If we were to draft a D-man out of the Q I would prefer it to be Maveric Lamoreux who you have going 2 picks after Warren. Lamoreux is 6-7 and lit up the combine with a lot of top 10 finishes. In fact I don't even think he makes it to #37 as there is a lot of helium with him.
I have the Devils taking Warren at #37 and Ottawa taking Lamoureux at #39. In my rankings, I have a wider gap, with Warren at #42 and Lamoureux at #76. The reason why is quite simple -- Warren is significantly better at hockey.
Certainly, these are comparable players. Warren is an impressive skater at 6'5 who is physical as hell. Lamoureux is an impressive skater at 6'7 who is even more physical than Warren. If both of them share a weakness, it's that neither have good hands at all and can bobble pucks which a first-round pick caliber D could handle blindfolded.
The differences arise not at the combine, but when you watch them play in game situations. Warren is very smart in his gaps and positioning, and very economical in his play with the puck. Lamoureux often leaves position for a big hit, and often tries to stickhandle through players in transition when stick handling is a weakness. Both of these traits by Lamoureux lead to consistent chances against. Lamoureux is really not polished in any mental aspect of the game -- his positioning and gaps are poor as he over-relies on his size/skating in virtually all situations.
Though the ceilings for these two players may be similar, Warren is a lot closer to this ceiling whereas Lamoureux is a complete project. Thus, Warren has a much higher floor. At his current development path -- and it's worth noting that Warren improved exponentially all season long for Gatineau -- Warren should be, at the very least, a defensive 3rd pairing NHL defender who eats up a ton of ice with his size and speed while punishing the opposition physically.
Conversely, Lamoureux is a bit scarier. There is a ton of progression for him to even get to an AHL level. This is not to say he won't get there, but the longer a prospect's development path is, the longer it takes them to get there and the greater the amount which can go awry during the process.
I'll finish this by saying that although no one is kidding themselves by calling Warren an offensive defenseman, I'd say his shot is top 5 for any defender in the 2022 class. Lamoureux lacks such a weapon. For a shut-down guy we might not consider this important, but it makes Warren potentially a better bet to pair with a top-flight offensive D-man like Luke Hughes. For instance, if an opposing coach decides to back off the points to defend against Hughes' elite speed and puck-handling, he can dish cross-point to Warren for a one-timer with no defender up high enough to block it. I'd say, at his highest potential, Warren has 10-15 goal upside due to this trait alone.
Again, Warren is no sure bet. He's pretty early on in his development arc as well. However, he showed a higher development curve than Lamoureux this season vs. the same QMJHL competition, and if it came down to a choice between the two I'd have to go with Noah Warren without any second thoughts.
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