HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[jaffy27]

Yep.

Remember big tall dumbs...like Fischer, Tinordi, Beaulieu, Kk, Poeling etc..


Oh they had size but not the most talented at their rank.

In 2018, I was all in with Quinn Hughes at 3rd overall and everybody laughed.

Iq, vision speed and skills are way more important than size for forwards.

Bring me Catton or Parech any day of the

Those players are definitely on the table….If we’re picking 9-10

 

[crosbyshow]

Those players are definitely on the table….If we’re picking 9-10

Even 5 to 8

 

[jaffy27]

Even 5 to 8

Celebrini
Demidov
Lindstrom
Iginla
Eiserman
Levshunov
Dickinson

Ya….maybe 8th

 

[le_sean]

So Guhle and Xhekaj might be injury prone. Maybe defence is still a need

 

[Vachon23]

I personally like Tomas Lavoie (RD) for our Colorado pick in 2nd round. He's a huge RHD who plays for Cape Breton. He plays a pro-style & has shut down D written all over him. He's got a huge wingspan and knows how to use his stick to defend.

I also like Spencer Gill (RD), of Rimouski. He's another big RHD, who brings more offense than Lavoie.

I don't want a D in 1st round because I think there's some decent ones later that project well.

In 3rd round, Will McIsaac of Spokane Chiefs is another big, RHD who plays a physical competitive game and has some offensive upside - not a ton, but he's decent enough with the puck & is a good
transition D.

Matvei Gridin is a talented Russian playing in USHL. He's putting up terrific numbers. But, he's got a lot to work to do on his overall game and his skating. He's a seriously one dimensional player. He's going to University of Michigan, so you just hope they can convince him to play a more team oriented game and that he works on his strength and skating. A real boom or bust player. He's either top 6 or not signed.

Miguel Marques (C), Lethbridge Hurricanes, is a really complete player when he wants to be. He drives the middle, plays well defensively and is a quality playmaker with really quick hands. He has issues with consistency and can get frustrated with tight checking. Montreal's sports psychologist could do wonders for this kid. He's got sweet upside if he can pull it together.

Alexandre Blais, Rimouski again. A smaller forward (5'10), he plays the kind of high energy game that I like. He keeps his feet moving on the boards while having the hand skills to control the puck. He's competitive and skilled. Definitely worth a shot with one of our two 3rds.

Ondrej Kos, Czech playing in Finnish 2nd division. He hasn't played a lot due to injury. High, high compete with pure speeeeeeeeeeed. Offensive upside is unknown, but he has decent playmaking skills. He hasn't shown much this year in that regard, although he was good in D -1 year. Good height, but badly needs to gain weight.

I'll leave it at 5 with one honorable mention: Justin Poirier. Super small goal scoring forward. And he scores in every way possible: off the rush, off the forecheck, off steals, off quick transition plays, off give & goes, his shot explodes off his stick.

Off his goal scoring alone he should probably be a 1st rounder, but he's 5'8. I've seen rankings for him from late 1st to late 3rd round, so who knows. Even though he's short, he's pretty stocky. He has a stumpy build - not unlike Steve Thomas. He has a really, really late birthday (September 4th), so he's one of the youngest players in this draft too. It'll be interesting to see where he goes. I like him much, much more than I did Dumais, who was a DND for me last year.

I like Poirier and Lavoie

If Masse is there with Colorado pick, I’m taking him

 

[BergevinBurner]

So Guhle and Xhekaj might be injury’s prone. Maybe defence is still a need

Silayev is as good as ours

 

[Schooner Guy]

So Guhle and Xhekaj might be injury prone. Maybe defence is still a need

I think we have terrific depth at D and a lot of potential #2-4 guys but I personally think we need a #1 QB in our core. If we don't draft one, we may need to make a blockbuster trade for one at some point.

 

[KevSkillz4]

I'd rather see Habs pick Beckett Sennecke instead of Anton Silayev, with their high pick.

At this point, Silayev is the most overrated prospect I've never see in my life.

 

[Mrb1p]

I watched two (small sample size) random shift-by-shift videos about Tij, and I saw that he needs to improve on his passing. He frequently forces passes into his teammates' skates, which leads to him losing the puck, and occasionally he holds onto the puck too long. His hands are not his strongest suit; although he will shield the puck well, his mediocre hands can occasionally cause him to lose track of the puck behind him.

Correct me if I'm mistaken, I'm only drawing attention to the drawbacks, because I don't see anyone else discussing them.

I'll continue to watch more.

Not that Im a scout dick rider, especially not WHL ones, but when every one sees something you don't see, maybe you haven't seen enough.

He's not Demidov, so if thats what you define as a good puckhandler, no he's not. But that's ridiculous, he's well above average as a puck handler and passer.

The drawbacks I have with Tij is twofold, one he's sluggish in his getaway speed. His mechanics are not bad and his edges are great, so im not concerned. He's also extremely young and small right now. Second, he forces plays. That you got right.

Slafkovsky forced plays, and still does, and I label that as average-ish IQ, but he's still a great passer and I have no doubt he'd get 40-50 assists in a good year. Iginla is a bit like that, but as opposed to Slaf, I see him manipulate defenses with his puck movement, off-puck movement and on-puck movement, it's just that... he forces plays at times, and Im not sure why exactly. Low IQ ? Forcing because ..? Is he limit testing ? I don't know. That's very hard to judge.

I'd love to be able ot interview the players, why did you make that pass and why did you make that one. At times Ive noticed that he does a lot of no-lookers that end up on another players stick. I would notice that this is his first year since midget that he's actually playing with the puck though.

 

[le_sean]

I think we have terrific depth at D and a lot of potential #2-4 guys but I personally think we need a #1 QB in our core. If we don't draft one, we may need to make a blockbuster trade for one at some point.

It all depends on who falls. This Top 10 will be a strange one.

 

[The Great Weal]

So Guhle and Xhekaj might be injury prone. Maybe defence is still a need

It is definitely still a need. Not to mention that nobody seems to be that #1 star dman you play first on the PK and the PP. Moreover, the defensive game of Hutson and Mailloux isn't ideal when both are currently projected to be in our top 4. I'd rather not have Struble-Xhekaj be facing against the other teams secondary offensive guys assuming Guhle-Reinbacher faces the top guys.

Our lack of good forward prospects is due to them all graduating.

 

[Mrb1p]

It is definitely still a need. Not to mention that nobody seems to be that #1 star dman you play first on the PK and the PP. Moreover, the defensive game of Hutson and Mailloux isn't ideal when both are currently projected to be in our top 4. I'd rather not have Struble-Xhekaj be facing against the other teams secondary offensive guys assuming Guhle-Reinbacher faces the top guys.

Our lack of good forward prospects is due to them all graduating.

Guhle is that guy but MSL don't like him because he's big and strong and has a large schlong.

Believe in the GoooOoOooOoL.


Engstrom is also real to me.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

Biggest takeaway from the latest Basu/Godin podcast:

Bergevin and Timmins did have access to analytics, but they didn't have a department nor did they have data scientists who could distill that data into language that the scouting staff could understand. They also didn't develop or use their own data, they would switch providers of the analytics consistently.

So they felt it was a tool but it was not being leveraged really at all.

This has changed massively under Boucher and Boucher has a big voice at the draft table.

Hopefully Boucher's influence continues to grow.

It's inconceivable that Molson did not insist on it, all this time. He didn't learn much at Babson.

 

[Kent Nilsson]

It is definitely still a need. Not to mention that nobody seems to be that #1 star dman you play first on the PK and the PP. Moreover, the defensive game of Hutson and Mailloux isn't ideal when both are currently projected to be in our top 4. I'd rather not have Struble-Xhekaj be facing against the other teams secondary offensive guys assuming Guhle-Reinbacher faces the top guys.

Our lack of good forward prospects is due to them all graduating.

Yeah I dont understand people wanting to disregard BPA with a top 10 pick because we have Struble, Xhekaj or Mailloux.

Some in here will be disappointed when they realize how long a rebuild truly takes.

 

[Schooner Guy]

At this point, Silayev is the most overrated prospect I've never see in my life.

Whoa Skillzie!! That may be the most negative thing I've ever read you say about a prospect!

 

[BergevinBurner]

At this point, Silayev is the most overrated prospect I've never see in my life.

I can see Bobrov at the scouts meeting just slamming his hands on the table over and over while screaming unicorn repeatedly and spraying spit while he makes his argument for Silayev.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I like Poirier and Lavoie

If Masse is there with Colorado pick, I’m taking him

No way Masse is available that late. He's top 45. If he does happen to be there at Colorado's pick that's a no brainer. I can see teams liking Lavoie like they did Warner. He could go earlier.

 

[Vachon23]

No way Masse is available that late. He's top 45. If he does happen to be there at Colorado's pick that's a no brainer. I can see teams liking Lavoie like they did Warner. He could go earlier.

Lavoie have better puck skills then Warren but Warren is stronger

 

[Mrb1p]

Yeah I dont understand people wanting to disregard BPA with a top 10 pick because we have Struble, Xhekaj or Mailloux.

Some in here will be disappointed when they realize how long a rebuild truly takes.

Then we need to seriously discuss Buium.

Whoa Skillzie!! That may be the most negative thing I've ever read you say about a prospect!

Then you haven't read his early takes on Reinbacher or his last year takes on Slaf.

I can see Bobrov at the scouts meeting just slamming his hands on the table over and over while screaming unicorn repeatedly and spraying spit while he makes his argument for Silayev.

This or Lindstrom. You know he's gonna bang on the table. HOCKEY HISTORIANS!

No way Masse is available that late. He's top 45. If he does happen to be there at Colorado's pick that's a no brainer. I can see teams liking Lavoie like they did Warner. He could go earlier.

Massé is maybe lasting until the 3rd. I can't seem to shake who's who in the Q. Boilard, Massé, Poirier, Desruisseaux, Blais, even Zonon and Lacerte. I know I really like Poirier and can't help but see vintage Giants-era Gally there.

 

[Mrb1p]

I wanna bring some attention to Verdon again, as I did last year. He grew an inch, he's still 18 for 2 more months and he's currently 2nd in scoring in the POs. I knew he'd look good, I knew he'd progress. I'm not sure there's a NHL future, but it's as good a shot as you can get with a 4th + pick. I really wish the Habs spent that Mittlestatd pick on him instead of going for the 20 years old undersized LD. I'm also curious why he didn't get an invite. It's the kind of shot we need to take.

He's RHP if RHP started being good at 18 instead of 20.

 

[DiglettDangles]

Whoa Skillzie!! That may be the most negative thing I've ever read you say about a prospect!

I wouldn't be a fan of a Silayev pick but at least we would get a much anticipated villain arc from Kev to make up for it

I can see Bobrov at the scouts meeting just slamming his hands on the table over and over while screaming unicorn repeatedly and spraying spit while he makes his argument for Silayev.

When I imagine the scene as you described, I imagine Bobrov's glasses would still magically hold on his forehead despite all the chaotic energy, and that thought pleases me

 

[jiboy]

Tough to know whos gonna be there.

Heres a list from somehwat of a decending order.

HOWE, Parascak, Boilard, Artomonov, Hutson, Massé, Letourneau, Mustard, Poirier, Surin, Lavoie, Marques

What do you like about Howe ? He seems to have hit a bit of wall and falling on most lists

 

[McGees]

Not that Im a scout dick rider, especially not WHL ones, but when every one sees something you don't see, maybe you haven't seen enough.

He's not Demidov, so if thats what you define as a good puckhandler, no he's not. But that's ridiculous, he's well above average as a puck handler and passer.

The drawbacks I have with Tij is twofold, one he's sluggish in his getaway speed. His mechanics are not bad and his edges are great, so im not concerned. He's also extremely young and small right now. Second, he forces plays. That you got right.

Slafkovsky forced plays, and still does, and I label that as average-ish IQ, but he's still a great passer and I have no doubt he'd get 40-50 assists in a good year. Iginla is a bit like that, but as opposed to Slaf, I see him manipulate defenses with his puck movement, off-puck movement and on-puck movement, it's just that... he forces plays at times, and Im not sure why exactly. Low IQ ? Forcing because ..? Is he limit testing ? I don't know. That's very hard to judge.

I'd love to be able ot interview the players, why did you make that pass and why did you make that one. At times Ive noticed that he does a lot of no-lookers that end up on another players stick. I would notice that this is his first year since midget that he's actually playing with the puck though.

Watch Iggy go like 3rd lol.

 

[Mrb1p]

What do you like about Howe ? He seems to have hit a bit of wall and falling on most lists

He's a mid-6er so I don't have him too high, but he's another one of the role-playing kind of guy that this draft has in spades. People are sad with the development when Bedsy moved along but h5e has some very good qualities still. Shot, of course, tenacity, absolute shit disturber and his play around the neck is fantastic too. He's like two inches from being a slam dunk top 30 pick, but him being a 5'11 ish player, he's not gonna make it in the top 30.

I have him around 50, I'd say, without having an actual solid list. Beck is a good comparison, Id say, if Beck was a winger. Not the same skating mechanics but he's a lot more tenacious and has a much better physical game.

Watch Iggy go like 3rd lol.

Don't think so, there's way too much size available for him to go this high. 5 though ? I see it. I have him in there, I can't stress a lot that there's basically no difference between 3 and like.. 13 in this draft. Compared to last year where 1-2-4-6-9 IMO had all distinct groups.

Good draft to pick top 2, or top 15.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I want the 2nd overall pick more than the 1st because I want to see if these guys have the sack to draft Demidov