2018 NHL Entry Draft Thread (Less then 24 Hours Edition)

[Favster]

Absolutely. My point was most likely that my coup de coeur this year was Hughes. Out of everybody this year. Including Dahlin. Not saying I would have picked Hughes before the normal 3...I wouldn't. See my list, Hughes is at 4. Still.....that's who I liked the most. But I sure as hell are able to see what the other players qualities are. Just that in a team that should go for more offense, and should be more dynamic, Hughes is just perfect. I know...shot strength has to happen. I believe it will. But this freakin franchise do not need complementary player no more. We need dynamic. We need pure skills. We need guys that drives the play. I believe Hughes is that type of guy. While I also love Zadina, my little concern, little, is that he falls more into an extraordinairy complementary top 6 guy. What that means is that he might STILL need a force to drive him. Will we have that? While I believe Hughes could be that force. So yeah....it will hurt to see some of those guys go. We should have done everything we could to get more 1st rounders this year.

Totally agree with you on this one. My pick at 3 is Hughes

 

[Mrb1p]

You make it sound like that's easy... I can count the players on one hand that can beat a goalie with no screen so with that logic, they should just always leave an open lane for the goalie for every player? NHL players know that NHL goalies will stop 99.9% of those shots so they won't take the shot with no screen on the powerplay. The way I see it is he has such unbelievable edge work he will be able to create shooting lanes on his own, with traffic in front of the net. His shot is average but with his skating, he will be able to get a lot of pucks on net, similar to Keith (Not saying he's Keith loll)

You can ? You're either A) Underrating a lot of players or B) Overrating Hughes shot.

 

[Frozenice]

Patrick had 21 points in the final 30 games. He had a slow start but he finished strong. If he can stay healthy he will be a very good player, people are sleeping on him way too much.

I can see Patrick being an almost irrelevant 70 point player in this league. He can score a goal and 2 assists in a game and you'd barely notice him, he's done that many times in junior, he won't bring you out of your seat. Montreal isn't a good place for him to play unless he has a few stars who fill the spotlight, if he's our #1 guy he'll be run out of town in short order.

 

[sandviper]

We got the 3rd pick. Zadina has scored in the Q, U20 World Juniors, and the Prospects game. He is a proven asset and he has produced in several leagues and tournaments which means something to me. This is why we should draft him at 3rd overall. Even if he is not a center. Kotkaniemi seems like a great target but he could end up being a middle 6 forward in the end. I like his upside and think he will be a top 6 forward but we have seen it so many times. Guys who fans drool about prior to draft and then the disappointment after they are drafted.

2018 top 15 looks solid but I won't be surprised to see a few guys disappoint. I won't be surprised to see them all become top of the line-up players too. We have talked about them all in detail on these boards. They all look good at this point. Some look better than others depending on what you value but the depth is there it appears.

How long will it take Nolan Patrick to show the potential people were talking about 12 months ago? Yes, I know it's early but I was not impressed with his game as a 18 year old. I was more impressed with Galchenyuk as a 18 year old to be honest. I am very curious to see what Patrick can do as a 19 and 20 year old.

I ask again... if the Flyers call and offer us Patrick for the 3rd overall pick. Would you do it?

Hmm, I thought I answered that... no, I would not exchange Patrick for our 3rd. I think he is a good player but he’s not a play driver. We don’t have anyone like that on our team now and we need to focus on getting that. I still maintain Boqvist or Hughes are those guys and to an extent, Wahlstrom. I’m of course talking outside the top-2.

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

The Flyers definitely wouldn't trade us Patrick for the 3rd pick. I would do it for Patrick or Glass. Not Suzuki though.

Patrick showed a lot of promise in the second half of the season after a very very slow start. Which was to be expected with all his injury trouble. But he is not an "impressive" player. I can see him being the best centre we have had in a long time but not one to wow the fans.

 

[Goldenhands]

Dobson is really dominant tonight, 2 primary assists on both goals... 2-0 Bathurst after one..

 

[Favster]

You can ? You're either A) Underrating a lot of players or B) Overrating Hughes shot.

Defencemen who can score with no screen are very rare. Weber is one, and there a few others. All I'm saying is that you can be a successful offensive defenceman without having a rocket and I'm sure his shot will improve with time. As far as "underrating a lot of players" that's not true; I'd be happy with Zadina or Boqvist but to me, Hughes has a higher ceiling. I think a lot of people are underrating him because of his stature, he's a special talent.

 

[SML2]

Anyone interested in being the Montreal GM in the 9 pm mock on draftwired?

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

Anyone interested in being the Montreal GM in the 9 pm mock on draftwired?

Sure. How would this work?

 

[HuGort]

No.

Veleno looked good on power play and penalty kill after trade. Leadership and face off ability was there

 

[SML2]

Sure. How would this work?

http://draftwired.com:8888/apps/dwNHL

Go to that link and sign in to Group Drafts. The tab next to start time should allow you to select your team.

 

[Habs76]

Veleno looked good on power play and penalty kill after trade. Leadership and face off ability was there

"Leadership"

 

[Goldenhands]

Veleno looked good on power play and penalty kill after trade. Leadership and face off ability was there

I have him out of the first round, he sucks..

 

[Mrb1p]

Hayton sucks more than Veleno

 

[The Great Weal]

Hayton sucks more than Veleno

They both suck, don't want either

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I don't get the Hayton hype either...
I see average all across the board... at least Veleno has elite hands and skating.

 

[Tutu to]

Veleno scored at 1.5 ppg pace after trade. Could he be a Bergeron type? A 2 way captain type center.

I really like him but a lot of posters here don’t. I wouldn’t take him third but if we pick again 10-15 I would be pretty happy with him. I feel some people might be worried he’s the next Louis Leblanc but I can promise he’s a much better hockey player.

 

[admiralcadillac]

Absolutely. My point was most likely that my coup de coeur this year was Zadina. Out of everybody this year. Including Dahlin. Not saying I would have picked Zadina before the normal 3...I wouldn't. See my list, Zadina is at 4. Still.....that's who I liked the most. But I sure as hell are able to see what the other players qualities are. Just that in a team that should go for more offense, and should be more dynamic, Zadina is just perfect. I know...shot strength has to happen. I believe it will. But this freakin franchise do not need complementary player no more. We need dynamic. We need pure skills. We need guys that drives the play. I believe Zadina is that type of guy. While I also love Hughes, my little concern, little, is that he falls more into an extraordinairy complementary top 4 guy. What that means is that he might STILL need a force to drive him. Will we have that? While I believe Zadina could be that force. So yeah....it will hurt to see some of those guys go. We should have done everything we could to get more 1st rounders this year.

Wait wut

 

[Habs Halifax]

Hmm, I thought I answered that... no, I would not exchange Patrick for our 3rd. I think he is a good player but he’s not a play driver. We don’t have anyone like that on our team now and we need to focus on getting that. I still maintain Boqvist or Hughes are those guys and to an extent, Wahlstrom. I’m of course talking outside the top-2.

Sorry, didn't notice you answered that. And I agree. Habs lack puck possession players. I would not swap Patrick for our 3rd either. I'm taking Zadina. He is a premium grade A prospect and his play making ability is very good. Boqvist and Hughes look good as well but I'm not talking them 3rd overall.

Zadina! The more I think about it, we should draft him and keep it simple. Unless some team wants to give us a solid return for that pick that we can't refuse.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't get the Hayton hype either...
I see average all across the board... at least Veleno has elite hands and skating.

Lack of depth at center is making some guys slip down in rankings vs other years. Hayton is a fringe top 15 pick in this draft. Won't be surprised if he slips a bit. Outside of the top 15, I find the 16-40 picks very hard to predict. We are going to see some variance in selection from what we have been seeing in rankings.

Mackenzie usually nails his 1st round picks with a few misses every year. He is in tough this year IMO. Very curious to see who is left at 35 and 38

 

[Habs Halifax]

I really like him but a lot of posters here don’t. I wouldn’t take him third but if we pick again 10-15 I would be pretty happy with him. I feel some people might be worried he’s the next Louis Leblanc but I can promise he’s a much better hockey player.

Veleno does a lot of things well. I have his ceiling like a Duchene type. Could be a Danault worse case. I'd like to see more goals and shots from him though.

 

[yianik]

Lack of depth at center is making some guys slip down in rankings vs other years. Hayton is a fringe top 15 pick in this draft. Won't be surprised if he slips a bit. Outside of the top 15, I find the 16-40 picks very hard to predict. We are going to see some variance in selection from what we have been seeing in rankings.

Mackenzie usually nails his 1st round picks with a few misses every year. He is in tough this year IMO. Very curious to see who is left at 35 and 38

Doesn't he just average out what he is told by about 10 head scouts ? Now for sure as the 1st moves on into the 2nd there us less consensus and it just takes one team who likes a guy at 39 when the average for him is 52 to throw the projections off if being picked by a team outside the 10.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Doesn't he just average out what he is told by about 10 head scouts ? Now for sure as the 1st moves on into the 2nd there us less consensus and it just takes one team who likes a guy at 39 when the average for him is 52 to throw the projections off if being picked by a team outside the 10.

Not sure what he does to come up with his list. He does typically nail down the 1st round pretty close compared to others. I think this year will be tough.

 

[S Bah]

It looks like the best 3rd OV prospects are F.Zadina(RW), A.Boqvist(RHD) & J.Kotkaneimi(LHC). If I was the Habs GM, trading a star player to acquire the NYI's 11th & 12th OV, would be a priority.(Using a couple of 2nd's to move even higher, to select both Dobson & Bouchard.) The other two 2nd's would be used to move up into the late 1st round to draft Veleno, or try to get both Dellandrea/Khovanov. Thus gaining the Habs at least two Dmen & two Center prospects, solving the quality depth at positions of weakness for the future.

While weakening the team for a couple of seasons, 2019 with many very good center prospects(Jack Hughes***), 2020 with Alex Lafreniere***(LW par extradordinaire). This would allow the Habs young prospects the time to develop properly, hopefully under the watchful eyes of Joel Bouchard and his team of Asst. Coaches. It also means no playoff hockey for another two years, the payoff being the Habs will ice a team with Elite talent capable of competing against the McDavid led Oilers & Matthews led Leafs.

Otherwise fans will be frustrated with a Habs team, that will continually fall short of the Conference Finals, as they have for 25 yrs.(The fiasco against Philadelphia in 2009, best remembered by this fan, for watching Chris Pronger sitting on the boards in the 1st pre-game warmup, laughing his butt off at the puny Habs.) Not a particularly great memory for my beloved Habs team, actually really sickening every time I think about that moment.(Habs had no recourse obviously overmatched by the huge Flyers. On the other hand they did beat Conference leader Washington first, then Pittsburgh in seven games. A tired team that was.)

 

[yianik]

It looks like the best 3rd OV prospects are F.Zadina(RW), A.Boqvist(RHD) & J.Kotkaneimi(LHC). If I was the Habs GM, trading a star player to acquire the NYI's 11th & 12th OV, would be a priority.(Using a couple of 2nd's to move even higher, to select both Dobson & Bouchard.) The other two 2nd's would be used to move up into the late 1st round to draft Veleno, or try to get both Dellandrea/Khovanov. Thus gaining the Habs at least two Dmen & two Center prospects, solving the quality depth at positions of weakness for the future.

While weakening the team for a couple of seasons, 2019 with many very good center prospects(Jack Hughes***), 2020 with Alex Lafreniere***(LW par extradordinaire). This would allow the Habs young prospects the time to develop properly, hopefully under the watchful eyes of Joel Bouchard and his team of Asst. Coaches. It also means no playoff hockey for another two years, the payoff being the Habs will ice a team with Elite talent capable of competing against the McDavid led Oilers & Matthews led Leafs.

Otherwise fans will be frustrated with a Habs team, that will continually fall short of the Conference Finals, as they have for 25 yrs.(The fiasco against Philadelphia in 2009, best remembered by this fan, for watching Chris Pronger sitting on the boards in the 1st pre-game warmup, laughing his butt off at the puny Habs.) Not a particularly great memory for my beloved Habs team, actually really sickening every time I think about that moment.(Habs had no recourse obviously overmatched by the huge Flyers. On the other hand they did beat Conference leader Washington first, then Pittsburgh in seven games. A tired team that was.)

It was a fun ride that year. Many people were hoping on the bandwagon and even many non Habs were pulling for the Cinderella team.

But it was Cinderella. I remember Martin constantly and furiously writing on his little pad and I would laugh and think , yeah right, just jot " Halal stop puck, Halal stop puck ".

Anyway , the dream did end when we ran into a wall of bigger players who played a physical game. Just no chance.