HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Lafleurs Guy]

Rachel Doerrie continues to fail.

Eiserman 4th…

 

[RationalExpectations]

You could also add Kemell, Lundell
It seems like the soft spot for Finnish player is the 2nd round.


Forget the playoff it was dead for hin from first minute with his team and PG who is the best team in the WHL, the u18 will decide his fate.

Kemell is in his D+2 and scoring at a reasonable pace in the AHL.

Lundell is a very solid 3C on a cup contender. He would likely play higher in the lineup for any rebuilding team and score more points.

Laine s career was derailed because of character issues but he is still young enough he can turn it around. (Same for KK by the way) Heiskanen is one of the top Dmen in the league at 25 years old. Barkov and Rantanen are elite players in this league…

Liiga may be harder to scout than some leagues because of the defensive stance of many teams. Less flashy but efficient players. But scouts have fails every year in every league so not sure what people are talking about here

 

[BergevinBurner]

The more I watch, the less sure I feel about who I want with our pick lol.

I feel pretty confident in Celebrini and Demidov's upsides, but when it comes to guys like Eiserman/Iginla/Lindstrom/Catton it feels like a complete coin toss on who will develop into the best NHLer.

 

[skidcells]

The more I watch, the less sure I feel about who I want with our pick lol.

I feel pretty confident in Celebrini and Demidov's upsides, but when it comes to guys like Eiserman/Iginla/Lindstrom/Catton it feels like a complete coin toss on who will develop into the best NHLer.

Iginla is the player that keeps impressing me the most but it feels like a stretch to put him 3rd behind Celebrini and Demidov right now.

 

[Hannibal]

If we can’t pick Lindstrom, we better pick Iggy ffs.

 

[morhilane]

Meanwhile Catton has 2 assists through 8 periods and one of them shouldnt have been awarded,

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

chl.ca

Haven't some people compared him to Marner...

Since I'm not watching the OHL playoff, is Catton getting outmuscled more than in the normal season?

 

[waitin425]

Meanwhile Catton has 2 assists through 8 periods and one of them shouldnt have been awarded,

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

chl.ca

What are your rankings Goldie? I trust you more than anyone.

 

[Seb]

Iginla is the player that keeps impressing me the most but it feels like a stretch to put him 3rd behind Celebrini and Demidov right now.

I don't think it's much of a stretch. Lindstrom's injury might make him drop a bit and it's not like he was clear cut above the others to begin with.

IMO it's between Iginla and Helenius if both Demidov and Celebrini are gone.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Meanwhile Catton has 2 assists through 8 periods and one of them shouldnt have been awarded,

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

chl.ca

Yeah, PG is an infinitely better team playing a one man team. They're focused on shutting him down exclusively and he has no help.

Eiserman 4th…

Can't believe raw stat humper Doerrie (who hates Slaf) would pick Eiserman high.

Anyways, with our win against Florida, and our unnecessary point accumulation lately, we can forget Celebrini and Demidov. Lindstrom's health keeps him in play.

Since we will be picking 7-9:

No chance - Celebrini, Demidov.

Low chance - Lindstrom.

We have to focus in on the group of Catton, Helenius, Iginla and Eiserman. Gotta get this one right. I'd go Catton, Iginla, Eiserman and Helenius in that order.

 

[le_sean]

Kemell is in his D+2 and scoring at a reasonable pace in the AHL.

Lundell is a very solid 3C on a cup contender. He would likely play higher in the lineup for any rebuilding team and score more points.

Laine s career was derailed because of character issues but he is still young enough he can turn it around. (Same for KK by the way) Heiskanen is one of the top Dmen in the league at 25 years old. Barkov and Rantanen are elite players in this league…

Liiga may be harder to scout than some leagues because of the defensive stance of many teams. Less flashy but efficient players. But scouts have fails every year in every league so not sure what people are talking about here

In a defensive league with such a discrepancy in talent across it, it’s important for the scouts to contextualize Liiga draft eligible players. Kotkaniemi had a better draft year than Aho but that was because he was afforded more ice time and opportunity. Aho was buried and exploded the year after. Helenius has a PPG that’s between Laine and Lehkonen for draft eligible Liiga players. That’s while playing on the 2nd line. Laine was a 1st liner IIRC. Lehkonen I don’t remember, but he’s kind of the perfect Liiga player, right? North-south, 100% effort, defensively responsible. Slafkovsky was a 3rd liner, playing with grinders.

One thing is for sure, Liiga isn’t really in the business of development of young talent. They could always make an excuse for why Slafkovsky could come to the NHL right away because of his size, let Marty develop him. Helenius doesn’t have that, I don’t think you could bring him to the big leagues right away. But there’s space in Laval and no real competition with young forwards for ice time. There’s an opportunity to let him develop in the AHL. Not sure what his contract situation is.

 

[WinterLion]

Meanwhile Catton has 2 assists through 8 periods and one of them shouldnt have been awarded,

Western Hockey League

Headquartered in Calgary, Albert, the Western Hockey League (WHL) consists of 22 Member Clubs located throughout Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

chl.ca

Passing on Iginla will be hard... I mean who doesn't want a player like that on their team?

 

[FrankMTL]

Iginla tied for 1st in WHL goals for the playoffs with 5 in 3 games.

Love that kid.

 

[habsfan891]

Do we take Lindstrom if he falls due to his back I'm not sure I can Montreal is already way too injury prone but the potential is huge

 

[waitin425]

What are your guys thoughts on Parascak?

He has put up very good numbers this year. Seems to be starting the playoffs strong. Possible target with the Winnipeg pick? Every draft has sneaky good forwards who are steals.

Could we do something like Parekh/Yakemchuk/Dickinson + Parascak? There are a ton of options.

 

[le_sean]

Do we take Lindstrom if he falls due to his back I'm not sure I can Montreal is already way too injury prone but the potential is huge

Yes. I think he’s worth the homerun swing. He’s exactly the type of player the team needs.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Do we take Lindstrom if he falls due to his back I'm not sure I can Montreal is already way too injury prone but the potential is huge

That's a question only the medical staff can answer.

What are your guys thoughts on Parascak?

He has put up very good numbers this year. Seems to be starting the playoffs strong. Possible target with the Winnipeg pick? Every draft has sneaky good forwards who are steals.

Could we do something like Parekh/Yakemchuk/Dickinson + Parascak? There are a ton of options.

No that'd be terrible. We need to get the high end forward. Parascak has skating issues and wouldn't fit the bill as a slam dunk top 6 forward. Habs should be using both 1sts on forwards.

 

[The Last Red]

I probably sound like a broken record by now (no one under 40 will likely understand that reference but whatever) but if we draft 7-9, as is highly likely, we're drafting Eiserman or Iginla. That is the hill I will die on. I will admit that the thought of screwing the Flames by drafting Iginla right before they draft is very appealing.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I probably sound like a broken record by now (no one under 40 will likely understand that reference but whatever) but if we draft 7-9, as is highly likely, we're drafting Eiserman or Iginla. That is the hill I will die on. I will admit that the thought of screwing the Flames by drafting Iginla right before they draft is very appealing.

I think it'd be Iginla or Catton, maybe Eiserman. I don't doubt they like Helenius but I do think they're looking for skill upside rather than rounded forwards at this point.

 

[waitin425]

No that'd be terrible. We need to get the high end forward. Parascak has skating issues and wouldn't fit the bill as a slam dunk top 6 forward. Habs should be using both 1sts on forwards.

Skating issues? Ew.

Yeah, I was just looking at stats and wondering. Thanks for the insight WTK

 

[WeThreeKings]

Skating issues? Ew.

Yeah, I was just looking at stats and wondering. Thanks for the insight WTK

He's good and had an impressive year, that team is a buzzsaw, he's more of a Cristall though so probably gonna fall into the 2nd.

 

[RationalExpectations]

In a defensive league with such a discrepancy in talent across it, it’s important for the scouts to contextualize Liiga draft eligible players. Kotkaniemi had a better draft year than Aho but that was because he was afforded more ice time and opportunity. Aho was buried and exploded the year after. Helenius has a PPG that’s between Laine and Lehkonen for draft eligible Liiga players. That’s while playing on the 2nd line. Laine was a 1st liner IIRC. Lehkonen I don’t remember, but he’s kind of the perfect Liiga player, right? North-south, 100% effort, defensively responsible. Slafkovsky was a 3rd liner, playing with grinders.

One thing is for sure, Liiga isn’t really in the business of development of young talent. They could always make an excuse for why Slafkovsky could come to the NHL right away because of his size, let Marty develop him. Helenius doesn’t have that, I don’t think you could bring him to the big leagues right away. But there’s space in Laval and no real competition with young forwards for ice time. There’s an opportunity to let him develop in the AHL. Not sure what his contract situation is.

It s not liiga specific, KHL, NLA, SHL, DEL are not development league. The teams play to win not to prepare players for the NHL that being said, you could argue that because Helenius is already highly regarded in Liiga he ll play a lot of quality minutes which will help him develop as it did with Aho.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Tij Iginla - does he have bite to his game similar to his father, or just more of a pure skill guy.

Max Graham - a teammate of Iginla's, I believe he's still eligible for the draft. 7th rounder? Has size, seems to have some goal scoring prowess and seems he isn't afraid to mix it up with the amount of pims.

 

[vokiel]

Do we take Lindstrom if he falls due to his back I'm not sure I can Montreal is already way too injury prone but the potential is huge

You might know at the combine and after the interviews what's what.

 

[BergevinBurner]

Do we take Lindstrom if he falls due to his back I'm not sure I can Montreal is already way too injury prone but the potential is huge

If the reason he's out now is due to his back and he doesn't return to the playoffs then it'll be a difficult choice.

If you think there's a potential top pair defenseman or winger there at our pick, it might be hard for the scouts to pass on them for a guy that might only play 40 games for us in a season.

 

[FrankMTL]

Tij Iginla - does he have bite to his game similar to his father, or just more of a pure skill guy.

Max Graham - a teammate of Iginla's, I believe he's still eligible for the draft. 7th rounder? Has size, seems to have some goal scoring prowess and seems he isn't afraid to mix it up with the amount of pims.

Definitely not as physical as his dad, he is more of a skill player, but he's feisty and goes to the traffic areas and the middle of the ice and is not afraid of contact. He's gritty without actually going out and looking to hit somebody if that makes sense. As he fills out, he will be more and more comfortable with this aspect.

When Jerome Iginla was a prospect and player, he needed to be aggressive and physical as the NHL was a dirty and physical league. He needed to impose his presence on the other teams.

These days, that type of hockey doesn't exist (or less so) but you still have to be able to get in and around the goal to score, that hasn't changed much.