HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Estimated_Prophet]

He is more in the loop than you think. In fact he has called all of our first rounders for over a decade now.

I know for a fact that he is not in the loop at all although he does have some scouting friends, they are mostly non NHL affiliated and are more part time junior scouts.

He has a connection with Timmins as they are both from Ottawa and Grant has done his best to monetize that but there is a reason that he has had to grovel for attention with no incoming offers to actually be a scout.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Don't you mean Iggy Wiggy Woo Woo Shabadoo?

1 G 1 A so far.

What a sequence. I still haven’t watched other prospects but I love his game.

 

[Mrb1p]

Think they’re taking a Levshunov RD over a winger!

Could be. They do have Luneau and Warren coming up with Zellwegger that can play the right side too though.

On the wings... they have Gauthier, Zegras and then it's up to longer shots like Sidorov, Pastujov and Myatovic. There's a reason they they traded Drysdale. Im thinking Demidov, Iginla or maybe even Helenius are part of the plan here.

 

[Zilo44]

Tij you’re such a beauty

 

[Mrb1p]

What a sequence. I still haven’t watched other prospects but I love his game.

Him and Lindstrom are literally made for this roster. Exciting.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I’m not familiar with that narrative.

Pasta was slight and weak. Even Gretzky - scouting director and his biggest fan - was a little worried about it. He said he’d fall over if you blew on him.

I have never heard that and even if it was foolishly said by anyone it was quickly proven to be nonsense as he immediately dominated in the AHL and was in the NHL the very same season putting up 27 points in 46 games as an 18 year old.

 

[BergevinBurner]

They have Mintyukov, Zellweger and Luneau. They can go either way. They could trade Zegras for a D as well.

I could see that playing out as well. If they don't view Zegras as a fit or as a guy they think will show up in the playoffs then they could grab one of Demidov/Lindstrom/Iginla and just ship out Zegras.

A future top 6 including McTavish, Carlsson, Gauthier and Demidov/Lindstrom/Iginla would be pretty tough to deal with.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Like it or not Grant has connections to some NHL scouts.

Lol so do I but I know better than to misrepresent their opinions for monetary gain.

 

[MasterMatt25]

I don't get how Catton is a gamble. The kid is not shy. Yes he's not big, but he still dominates his games.

 

[Lockin17]

Depends what youre getting. Theoretically yes, but if you're dropping then... why are people trading up?

After top 5 it seems to be mostly defenders or Catton.
So maybe CGY at #8 wants to get #5 to draft let's say Dickinson over #6 and #7
If it's ARI and OTT they are both going for a D , so trading with CGY get's them the better D.

 

[WentWughes]

I know for a fact that he is not in the loop at all although he does have some scouting friends, they are mostly non NHL affiliated and are more part time junior scouts.

He has a connection with Timmins as they are both from Ottawa and Grant has done his best to monetize that but there is a reason that he has had to grovel for attention with no incoming offers to actually be a scout.

I don’t care about your personal feelings for him. His track record indicates he is very much in the know when it comes to the NHL draft as a whole. His personal opinions and stubbornness to not admit when he was wrong however do make him very unlikable.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I don't get how Catton is a gamble. The kid is not shy. Yes he's not big, but he still dominates his games.

Every prospect is a gamble of varying degrees.

Dominating games in itself is meaningless in junior as the list of dominant juniors who did not have long NHL careers is immensely longer than the list of one's who did.

I like Catton quite a bit but he absolutely comes with some obvious risk.

 

[McGees]

Iginla. Catton is very good, but Iginla fit perfectly on Habs system. He is the type of player they want. I will be very happy with Tij Iginla, I'm huge fan of him. One of my favorite prospect in this draft. I would take him even with the #5. I love him like that. That will be a very good pick at 6, 7 or 8.

I think he is gonna go 5 or 6 - bookmark me

 

[Schooner Guy]

I agree that we likely won't get a shot at him with Winnipeg's pick but there is no evidence to suggest that he is rising since Mackenzie's list. I am not saying that he isn't rising but we have know way of knowing if he is actually rising.

Do you want to make a friendly bet on it? His play really took off after Christmas. Speed, hands, smarts, drive and he's still growing into that tall 6ft3 frame. He's a big reason why Oshawa moved up in the standings in the 2nd half and he's having a great playoff.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Him and Lindstrom are literally made for this roster. Exciting.

These are my top two choices.

I'd be happy with Demidov or Catton also. But Iginla and Lindstrom are my preferences.

And with teams who will take some D's who should go high, one of those two have a chance to be there. Although if Iginla continues to light up the playoffs, he might end up going higher.

My question: is Iginila this year's Ryan Leonard? Not the biggest guys, but not small. Both are skilled, but also play with grit.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I don’t care about your personal feelings for him. His track record indicates he is very much in the know when it comes to the NHL draft as a whole. His personal opinions and stubbornness to not admit when he was wrong however do make him very unlikable.

He is wrong far more often than he is right and knows absolutely nothing about how to properly scout a player. He does not understand how the game is played and is a terrible evaluator of skating mechanics and ability. Do you actually believe that he did/does not want to be an NHL scout and prefers looking foolish in the scouting community by embarrassing himself on Marinaro's puppet/freak show.

The sample size that you have is tiny and the choices that he has gotten correct were 50/50 coin tosses at the time of the pick. He has absolutely no connection to the current Hab's administration so he no longer has the benefit of getting a feel for who the Director of scouting likes. This was his only point of value and it is gone as should any references to him being more credible than my dog's opinion lol.

 

[Schooner Guy]

These are my top two choices.

I'd be happy with Demidov or Catton also. But Iginla and Lindstrom are my preferences.

And with teams who will take some D's who should go high, one of those two have a chance to be there. Although if Iginla continues to light up the playoffs, he might end up going higher.

My question: is Iginila this year's Ryan Leonard? Not the biggest guys, but not small. Both are skilled, but also play with grit.

Iginla's not as gritty as Leonard. Leonard is Tkachuk/Marchand level gritty.

 

[Ozmodiar]

I have never heard that and even if it was foolishly said by anyone it was quickly proven to be nonsense as he immediately dominated in the AHL and was in the NHL the very same season putting up 27 points in 46 games as an 18 year old.

It was said by the Bruins director of scouting who drafted him. He knew him more than anyone.

He got knocked off the puck a lot as a rookie. Bulked up in the gym the next season.

 

[montreal]

Grant does not have the connections that he claims to have.

I don't know who he claims to be connected to but I'm sure you are aware he's related to 2 former NHL GM/Head Coach so of course that means he's going to have connections. He had the head of McKeens call me to pitch working for them so he clearly has some connections through that plus the Timmins connection and he knows a lot of others like Bobby Mac, etc..

 

[morhilane]

My question: is Iginila this year's Ryan Leonard? Not the biggest guys, but not small. Both are skilled, but also play with grit.

Iginla is more finesse/mobility, Leonard is more grit/pest. And Iginla is more "work in progress" in his draft year as well.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Do you want to make a friendly bet on it? His play really took off after Christmas. Speed, hands, smarts, drive and he's still growing into that tall 6ft3 frame. He's a big reason why Oshawa moved up in the standings in the 2nd half and he's having a great playoff.

Oh hell no!

Like I said I am not saying that he isn't rising and his profile is one that traditionally goes higher on draft day, just that there is no actual evidence to support the claim that it is actually rising.

There are still questions about his IQ but I would not at all be surprised to see him move closer to the top 10 and even threaten it if his playoff performance hits another gear. McCagg is just trying to ride this obvious trend into a potential bragging point to try and garner credibility as an insider. My bad for being on the contrarian side of the discussion as I also believe that he is rising.....just a little over sensitive with assertions in the absence of empirical evidence.

 

[FrankMTL]

Tij with another assist.

Kelowna up 3-1, and he has 1 G 2 A

Iginla stole it and served it on a silver platter for Cristall.

 

[Whitesnake]

Playoff is key for me. Right now, after Celebrini, for me it's between Demidov and Iginla. Catton and Lindstrom behind.

 

[Playmaker09]

Thank you! I hadn't seen games 3-4 but they were much better.

The second half of game 3 especially was his best play of the series even though it end up being his only scoreless game.

From 57:00 it starts with a nice power move with speed for a break, another big scoring opportunity at 57:25, good strength through a hipcheck at 59:45 and battle to get the puck back, more handling through contact/traffic at speed at 103:18 and 103:40, another nice rush chance at 104:35, chance at 107:18.

 

[skidcells]

Playoff is key for me. Right now, after Celebrini, for me it's between Demidov and Iginla. Catton and Lindstrom behind.

I do think baby iggy is playing himself into the convo about being 3rd best forward. Lindstrom offers the unique size package that will always keep him in the convo.

Iggy is so young and the progression he has showed really makes you salivate at the potential