HF Habs: 2023 HF Habs Prospect final rankings

montreal

Go Habs Go
Mar 21, 2002
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The problem is clearly at forward since you have top hope that Slaf is at least a 70 point player at some point and after that it's not very pretty. You have Roy and Farrell who clearly have shown how skilled they are by how much they dominated their leagues last year and while both have had some ups and downs in the AHL, they have shown very impressive production.

The NHL though is clearly going to be much tougher for Roy and Farrell at this point in their develop due to needing to still work on things like getting quicker, stronger and just learning what it takes at the NHL level for undersized or not overly quick skaters.

There's Heineman who's also shown very good production at the AHL level but we'll see how it goes for him in the NHL as it's hard to say since he's missed a lot of time to injury and hasn't really played much for one team for any real length of time. I do like him a good bit, just question the offense.

After that you have the 3 OHLers, I'm a big fan of Beck's game, not a fan of Mesar's game and really interested in Xhekaj's game based off what he might turn into. Beck they clearly got an NHLer, just a question of how good and he'll need to bulk up and get stronger but he just gets it imo. Mesar has made solid progress for sure so hopefully he can build off it as they will badly need to hit on high skill/speed.

The blueline and in net are the strength by far since Volokhin and Fowler have both really impressed so you got to think they hit on one of these kids. On the blueline it's also very clear some bodies will need to go at some point cause they must get more offensive help.
 
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Le Barron de HF

Justin make me proud
Mar 12, 2008
16,702
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Wheeler's (The Athletic) top 15; Habs ranked 10th, +1 over last year.

Hutson
Reinbacher
Fowler
Roy
Mailloux
Barron
Beck
Struble
Mesar
Farrell
Heineman
Engstrom
Trudeau
Simoneau
Kidney
 
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WeThreeKings

Demidov is a HAB
Sep 19, 2006
95,514
106,847
Halifax
  1. David Reinbacher
  2. Lane Hutson
  3. Joshua Roy
  4. Logan Mailloux
  5. Owen Beck
  6. Arber Xhekaj
  7. Jacob Fowler
  8. Adam Engstrom
  9. Jayden Struble
  10. Justin Barron
  11. Sean Farrell
  12. Filip Mesar
  13. Emil Heineman
  14. Jakub Dobes
  15. Riley Kidney
  16. Bogdan Konyushkov
  17. William Trudeau
  18. Florian Xhekaj
  19. Yevgeni Volokhin
  20. Filip Eriksson
  21. Oliver Kapanen
  22. Vinzenz Rohrer
  23. Xavier Simoneau
  24. Cedrick Guindon
  25. Luke Tuch
  26. Jared Davidson
  27. Jan Mysak
  28. Quentin Miller
  29. Lucas Condotta
  30. Mattias Norlinder
  31. Miguel Tourigny
  32. Rhett Pitlick
  33. Petteri Nurmi
  34. Blake Biondi
  35. Alexander Gordin
  36. Sam Harris
  37. Dmitri Kostenko
  38. Daniil Sobolev
  39. Ty Smilanic
  40. Emmett Croteau
  41. Luke Mittelstadt
  42. Jack Smith
 

B1g B1rd

Habs Best Def of all times
May 21, 2018
215
304
  1. David Reinbacher
  2. Lane Hutson
  3. Joshua Roy
  4. Logan Mailloux
  5. Owen Beck
  6. Arber Xhekaj
  7. Jacob Fowler
  8. Adam Engstrom
  9. Jayden Struble
  10. Justin Barron
  11. Sean Farrell
  12. Filip Mesar
  13. Emil Heineman
  14. Jakub Dobes
  15. Riley Kidney
  16. Bogdan Konyushkov
  17. William Trudeau
  18. Florian Xhekaj
  19. Yevgeni Volokhin
  20. Filip Eriksson
  21. Oliver Kapanen
  22. Vinzenz Rohrer
  23. Xavier Simoneau
  24. Cedrick Guindon
  25. Luke Tuch
  26. Jared Davidson
  27. Jan Mysak
  28. Quentin Miller
  29. Lucas Condotta
  30. Mattias Norlinder
  31. Miguel Tourigny
  32. Rhett Pitlick
  33. Petteri Nurmi
  34. Blake Biondi
  35. Alexander Gordin
  36. Sam Harris
  37. Dmitri Kostenko
  38. Daniil Sobolev
  39. Ty Smilanic
  40. Emmett Croteau
  41. Luke Mittelstadt
  42. Jack Smith
7 D in the top 10... Do you see this as a problem?
 

WeThreeKings

Demidov is a HAB
Sep 19, 2006
95,514
106,847
Halifax
7 D in the top 10... Do you see this as a problem?

Not necessarily a problem but I see it as the answer to why the Habs won't be using their first round pick this year on a defenseman.. you run out of development opportunities for them and there's no guarantee that a D prospect for a F prospect will magically manifest when we need it to.
 

Miller Time

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
24,260
17,117
Last year, I recall posts on his board favourably comparing Farrell's NCAA season to that of Mathew Knies.

A year later, we see that Knies is the vastly superior player.

Highlights the risk of premature declarations...

Kinda like declaring that a 6'3 217lb forward, playing in perhaps the most talented forward group in the league, is "vastly superior" to a 5'9 175lb player based on the sample size of their first pro season outcomes... :sarcasm:

Kidding aside, Farrell certainly will have to make significant strides to become an NHL regular, let alone catch/surpass Knies... But I wouldn't Knies "superiority" call it a fait accompli just yet. Let's see where both are at when they hit their mid-20s
 

Lafleurs Guy

Guuuuuuuy!
Jul 20, 2007
78,567
49,955
Evans too. Tinordi and McCarron are playing I’m pretty sure. I thought Dietz was but that might have been the AHL.
Still bloody awful
Grind!!!

7 D in the top 10... Do you see this as a problem?
Keep in mind that Slaf has leapfrogged everyone and is on the top line.

  1. David Reinbacher
  2. Lane Hutson
  3. Joshua Roy
  4. Logan Mailloux
  5. Owen Beck
  6. Arber Xhekaj
  7. Jacob Fowler
  8. Adam Engstrom
  9. Jayden Struble
  10. Justin Barron
  11. Sean Farrell
  12. Filip Mesar
  13. Emil Heineman
  14. Jakub Dobes
  15. Riley Kidney
  16. Bogdan Konyushkov
  17. William Trudeau
  18. Florian Xhekaj
  19. Yevgeni Volokhin
  20. Filip Eriksson
  21. Oliver Kapanen
  22. Vinzenz Rohrer
  23. Xavier Simoneau
  24. Cedrick Guindon
  25. Luke Tuch
  26. Jared Davidson
  27. Jan Mysak
  28. Quentin Miller
  29. Lucas Condotta
  30. Mattias Norlinder
  31. Miguel Tourigny
  32. Rhett Pitlick
  33. Petteri Nurmi
  34. Blake Biondi
  35. Alexander Gordin
  36. Sam Harris
  37. Dmitri Kostenko
  38. Daniil Sobolev
  39. Ty Smilanic
  40. Emmett Croteau
  41. Luke Mittelstadt
  42. Jack Smith
Curious to see RB ahead of Hutson? Is that based on probability of reaching potential? I have to think Hutson’s got the higher ceiling right?
 

WeThreeKings

Demidov is a HAB
Sep 19, 2006
95,514
106,847
Halifax
Curious to see RB ahead of Hutson? Is that based on probability of reaching potential? I have to think Hutson’s got the higher ceiling right?

Yeah, higher ceiling for Hutson.. it's a hair split between the two, but I know Reinbacher will play for us for a long time. Hutson is either gonna be a stud or he'll just not be able to translate.
 

Kudo Shinichi

Registered User
Apr 20, 2012
21,221
28,176
1. Hutson
2. Reinbacher
3. Mailloux
4. Roy
5. Beck
6. Farrell
7. Engstrom
8. Fowler
9. Mesar
10. Heineman
 

Draft

Registered User
Jan 23, 2013
8,589
5,427
Athletic ranks Habs no.10 for prospect pool ranking, written by Wheeler. No pay wall.

It's pretty reasonable for the players he's put in the top-10 of our pool, but after that I can't say I agree. Not sure how you'd have Simoneau/Trudeau/Kidney ahead of Xhekaj/Kapanen/Konyushkov. Engstrom should be higher.


2024 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 10 Montreal Canadiens
 

Gaylord Q Tinkledink

Registered User
Apr 29, 2018
33,387
36,615
Athletic ranks Habs no.10 for prospect pool ranking, written by Wheeler. No pay wall.

It's pretty reasonable for the players he's put in the top-10 of our pool, but after that I can't say I agree. Not sure how you'd have Simoneau/Trudeau/Kidney ahead of Xhekaj/Kapanen/Konyushkov. Engstrom should be higher.


2024 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 10 Montreal Canadiens
It tries to get me to sign up, but are thet listed at all ? Could knock players out because of number of years they've play pro hockey
 

Draft

Registered User
Jan 23, 2013
8,589
5,427
It tries to get me to sign up, but are thet listed at all ? Could knock players out because of number of years they've play pro hockey
I think you can just collapse that pop up, I surely haven't signed up and was able to read it. Not allowed to post the full list, but the last 5 of the 15 are Heineman/Engstrom/Trudeau/Simoneau/Kidney and there are no surprises in the top-10.

Xhekaj Sr. isn't included but Struble/Barron are.
 

ngc_5128

Registered User
Sep 24, 2002
1,091
372
I think you can just collapse that pop up, I surely haven't signed up and was able to read it. Not allowed to post the full list, but the last 5 of the 15 are Heineman/Engstrom/Trudeau/Simoneau/Kidney and there are no surprises in the top-10.

Xhekaj Sr. isn't included but Struble/Barron are.
Xhekaj was on the big squad all year last year so I believe he counts that as "graduated", just like Slaf.
 
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sheed36

Registered User
Jan 8, 2005
47,682
36,375
No Man's Land
Wheeler is on TSN690 right now and said if the Habs had drafted Michkov over Reinbacher he would've had the Habs prospect pool in his top 5. Not 100% sure if he said he thinks Reinbacher will be a #2 dman or a 2nd pairing dman (I think he said 2nd pairing dman though) but will listen again later once posted on the 690 website.

Also said that he doesn't see a lot of offense in the Habs prospect pool. Also added that he really loves Fowler and has him ranked high on his goalie prospect list that will be out in early March.
 
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WeThreeKings

Demidov is a HAB
Sep 19, 2006
95,514
106,847
Halifax
Wheeler is on TSN690 right now and said if the Habs had drafted Michkov over Reinbacher he would've had the Habs prospect pool in his top 5. Not 100% sure if he said he thinks Reinbacher will be a #2 dman or a 2nd pairing dman (I think he said 2nd pairing dman though) but will listen again later once posted on the 690 website.

Also said that he doesn't see a lot of offense in the Habs prospect pool. Also added that he really loves Fowler and has him ranked high on his goalie prospect list that will be out in early March.

Wheeler would have Michkov high, that's the type of prospect he will go all in on (why Hutson is his top prospect for us); he's not one who evaluates pro level tools or pro game, it's a lot of upside for him.
 
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HuGort

Registered User
Jun 15, 2012
21,631
10,633
Nova Scotia
The Scott Wheeler audio from his bit on TSN690 from earlier today talking about Habs prospects.

The Russian factor why Hughes never took Michkov. You can't tell what Putin will do. Hughes had to risk a solid defenseman in Reinbacher.
Everybody knew Michkov head and shoulders the more skilled. Reinbacher the safety pick.

if he loses 5 and adds nothing to team be devastating. I would have taken a forward. Knowing next draft is stacked with first pairing Defensemen

I would have taken Leonard. If I liked the interview .Looked hard at Dvorsky. Also consider offering Nashville 5 for Askarov, 15 and 24. I was high on Barlow and Perrault. Knew one be there at 15.
 
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dackelljuneaubulis02

Registered User
Oct 13, 2012
11,845
7,448
I’ve been following Habs prospects for awhile now and I’ve never seen anything like what we have now. Nothing close. Our depth is wild.

I’d seriously consider packaging up our two 1sts for someone if anyone is truly available.

The cupboards are bursting. We have the assets to make a huge splash at some point. Wouldn’t be surprised if we got nuts this offseason. Can’t keep all these guys
 

JeffreyLFC

Registered User
Sep 29, 2017
10,778
7,940
I’ve been following Habs prospects for awhile now and I’ve never seen anything like what we have now. Nothing close. Our depth is wild.

I’d seriously consider packaging up our two 1sts for someone if anyone is truly available.

The cupboards are bursting. We have the assets to make a huge splash at some point. Wouldn’t be surprised if we got nuts this offseason. Can’t keep all these guys
I've seen better depth but the problem is lacking top quality/high-end talent. I see a bunch of above average and some good prospect. Nothing exceptional.
 
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