HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft -- Rate it, Love it or Hate it

[Whitesnake]

I don't agree though in a RATE the draft perspective that if our 2 1st rounders work, it's fine anyway. It depends what kind of exercice you play. YES, based on history, the sooner you pick, the best your players are. And the sooner they are picked, the more chances they are to succeed. Hence, a top 5 pick in the 1st round is on another stratosphere than a 7th rounder. And it makes perfect sense.

BUT....once you did draft those insane 2 1st rounders....is that a reason to be fine with a subpar 2nd day? WAIT NOW....I,m not saying they did that 'cause most players...we know nothing about. BUT based on value and what was available.....I will say that they did. Everybody North American we picked was known. Every North American Prospect was ranked from CSS. Vecvanags, Khanin and Bergqvist were not. Did we discover them? Or were just never good to begin with? Stay tuned...4 years. But based on my and public listings...we could have done better. Again, mind you, for that EXERCISE only.

The year we were so hot on that exercice was 2012. Collberg, Thrower, Bozon, Vail, Hudon....that was just wow. That was almost A+ for day 2. With the few choices we had, 2006 was insane for day 2. Maxwell, Carle, White...I mean some lists had Maxwell and White in their 1st round! Carle high 2nd round. 2018? My god....a day 2 dream. It started bad though with the unknown Romanov...but then, so many homeruns Olofsson, Hillis, McShane, Fonstad.......A festival of hits!

I guess..no need to remind anybody what happened? The insane picks were forgotten. Romanov got us Dach and so on.

So it's a fun exercice to do. Sometimes it works, often it does not. Right now, I still don,t expect a lot of day 2. Though, really intrigued and will follow closely the guys that have the possibility to have the highest ceilings, Sawyer, Koivu and Merrill. The others for me have a low ceiling though, a guy like Thorpe could easily be a AHL fixture...while in the end Merrill might end up a....fixture. We will see!

 

[LaP]

I don't agree though in a RATE the draft perspective that if our 2 1st rounders work, it's fine anyway. It depends what kind of exercice you play. YES, based on history, the sooner you pick, the best your players are. And the sooner they are picked, the more chances they are to succeed. Hence, a top 5 pick in the 1st round is on another stratosphere than a 7th rounder. And it makes perfect sense.

BUT....once you did draft those insane 2 1st rounders....is that a reason to be fine with a subpar 2nd day? WAIT NOW....I,m not saying they did that 'cause most players...we know nothing about. BUT based on value and what was available.....I will say that they did. Everybody North American we picked was known. Every North American Prospect was ranked from CSS. Vecvanags, Khanin and Bergqvist were not. Did we discover them? Or were just never good to begin with? Stay tuned...4 years. But based on my and public listings...we could have done better. Again, mind you, for that EXERCISE only.

The year we were so hot on that exercice was 2012. Collberg, Thrower, Bozon, Vail, Hudon....that was just wow. That was almost A+ for day 2. With the few choices we had, 2006 was insane for day 2. Maxwell, Carle, White...I mean some lists had Maxwell and White in their 1st round! Carle high 2nd round. 2018? My god....a day 2 dream. It started bad though with the unknown Romanov...but then, so many homeruns Olofsson, Hillis, McShane, Fonstad.......A festival of hits!

I guess..no need to remind anybody what happened? The insane picks were forgotten. Romanov got us Dach and so on.

So it's a fun exercice to do. Sometimes it works, often it does not. Right now, I still don,t expect a lot of day 2. Though, really intrigued and will follow closely the guys that have the possibility to have the highest ceilings, Sawyer, Koivu and Merrill. The others for me have a low ceiling though, a guy like Thorpe could easily be a AHL fixture...while in the end Merrill might end up a....fixture. We will see!

I think people put too much faint in lists tbh. Those lists are always all over the place and end up being more wrong than right. Oh but LaP what about TEH MacKenzie bible list? He asks real scouts bla bla bla i don't give a damn honestly i have enough experience with drafts to know even this list is more often wrong than right.

I think it's very very very hard to judge a draft before the end of D+1 and i always think those exercises are 100% futile for people like us. Even after D+1 it's still dangerous but less than after the draft. Big guys take more time. Dmen take more time. Goalies you never know before they are around 24-25. I could not care less about the evaluation of the scouts work after the draft. I care about what it will look like in 4 or 5 years. This is what is important.

The 2012 and 2006 were both in the end failure. Specially the 2012 draft that draft has set this franchise back 3-5 years and probably prevented us from winning a cup. It was a complete failure, an abjection. It doesn't matter if it looked good after the draft.

I think Thorpe is an interesting pick. I've not seen him play but on paper he looks like a MacCarron but he's a 5th round pick instead of 1st round. Protz is a physical dman. An underwhelming pick but we could actually be happy to have gim 6 years form now when we'll need to fill the 3rd pairing while being in cap hell. Don't know what to think of Sawyer he played in the BCHL and did relatively well but i mean maybe he's a guy who flew under the radar i mean who here saw him play more than 5 games? Florian Xhekaj looked like a huge gamble last year and now he looks like a guy who should have been drafted at least 1 round earlier.

 

[jaffy27]

Only for Demidov it's a A+, never been so happy since the Caufield pick in the first round

Same….then add Hage and it’s a double A+

Love Sawyer and Protz too….will be interesting to follow for sure!

 

[Seb]

Oh my god it's been 2 weeks already, when will they release the "behind the scene" video?!?

I'm booooooored.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Oh my god it's been 2 weeks already, when will they release the "behind the scene" video?!?

I'm booooooored.

Last year, they released that on August 31th. So that will be late. I can't wait to see that! That's very cool.

 

[HuGort]

Habs got first line winger with first pick. A second line center with 2nd pick. I call it good draft

 

[morhilane]

Like both 1st round picks. Not so sure about the other picks though. I feel like they gambled a lot after the first round and went for guys they thought could late bloom which is not a bad thing.

At the dev camp, I feelt this was the best skating and tallest draftees the Habs had at such camp in the last 5 years I've been watching the scrimmages and outside Beck, it was only kids from the last two drafts (most of the invites were small outside the Ds).

Under MB, they really looked at the draft like throwing darts in the dark, but under HuGo, there seems to be a methodology there. A lot more focus on growth spurt, development curve, overall package and the kid's personalities.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Habs got first line winger with first pick. A second line center with 2nd pick. I call it good draft

If Dach stay healthy, I prefer him to be the 2C (A two-way 6"4 with great protection of puck), but Michael Hage can also become a really good top 6 winger.

I see something like that:

Caufield - Dach - Hage. As a 2nd line after Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Demidov, that's really really good.

Newhook - Beck - Roy seems likely to become the 3rd line at this point, potentially to become one of the best 3rd line in NHL!

 

[sampollock]

No trade
Maybe not this year..
Same gang in October

 

[Whitesnake]

Do people know for sure is there was a behind the scenes?

 

[HuGort]

If Dach stay healthy, I prefer him to be the 2C (A two-way 6"4 with great protection of puck), but Michael Hage can also become a really good top 6 winger.

I see something like that:

Caufield - Dach - Hage. As a 2nd line after Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Demidov, that's really really good.

Newhook - Beck - Roy seems likely to become the 3rd line at this point, potentially to become one of the best 3rd line in NHL!

I think Habs will sign big name UFA. To play in top 6. Or trade for big name. Hage more as good #3 two-way center. Who can play #2 center in case of injury. Gives team good depth.

Kind of exciting as can see pieces coming together. But patience is key. Like to have another high draft pick next year. Keeps farm system high. Then surge ahead in '25.

 

[Saku K]

I voted A. I assume most people who are down on this draft were down on last year's draft as well before seeing most picks improves this year excluding luke mittlestadt. I'm assuming most pick past the first may end up underrated on the current prospect list we are building right now due to lack of information.

I'll give you my first impressions as mainly a report and stats watcher not having seeing them play.

Aatos Koivu - Above-average shooting abilities, taller than his father needs to add some significant bulk on his frame, Potential NHLers as a middle-six forward. Competent enough in the two-way department. A solid if unspectacular pick even tough I was very happy with the pick.

Logan Sawyer - The reports make me think of Jared Davidson with better playmaking abilities. A bit taller than davidson as well. Destroyed two lower-level leagues, which has his goods and bads. Good all-around player, high intensity, enough skills to make it as a bottom-6 forward with character. Could end AAAA player as well. Needs more weight and will watch closely on how he reacts on getting to the next level. A bit of a reach on most lists but a lot of attributes to like as well.

Owen Protz - Smart low risk pick, good reward if it produces a NHLer. Potential bottom-pairing/depth defenseman at NHL level. Big and strong, willing to punish oppponents as a no-nonsense physical defensive defenseman. Not much of an offensive upside but that's not where his strenghts lies. 6'1 214 on Eliteprospects or 6'2 207 on the ohl website, either way he already possess NHL size and strenght. Just needs more seasoning and keep on working on the skating.

Tyler Thorpe - 6'5 210 pounds and NHL shot. Still 18 years to this day even if he was drafted as a overager, could be an handful to play against on the bottom-six as a forechecker as well. Not much on the playmaking department tough. A good project to have that may or may not produce something.

Mikus Vecvanags - WJC-18 Latvia starter, the goaltender who was chosen at HS riga in the playoffs. Will play in the Q next season. A project, should be in the mix with the others for a contract or could bust as well. I didn't think we needed another goaltender as they are so hard to predict and the 3 we drafted last year are trending upwards.

Ben Merill - Big center who dominated a very low level of competition. I'm not expecting much as he is climbing the ranks towards Harvard. At least he'll have the size, a good shot and 5 years to show the habs he deserves a contract.

Makar khanin - Could be a career KHLer, could be a late-round gem. I don't dislike the pick at all. Over-ager but a lot of skills that is only scratching the surface and significant improvement from last year. Diminutive in stature however. The definition of taking a flyer on a player.

Rasmus Bergqvist - I don't see what attributes would make him a NHLer one day but then he has been drafted #224. Seems too limited to overcome his weakness. Poor mobility for a rangy 180 pound defenseman, some physicality with little offensive skills that could translate.


Picks I liked: Koivu, Protz Thorpe Khanin.

Picks that were fair: Sawyer due to being a bit of a reach by the time of the draft, all-around good but may end up in the AAAA zone.

Picks I disliked Vecvanags due to not needing another goaltender in the fold, Merill and Bergvqvist.

A+ for the first round
B for the rest

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Raymond and especially Byfield overrated and Hagens underrated. Besides the "problem" of height, I don't understand why some people underestimate Hagens so much. He's special. I believe he is much closer to Celebrini than people give him credit for and he has the potential to be better.

bedard
McKenna

Celebrini
Hagens
Carlsson
Fantilli

Smith
Raymond

Frondell
Benson
Byfield

Ryabkin
Yager
Misa

I don't agree that the NCAA isn't a great test, even on a stacked team. it's a 17/18 year old kid playing against 21/22 year old adults every night.
I agree about Mckenna he is a monster and carried Canada but
saying that Hagens doesn't carry the US is a fallacy. He obliterated the u18 where the team's second best scorer was a defender 9 points less. If that won't load, I don't know what is

Looking at that list. I’d take Celebrini over Bédard in a heart beat. I love Celebrini game. Mckenna will be a tier above

 

[SOLR]

Looking at that list. I’d take Celebrini over Bédard in a heart beat. I love Celebrini game. Mckenna will be a tier above

Probably not.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Looking at that list. I’d take Celebrini over Bédard in a heart beat. I love Celebrini game. Mckenna will be a tier above

Celebrini over Bedard? I don't think so

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Celebrini over Bedard? I don't think so

There is a better chance Demidov ends up more valuable than Celebrini than Celebrini being better than Bedard.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Celebrini over Bedard? I don't think so

I honestly do. Celebrini to Bedard will be along the lines of Sid bs Ovi. MCs game is WAY MORE complete and he’s still an offensive force

 

[ChesterNimitz]

At the end of the day they picked the best players available to them (first round at least). So if it ends up being a bust, it's not like they went off the board.

If both Demidov and Hage turn out as hoped for (top 6, difference makers) then this draft will be viewed as an A regardless how the other picks turn out. If any of the other picks become NHLers, then this draft will be seen as an A+ and being as good as 2022 (Slafkovsky, Mesar, Beck, Hutson and Engstrom).

But for 2024, it will all come down to Demidov and Hage. The proverbial ‘swing for the fences’ approach and strategy.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Do people know for sure is there was a behind the scenes?

They do it every year, Chicago and CBJ I think are already out.

NHL one is tomorrow night

 

[HuGort]

A lot better than last year. When most were disappointed either pick. Then Carry Price stumbling through it

 

[BJCOLLINS]

lol, I had no scenario where Demidov fell to us. My thoughts were Chicago will not pass on the most offensively gifted player in the draft, they did. If by some bonehead play they took (who I believed was the most talented D ) Levshunov, the Ducks or Columbus would take Demigod. So I was really looking forward to selecting Lindstrom, although I was secretly concerned about his back…..Shocked & stunned when Celine called Ivan!!!

Shout out to the many HF members who suggested we take Sennecke @5. The more I read about this kid the more I liked him. Hage has great potential and while I would’ve selected Beckett I’m not disappointed we took Michael Hage. We could honestly have hit on the draft like the Ducks did in ‘03 when they selected Getzlaf & Perry, different style players but if our kids live up to their potential…..oh man.

ps grade A

I also like the potential in Koivu Thorpe Protz….the other guys I had to look up, lol.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Everyone talk about Demidov and Hage (it's normal).

But I think Habs did very well with Koivu, Sawyer, Protz and Thorpe. They looks like having a NHL potential.

I'm higher on Sawyer at this moment, but will see.

 

[The Last Red]

A lot better than last year. When most were disappointed either pick. Then Carry Price stumbling through it

i hope Reinbacher hits but getting Fowler was a huge W.

 

[montreal]

I got heat for saying that in just about every game I saw between Silayev, Konyushkov and Artamonov, that Artamonov was the one that impressed me the most, said I would have taken him over Silayev. We'll see what he turns into as he's huge so it could take him a few years but Artamonov is off to a great start this year. I questioned a lot of the scouts that kept putting Silayev so high and Artamonov much lower.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I got heat for saying that in just about every game I saw between Silayev, Konyushkov and Artamonov, that Artamonov was the one that impressed me the most, said I would have taken him over Silayev. We'll see what he turns into as he's huge so it could take him a few years but Artamonov is off to a great start this year. I questioned a lot of the scouts that kept putting Silayev so high and Artamonov much lower.

I'm just jealous Artamonov is on a team with a coach who embraces and develops his young talent.. and Demidov is getting treated like Michael Pezzetta on SKA.

Silayev vs. Artamonov will take awhile to sort, those behemoth D take forever to develop and we will see if they ever do. I personally don't like the mammoth defenseman, it's chasing the Chara dragon and most fail.. the ones that don't, usually become the Oleksiaks of the world.