2023 NHL Entry Draft

[HuGo Burner Acc]

And Im 30 years old and Ive never seen a top 15 forward play for the Habs.

Waiting 3 years for this sounds manageable.

Alex Kovelev just entered the chat lol

 

[Mrb1p]

Alex Kovelev just entered the chat lol

Yeah thats a great argument, he was 11th once in a flukey year.

Can we have one that is an actual top 15 and not just once in a 20 years career?

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Yeah thats a great argument, he was 11th once in a flukey year.

Can we have one that is an actual top 15 and not just once in a 20 years career?

I get your point. But teams like Toronto or Edmonton, etc could say the exact same thing for goalies and/or defencemen

But it would be a nice change for once if this franchise gets a generational forward instead of yet another generational goalie. Probably haven't had a real MVP calibre forward since Lafleur

 

[BJCOLLINS]

How many times did Bergevin trade valuable picks for high impact forwards?

Well he traded a second & #10 OA Sergachev for a young Drouin????

 

[Habs Icing]

Dont look now but KK finished his season with 18 goals and 44 points as a defensive 2C, not exactly flaking out.

Yeah! Thats some endorsement for a 3 OA pick

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

McCagg on his podcast is talking about a Russian newspaper article that says the KHL will put in measures to keep its players longterm.

He believes no Russians (Michkov included) will be picked in the 1st.

Don’t no bow credible his source is, but its going to be interesting to follow this going to the draft.

What is his podcast ?

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah! Thats some endorsement for a 3 OA pick

A 2nd line C in a draft where theres like 3 top 6 players and three top 4 Ds? Pretty good.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Curious who are you #3 & 4 picks?

Most would have Carlsson in that spot

For me it is a tough call between Fantilli and Carlsson at #2, probably at a 55 : 45 advantage to Fantilli but could easily be swayed in the other direction. Unlike all of the fake online scouting sites, real scouts and GM's get to interview these kids and communicate with insiders such as past present coaches/teammates/trainers etc. There is so much that happens behind the scenes as was quite apparent last season with a socially awkward Wright falling to #4 and an outgoing gregarious personality like Slaf vaulting to #1. Obviously that isn't the only reason but it was definitely a prominent one.

When making such high stake decisions on other humans teams will lean towards choosing people that they trust. I am not sure at all how Fantilli and Carlsson are perceived but it will definitely play a large factor.

 

[Nedved]

With Dubois signed long term, there is no need to go for a foward at the top of this draft unless thats one of the top 4, we would be set for yrs to come and there is the Calgary pick we got in the Monahan deal that could end up being pretty high. So we could have another shot at getting another high end foward, possibly better than what is available after the big 4 this year.

Dubois Suzuki Caufield

Slaf Dach Heineman

RHP/Farrell Beck Ylonen/Mesar/Roy

Drafting a top RD like Reinbacher would make our blueline one of the top in the league for the next decade.

I don't see a #1 when I watch Reinbacher. I hope another gm does though, and drafts him ahead of us. The gap in defenseman doesn't seem clear to me from the top 5 d. I think any of them could bust and 1 out of the 5 end up being a top pairing guy. I would bet on Sandin Pellikka to be a better fit in the "new" nhl.

Of course, it's an opinion, but I think he has the most potential to be a #1 where Reinbacher seems like a sure thing as a top 4, but I just don't see a #1 guy.

 

[Hins77]

First of all, I'm Finnish and have met my fair share of Russians during my lifetime. You're absolutely right that these "intricacies" of operating in the corrupt Russian system are not clear or obvious for us at all, but you don't seem to understand that the key concept here is uncertainty.

Nobody has any certainty on what direction will Russia go from here on out. You cannot trust Putin or his cronies for even the tiniest amount. And because you simply cannot trust that Russia will let their hockey players (or people in general) avoid military conscription and freely move abroad, there is risk factor here that does not exist for drafting hockey players from elsewhere.

If Mitchkov was Fantilli/Carlsson caliber. I think it would be fair to don’t select him, and take a guy like Benson/Smith. But, right now, were are talking about an another elite player like Bedard. There is uncertainty like you said, but if he is coming in 4 years and become an elite one. This is the kind of upgrade wich rise the team big time.

 

[Nedved]

Our odds for the lottery are

6 44.2%
5 24.5%
7 13.9%
2 8.8%
1 8.5%

So in that order of odds I would pick

6 Leo Carlsson, C, SHL
5 Will Smith, C, USDP
7 Zach Benson, F, WHL
2 Adam Fantili, C, NCAA
1 Connor Bedard, C, WHL

I seem to have a preference for centres. Maybe years of weakness at that position influences my choice.

I did not choose Mitchkov because of politics in Russia and fear his contract will be "extended" after three years. Unless he defects, I would not use a pick on him. This is our last top 5 for awhile. We have to choose a player that can join us within 1-2 years like any normal top 5 player.

it's so odd how they come up with these odds. I like that our chances of 1/2 are higher than 7th. Likely to end up 5/6.

 

[Mrb1p]

I don't see a #1 when I watch Reinbacher. I hope another gm does though, and drafts him ahead of us. The gap in defenseman doesn't seem clear to me from the top 5 d. I think any of them could bust and 1 out of the 5 end up being a top pairing guy. I would bet on Sandin Pellikka to be a better fit in the "new" nhl.

Of course, it's an opinion, but I think he has the most potential to be a #1 where Reinbacher seems like a sure thing as a top 4, but I just don't see a #1 guy.

There is no chance ASP is a #1D.

Where are you viewings from Reinbacher? Its not in line with his tools or his play. He is a top pair D in Kloten right now, in a top 5-6 league in the world.

He has a better shot, better playmaking, better skating, better defense, much better size and physicality than ASP. Aside from hands, which are great, ASP doesnt have one elite trait.

 

[Schooner Guy]

I'm just not gonna buy it's "western world Russian hysteria" when the leader of that nation, for two years, has senseless slaughtered neighboring Ukraine for completely fabricated reasons.

If they're capable of doing what they've been doing to Ukraine, they are more than capable of killing Michkovs dad, of punishing families of those who denounce the war, of keeping prized athletes from performing anywhere else but Russia.

I'm not blaming any organization from staying away from that uncertainty.

Your last sentence summarizes the entire issue. Massive "uncertainty".

 

[ginomini]

What is his podcast ?

its just on his youtube I think. Recrutes on Youtube.

 

[Schooner Guy]

And Im 30 years old and Ive never seen a top 15 forward play for the Habs.

Waiting 3 years for this sounds manageable.

The Habs drafted maybe the best Russian dman ever, Viacheslav Fetisov, in the 1978 draft. He didn't play a single game for the Habs.

Three years would be great. It could be much longer. Could be never. Thankfully there are other ways to get a top 15 forward.

 

[Schooner Guy]

For me it is a tough call between Fantilli and Carlsson at #2, probably at a 55 : 45 advantage to Fantilli but could easily be swayed in the other direction. Unlike all of the fake online scouting sites, real scouts and GM's get to interview these kids and communicate with insiders such as past present coaches/teammates/trainers etc. There is so much that happens behind the scenes as was quite apparent last season with a socially awkward Wright falling to #4 and an outgoing gregarious personality like Slaf vaulting to #1. Obviously that isn't the only reason but it was definitely a prominent one.

When making such high stake decisions on other humans teams will lean towards choosing people that they trust. I am not sure at all how Fantilli and Carlsson are perceived but it will definitely play a large factor.

I take Fantilli at #2 and don't look back. Speed, skill, size, grit, insane production levels as a freshman. And he plays center. The sky's the limit for this kid.

 

[NotProkofievian]

There is no chance ASP is a #1D.

Where are you viewings from Reinbacher? Its not in line with his tools or his play. He is a top pair D in Kloten right now, in a top 5-6 league in the world.

He has a better shot, better playmaking, better skating, better defense, much better size and physicality than ASP. Aside from hands, which are great, ASP doesnt have one elite trait.

I'd say ASP is an elite skater. He already skates way better than the average SHLer.

 

[Schooner Guy]

My oldest son and I spin the draft lottery wheel on the simulator once every day. We've been doing it for about a month. It's unreal how many times Philadelphia and Washington have ended up at #1 or #2.

 

[ReHabs]

The Habs drafted maybe the best Russian dman ever, Viacheslav Fetisov, in the 1978 draft. He didn't play a single game for the Habs.

Three years would be great. It could be much longer. Could be never. Thankfully there are other ways to get a top 15 forward.

The Habs drafted a lot of Canadian and American and Slovak bums in the last many years and none of them amounted to anything either.

 

[Michoulicious]

There is no chance ASP is a #1D.

Where are you viewings from Reinbacher? Its not in line with his tools or his play. He is a top pair D in Kloten right now, in a top 5-6 league in the world.

He has a better shot, better playmaking, better skating, better defense, much better size and physicality than ASP. Aside from hands, which are great, ASP doesnt have one elite trait.

ASP is an elite skater and he's WAAAY smoother than Reinbacher. ASP hands and vision are top tier as well.

I get that people questions ASP physicality, ability to stop a cycle, intensity... But it's always almost the case for smaller offensive-minded Ds

I like Reinbacher and I have him in my top 10, but saying he's a better skater than ASP is a ridiculous statement.

1min52

 

[NotProkofievian]

The Habs drafted a lot of Canadian and American and Slovak bums in the last many years and none of them amounted to anything either.

Right. The idea is not to never draft Michkov. If he were available at the Florida pick it's a no brainer, obviously. The question is at what point in the draft does the risk seem worth it.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

As much as Michkov would be a risky selection, I think we are the one team in the bottom of the standings that can afford to gamble on him. We have a huge group of young studs either in the NHL or knocking on the door already: Suzuki, Caufield, Dach, Slafkovsky, Roy, PLD(?), Guhle, Mailloux, Hutson, Barron… etc etc

If he falls to us I think we should pick him. We’d likely have to wait 2/3 years for Smith/Benson/Dvorsky to be ready anyway, so the contract situation isn’t the worst.

 

[RationalExpectations]

There is no chance ASP is a #1D.

Where are you viewings from Reinbacher? Its not in line with his tools or his play. He is a top pair D in Kloten right now, in a top 5-6 league in the world.

He has a better shot, better playmaking, better skating, better defense, much better size and physicality than ASP. Aside from hands, which are great, ASP doesnt have one elite trait.

I am a fan of Reinbacher, that being said no way he has better skating than ASP. ASP skating is elite.

 

[Vachon23]

 

[Schooner Guy]

The Habs drafted a lot of Canadian and American and Slovak bums in the last many years and none of them amounted to anything either.

Right. The idea is not to never draft Michkov. If he were available at the Florida pick it's a no brainer, obviously. The question is at what point in the draft does the risk seem worth it.

Correct.