottie Scheffler hits his second shot on the 16th hole during the first round.Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Scheffler, meanwhile, had a similar instance take place on the challenging par-4 16th. After pulling drives all day, and uncharacteristically missing left with his driver on multiple occasions, Scheffler did so again on 16. His ball stopped rolling right behind a tree, but because the tee signage from the 18th hole obstructed his view, he received TIO relief. He then dropped his ball—scratch that—he placed his ball a few yards right, giving himself a perfect angle into the green. Unfortunately for him, Scheffler caught his second shot too clean and airmailed the green. He went on to make bogey.
But it’s not like this is anything new, either. Dustin Johnson received TIO relief on the 10th hole at Oakmont during the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open. He hooked his drive 50 yards left off the tee, which nestled down in gnarly thick rough. But because a TV Tower blocked his view some 100 yards away, Johnson asked for TIO relief, received it, then dropped in the first cut of an adjacent fairway and walked away with par.
If only us amateurs could receive TIO when we play…
Viktor Hovland
Viktor Hovland on the 8th tee.Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
What happened to Viktor Hovland on Thursday?
After finishing in solo third at Valhalla and posting a strong finish at the Memorial, Hovland looked lost at Pinehurst No. 2 on Thursday—a shocking development considering he looked back on track after reuniting with his coach, Joe Mayo.
He shot an 8-over 78, a round that included a pair of double-bogies on the 11th and 14th holes. He also made six more bogies.
Hovland lost nearly three strokes around the greens on Thursday, ranking 151st out of 156 players in that department—proof that his short game is still a work in progress.
The Norwegian has struggled chipping and pitching this season, ranking 173rd on tour in strokes gained around the green. Given that Pinehurst No. 2 places a premium on one’s short game, it’s no surprise that Hovland struggled as much as he did, given his shortcomings with his game around the greens. Still, to see one of the best players in the world implode this badly is an alarming sight to see.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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