HF Habs: 2023 NHL Draft part 2

[NekkiChiconey]

I don’t even think Smith is gonna be a center in the NHL. I see him having a similar impact then Clayton Keller

Yeah that's a somewhat fair projection. However, to be dominant he needs to have the puck on his stick for a huge amount of time during a game. If he's not a center, who's going to feed him the puck? Is he able to drive play from the wing, with less touches and less involvement in the play? Whether he's a C or not, he'll need

1. To improve at retrieving pucks OR have a linemate retrieve them for him
2. To maintain the puck for sufficient periods against NHL defenders

Men, Reinbacher is sooo good already. A better Guhle + RHD. Best case scenario imo (outside of a Carlsson drop), would be Michkov falling to us, WAS paying us a shitload to move up and grab him (like a 2024 first) and us grabing either Leonard, Benson or Reinbacher at 8th (I suspect Reinbacher would be going 6th in that scenario tho).

I'd add Dvorsky to that group as my 9th ranked player and I'd be willing to trade down with Detroit and stay within that tier, but no further.

 

[le_sean]

I’m not a “let’s go big dudes” type, but the thought of Carlsson maybe slipping and also acquiring PLD is exciting. Who tf would want to face this team in a 7 game series?

 

[SwiftyHab]

I’m not a “let’s go big dudes” type, but the thought of Carlsson maybe slipping and also acquiring PLD is exciting. Who tf would want to face this team in a 7 game series?

Carllson >> Smith

 

[Mrb1p]

Men, Reinbacher is sooo good already. A better Guhle + RHD. Best case scenario imo (outside of a Carlsson drop), would be Michkov falling to us, WAS paying us a shitload to move up and grab him (like a 2024 first) and us grabing either Leonard, Benson or Reinbacher at 8th (I suspect Reinbacher would be going 6th in that scenario tho).

He is very good. I havent watched today but you should be wary of the opinion of anyone that has this draft as a bad crop of Ds.

 

[phillytennis]

Would anyone here take Leonard over Smith if Smith is available at 5 ?

The Habs need more offense...Smith offers greater offensive potential than Leonard.

 

[BoneHutson]

He is very good. I havent watched today but you should be wary of the opinion of anyone that has this draft as a bad crop of Ds.

Outside of Reinbacher, I dont really see any top pairing potential guys tho (outside maybe of Gulyayev and Simashev but with the russian factor…). ASL is a bit overrated imo and the other guys just scream late first or early second kinda picks to me. But yeah Reinbacher is elite.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Outside of Reinbacher, I dont really see any top pairing potential guys tho (outside maybe of Gulyayev and Simashev but with the russian factor…). ASL is a bit overrated imo and the other guys just scream late first or early second kinda picks to me. But yeah Reinbacher is elite.

Gulyayev is sick. ASP is overrated.

This draft has a lot of good 2nd and 3rd round picks though. I really like Mania, Akey, and Minnetian

 

[Playmaker09]

Carlsson is going to be a franchise player.

I'd give up an obscene amount of value to move up two spots.

 

[McPhees Moustache]

So much for watching Reinbacher....looks like his tournament might be over

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Carlsson is going to be a franchise player.

I'd give up an obscene amount of value to move up two spots.

We needed a better tank. This was the year to go all in on it.

 

[NotProkofievian]

We needed a better tank. This was the year to go all in on it.

 

[SlafySZN]

So much for watching Reinbacher....looks like his tournament might be over

What happened?

 

[McPhees Moustache]

What happened?

Sandwiched between 2 Swedish defenders on a rush and looked like he had a left leg/knee issue. Stayed on the bench until the end of the period but didn't look to be putting any weight on his leg when they crossed the ice for intermission

 

[MarkovsKnee]

He is very good. I havent watched today but you should be wary of the opinion of anyone that has this draft as a bad crop of Ds.

It's not a bad draft for Ds at all. Just not a ton of depth this year, and few 1st rounders. Majority will go rounds 2-4.

I expect a lot of goalies to go this year - more than usual.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I love Pezz. No one expected him to do that. Lol

MSL did it because his family was in the stands, but it was more than one game in any case.

 

[TomKosto]

We needed a better tank. This was the year to go all in on it.

Yea it's so freaking frustrating...

 

[AHShadow]

Carlsson is going to be a franchise player.

I'd give up an obscene amount of value to move up two spots.

I'd love to move up, but why would Columbus move back if they absolutely want to draft a Center? Unless they can guarantee that SJ drafts Michkov and not Smith, don't see how they accept.

Would it cost Dach to move up 2? And would it be worth it? That's basically trading Michkov/Smith and Dach for Carlsson.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

But how will he produce exactly? Who can he be compared with? Hes so similar to Zegras to me, but he doesnt have that same creativity or the little edge that Zegras has.

What other player has poor skating, average size and non-elite shooting arsenal and produces like an offensive juggernaut? Marner ? Hes a much better skater. Panarin? Hes just better all over the board. Gaudreau? Better skater.

To me hes really Huberdeau if everything pan out for him. Funny that this might sound like a bad thing because Huberdeau is a 100 pts forward afterall but in this draft, crazy as it sounds, I think the Habs can do better than a Huberdeau, lol.

Poor skating?

 

[Mrb1p]

Poor skating?

Yep, hes not a good skater.

 

[Habricot]

According to? You?

The reality is he's in that 6 to 10 tier with the likes of Dvorsky, Reinbacher and Leonard. When players are in the same tier teams value position therefore they'll pick the centers and dmen before the wings. Especially a team like Montreal.

GM's know it's easy to find top 6 wings on the market (trade or UFA) but it's a lot tougher to find a good 1C/2C or a top pairing D, you have to draft them.

You could say that of the prevous regime...not this one.

 

[Kennerback]

Yea it's so freaking frustrating...

Chicago tanked like if they had it done before and knew the exact recipe.

 

[SlafySZN]

I'd love to move up, but why would Columbus move back if they absolutely want to draft a Center? Unless they can guarantee that SJ drafts Michkov and not Smith, don't see how they accept.

Would it cost Dach to move up 2? And would it be worth it? That's basically trading Michkov/Smith and Dach for Carlsson.

Not worth it.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Yep, hes not a good skater.

I'd say he's above average, he's not Moore but he's also not Wood.

Unrelated, but I like Carlsson a lot but he reallllllllllly needs to work on that shot. If he can learn to make it a weapon like Backstrom did around 2010 it'll help a lot, otherwise no one is going to respect it as a possibility (though he's great at driving the net).

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Didn’t expect to log in and see Smith bashing today but I’m here for it lol

Not that I don’t like Smith, but I do think he’s getting a touch overrated being put into the big 4 as a new big 5. To me he and Dvorsky are a half tier below as the 5/6 in the draft.

My issue with Smith is that I think from a production standpoint he’s being overblown. No doubt that line is an amazing line but we’ll see if he’s able to find similar chemistry wherever he goes.

From a traits perspective I actually like Smith a fair bit. Good size, solid skater (not bad at all, no idea where that’s coming from), good shot, and amazing hands and vision. There are aspects of his game he need to iron out, particularly effort defensively, but I think at worst he’s a skilled offensive top 6 winger which is a pretty great floor. Don’t think Zegras is a bad comp at all.

 

[SlafySZN]

Didn’t expect to log in and see Smith bashing today but I’m here for it lol

Not that I don’t like Smith, but I do think he’s getting a touch overrated being put into the big 4 as a new big 5. To me he and Dvorsky are a half tier below as the 5/6 in the draft.

My issue with Smith is that I think from a production standpoint he’s being overblown. No doubt that line is an amazing line but we’ll see if he’s able to find similar chemistry wherever he goes.

From a traits perspective I actually like Smith a fair bit. Good size, solid skater (not bad at all, no idea where that’s coming from), good shot, and amazing hands and vision. There are aspects of his game he need to iron out, particularly effort defensively, but I think at worst he’s a skilled offensive top 6 winger which is a pretty great floor. Don’t think Zegras is a bad comp at all.

So reading your post, you like his shot, hands, vision, offensive skills you think he has a great floor but you’re here for some Smith bashing? lol