HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[TheBuriedHab]

If they have such bias, they shouldn't be at the helm of a profesional team.

Yeah drafting size and skill is a fireable offense. Agreed. Imagine how sick this team would be with Cooley and Benson up front with Caufield. So much skill. Then Catton this year. Wow!

 

[PavelBrendl]

Yeah drafting size and skill is a fireable offense. Agreed. Imagine how sick this team would be with Cooley and Benson up front with Caufield. So much skill. Then Catton this year. Wow!

… but the team doesn’t have Cooley and Benson. They have Slaf and Reinbacher.

 

[covfefe]

All the more reason why they won't draft another small player. Plus those weren't top 10 picks.

This managment team actually has a brain and will use high draft resources on size skill combo. It's why they chose Slaf over Cooley. And RB over Michkov. They are yelling it from the rooftops. Unless there is elite tools like Bedard, they are taking the best combo of skill and size.

No babe don't worry, your statline is great. Those PPG players scare me too.

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah drafting size and skill is a fireable offense. Agreed. Imagine how sick this team would be with Cooley and Benson up front with Caufield. So much skill. Then Catton this year. Wow!

Foregoing talent for size strictly is a problem. The team would look sick if they had a top 6 consisting of those guys, but they don't and they have a 6'3 behemoth and another 6'4 behemoth center. Their captain is 5'11 but he's heavier than 95% of forwards in the NHL.

There is no size concern. What if Catton becomes the next Brayden Point ? What do we do then ? MBN becomes Josh Anderson. Was it a good move ? When does it stop being a concern that Catton is below average height wise ?

 

[TheBuriedHab]

… but the team doesn’t have Cooley and Benson. They have Slaf and Reinbacher.

And thank God for that

 

[Jaynki]

Foregoing talent for size stricly is indeed a problem. And a major one.

Tho, ignoring the importance of size is also a problem.

The delicate balance in properly evaluating the relation between both is crucially important.

 

[PavelBrendl]

And thank God for that

I don’t see the point in your alternate history posts.

 

[sampollock]

Foregoing talent for size stricly is indeed a problem. And a major one.

Tho, ignoring the importance of size is also.a major problem.

The delicate balance in properly evaluating the relation between both is crucially important.

balance is a key. cup winning teams need 4 lines and top 2 lines full of talent. right now they have 1 line out of 2

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Foregoing talent for size strictly is a problem. The team would look sick if they had a top 6 consisting of those guys, but they don't and they have a 6'3 behemoth and another 6'4 behemoth center. Their captain is 5'11 but he's heavier than 95% of forwards in the NHL.

There is no size concern. What if Catton becomes the next Brayden Point ? What do we do then ? MBN becomes Josh Anderson. Was it a good move ? When does it stop being a concern that Catton is below average height wise ?

So you are using the absolute best case scenario in Brayden Point who is a HIGHLY competitive undersized player that goes to the front of the net with reckless abandon and use No skill no brain Josh Anderson as comparison. What a joke.

Yeah what if MBN turns into Brady Tkachuk and Catton turns into Tyson Jost.

 

[Mrb1p]

And thank God for that

You know that the Lightning won with
Palat-Point-Kucherov
Gourde-Cirelli-Coleman
Killorn-Johnson-Goodrow

The bolded are players under 6 foot.

The year after they repeated the same thing but replaced Johnson for Stamkos, basically. We currently have Caufield, Suzuki, Newhook and RHP in the top 9 that are under 6 feet tall, two of which are 200+ lbs.

Foregoing talent for size stricly is indeed a problem. And a major one.

Tho, ignoring the importance of size is also a problem.

The delicate balance in properly evaluating the relation between both is crucially important.

We have Slaf and Dach, we could have 4 other midgets under 5' that we wouldn't even be undersized by league standards. Let alone the fact that Suzuki is pretty big himself and that Roy who's gonna be on the 2nd line, is of average size. We have one more spot and it doesn't matter if the player is big or small, we just need him to be good, if not great.

So you are using the absolute best case scenario in Brayden Point who is a HIGHLY competitive undersized player that goes to the front of the net with reckless abandon and use No skill no brain Josh Anderson as comparison. What a joke.

Yeah what if MBN turns into Brady Tkachuk and Catton turns into Tyson Jost.

Im using this scenario to show you that it makes no sense to dismiss the selection of Catton because of size.

Its also funny, because Catton is exactly this himself.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

You know that the Lightning won with
Palat-Point-Kucherov
Gourde-Cirelli-Coleman
Killorn-Johnson-Goodrow

The bolded are players under 6 foot.

The year after they repeated the same thing but replaced Johnson for Stamkos, basically. We currently have Caufield, Suzuki, Newhook and RHP in the top 9 that are under 6 feet tall, two of which are 200+ lbs.


We have Slaf and Dach, we could have 4 other midgets under 5' that we wouldn't even be undersized by league standards. Let alone the fact that Suzuki is pretty big himself and that Roy who's gonna be on the 2nd line, is of average size. We have one more spot and it doesn't matter if the player is big or small, we just need him to be good, if not great.

Im using this scenario to show you that it makes no sense to dismiss the selection of Catton because of size.

Its also funny, because Catton is exactly this himself.

Hell no Catton is not that himself.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

You know that the Lightning won with
Palat-Point-Kucherov
Gourde-Cirelli-Coleman
Killorn-Johnson-Goodrow

The bolded are players under 6 foot.

The year after they repeated the same thing but replaced Johnson for Stamkos, basically. We currently have Caufield, Suzuki, Newhook and RHP in the top 9 that are under 6 feet tall, two of which are 200+ lbs.

If I thought Catton could be a Point or Kucherov level talent I would take him. I don't see it.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If I thought Catton could be a Point or Kucherov level talent I would take him. I don't see it.

He could be a Point. I like MBN as much as anyone out there but Josh Anderson/Joel Armia is a likely outcome there too.

There's plenty of small skilled guys that don't produce to the Point level that id take over either of those guys.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

He could be a Point. I like MBN as much as anyone out there but Josh Anderson/Joel Armia is a likely outcome there too.

There's plenty of small skilled guys that don't produce to the Point level that id take over either of those guys.

If Armia or Anderson is what they believe to be the likely outcome they aren't taking him in the first round.

Armia problem had always been his motor and Andersons problem has been his IQ. I don't see MBN with either of these issues.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If Armia or Anderson is what they believe to be the likely outcome they aren't taking him in the first round.

Armia problem had always been his motor and Andersons problem has been his IQ. I don't see MBN with either of these issues.

They could think they aren't getting that player and end up with him anyways. Evaluations fail.

You don't like Catton. That's fine. But there's a chance they do and a chance they don't value MBN as highly as you or I do.

We will know way more the closer we get. Anything definitive now is a tough sell, even I'm pretty sure they won't take Eiserman, but they could.

 

[montreal]

I meant to post this yesterday, here's the goal against for Silayev,

 

[overlords]

I meant to post this yesterday, here's the goal against for Silayev,

lolwut goldobin is leading his team with 68 pts in 57 games

 

[Goldenhands]

I meant to post this yesterday, here's the goal against for Silayev,

Is it supposed to make his draft stock drop?

 

[Goldenhands]

I don’t think Parekh’s game will translate well in the NHL where he will have to play against bigger, faster and stronger players nightly. While possessing great offensive talent, Parekh is not an elite skater and is beyond passive in his approach to defensive play. I just see him being steamrolled in the NHL We already have better ‘Parekh Clones’ on the horizon: Hutson and Mailloux. Though my knowledgeable staff disagrees , I think there will be much, much better options available than Parekh when we draft.

I disagree on your Parekh take. He is a fabulous skater with a very high hockey IQ, for me he is in the same mold as a Kris Letang, about the same size, similar skating and offensive tools. I agree that his D game will probably never be great, but thats still good enough and wont prevent him to play alot of minutes, especially if paired with a strong balanced partner.

I prefer Silayev and Buium to Parekh though, but I could understand those who have Parekh higher since he is just a smooth effortless skater with tremendous offensive talent. Parekh will likely end up as the best points producer defenseman in the draft, but thats a great crop and you have other great defensemen with the potential to impact the game both sides.

 

[montreal]

lolwut goldobin is leading his team with 68 pts in 57 games

He's come out of nowhere this year, as he's got almost as many goals as he had points all of last season. He's 28 so I don't know if he will look to come back or not but he's been right up there all season as one of the top scorers along with Jordan Weal.

 

[montreal]

I wonder if the team that drafts Demidov, also drafts his older brother who's in the VHL but eliteprospects has his contract expiring at the end of the season. Having his brother in the AHL next season or even if he re-signed for a year and they came over together might be something teams look at.

 

[Goldenhands]

Konsta Helenius with a 3 pts game today, 5 points in his last 5 games, 8 in his last 10, in Liiga...

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I disagree on your Parekh take. He is a fabulous skater with a very high hockey IQ, for me he is in the same mold as a Kris Letang, about the same size, similar skating and offensive tools. I agree that his D game will probably never be great, but thats still good enough and wont prevent him to play alot of minutes, especially if paired with a strong balanced partner.

I prefer Silayev and Buium to Parekh though, but I could understand those who have Parekh higher since he is just a smooth effortless skater with tremendous offensive talent. Parekh will likely end up as the best points producer defenseman in the draft, but thats a great crop and you have other great defensemen with the potential to impact the game both sides.

On January 22, 2024, I posted my comments and observations on Parekh’s skills and focused my concerns about this prospect’s skating abilities:

While there is no question that Parekh has an offensive skill set (including a better shot) that rivals Hutson's, like Montreal's top prospect, Parekh lacks elite skating ability and strength. No doubt there will be those here who will immediately reference another size challenged defenceman, Quintin Hughes, who is having a Norris caliber year. The difference is Hughes has elite skating abilities. That skating ability allows Hughes to evade forecheckers who are hesitant to be too aggressive in the justifiable fear that Hughes will step around them and create an odd man rush the other way. There are some aspects of Parekh's skating that are elite: his ability to 'walk-the line' backwards, which is the best I have seen in a prospect since: Quintin Hughes. He also on occasion, shows a burst that allows him to gain separation from those who challenge him. But not consistently enough.​

So it came as no surprise, at least to this writer, that at the recent Prospects Game skills competition that Parekh finished first (fastest) in 30m Backwards Skate and second in the 30m Backwards Skate with the Puck competitions but failed to place in the top 5 in any other skating skills competitions. And it must be remembered that this was a competition for just CHL players and no NCAA or Euro skaters participated. There is no question that Parekh has high-end offensive skills, but to call him a “fabulous’ or an ‘elite’ skater, is simply wrong. Couple his skating limitations with his lack of strength and his questionable defensive play, means we should take a hard pass on this player. Certainly, not in the top ten.

 

[Goldenhands]

On January 22, 2024, I posted my comments and observations on Parekh’s skills and focused my concerns about this prospect’s skating abilities:

While there is no question that Parekh has an offensive skill set (including a better shot) that rivals Hutson's, like Montreal's top prospect, Parekh lacks elite skating ability and strength. No doubt there will be those here who will immediately reference another size challenged defenceman, Quintin Hughes, who is having a Norris caliber year. The difference is Hughes has elite skating abilities. That skating ability allows Hughes to evade forecheckers who are hesitant to be too aggressive in the justifiable fear that Hughes will step around them and create an odd man rush the other way. There are some aspects of Parekh's skating that are elite: his ability to 'walk-the line' backwards, which is the best I have seen in a prospect since: Quintin Hughes. He also on occasion, shows a burst that allows him to gain separation from those who challenge him. But not consistently enough.​

So it came as no surprise, at least to this writer, that at the recent Prospects Game skills competition that Parekh finished first (fastest) in 30m Backwards Skate and second in the 30m Backwards Skate with the Puck competitions but failed to place in the top 5 in any other skating skills competitions. And it must be remembered that this was a competition for just CHL players and no NCAA or Euro skaters participated. There is no question that Parekh has high-end offensive skills, but to call him a “fabulous’ or an ‘elite’ skater, is simply wrong. Couple his skating limitations with his lack of strength and his questionable defensive play, means we should take a hard pass on this player. Certainly, not in the top ten.

Look I wont argue with you if we should pick Parekh top 10 or not, but in term of skating mechanics, size , smoothness, dynamism he is in the same league as a young Kristopher Letang, which is nearly elite level. Letang isnt the strongest guy either, but still defends well enough with his skating, IQ, stickwork. Parekh can use his size at times too, its not like he was totally imcompetent physically 1 on 1.

 

[covfefe]

Yeah drafting size and skill is a fireable offense. Agreed. Imagine how sick this team would be with Cooley and Benson up front with Caufield. So much skill. Then Catton this year. Wow!

Well, there's one thing that we can all agree on: we haven't had a PPG forward on this team for 16 straight seasons.