HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Rozz]

Okay,

Just did the Tankathon SIM for the first time aince season ended. First try: Montreal in first.

I’m not touching it again.

I did one the second we locked 5th in Arizona last game... got Habs 1st! I have also not gone back for another spin... let's hope it's a sign lol

 

[Naslund]

We will be leaving this draft with Demidov, Lindstrom or Iginla, so this should make everybody happy as they are all exciting prospects. Hopefully, they make the right pick. Iginla was the best player on his team in the playoffs. I know he is ranked below Demidov and Lindstrom, but Iginla may end up the best of the three when it is all said and done. If two (or even three) of these guys are available when we pick, that will be a difficult decision for HuGo and his staff.

 

[crosbyshow]

In the WHL, maybe. But that means little in terms of projecting five years form now.

I project him to be better as well in 5 years cause he is a lot smarter than Lindstrom on the ice.

I have Catton 3rd overall just before Buium andindstrom is not in my top 5

 

[Rapala]

Hopefully a smokescreen.

Yeah I'd take it with a grain of salt until we actually have our spot confirmed.
Depending on how many forwards go before we select a Dman could possibly be the BPA.
The odds are we are getting a forward but some of these Dmen are super intriguing.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

People need to fully understand how good Catton is and has been. This isn’t just a guy putting up points in the WHL, this is a guy who was a 1st overall pick in the WHL… captained Canada to gold at the U17… captained Canada to gold at the U18s last year… this is a guy who’s been elite at every level he’s played. And then just look at his production this past year, not many draft eligibles have put up the monster seasons in junior the way he just did.

Kid is a great player, has been and will continue to be at the next level.

 

[Jabba11]

I'm calling this now, prior to U18s. But, my choice for the Canadiens and what I think would be a great pick for this organization is Konsta Helenius.

Sticking with him as the surprise pick. He reminds me too much of Aho and to be honest, his production D, D-1, D-2 and D-3 are just a little behind Barkov but not by much. He's dynamic and similar concerns were applied to Aho, but he is a top center in the league. Kid is a young 2006 too. Still 17 years old, lots of room to grow.

Helenius has a higher floor than Catton, which I think Catton is a harder player to reach his potential than Helenius. You win with players like Helenius. He's not your typical soft Finnish player. The kid has game.

@Goldenhands Agreed?

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I'm calling this now, prior to U18s. But, my choice for the Canadiens and what I think would be a great pick for this organization is Konsta Helenius.

Sticking with him as the surprise pick. He reminds me too much of Aho and to be honest, his production D, D-1, D-2 and D-3 are just a little behind Barkov but not by much. He's dynamic and similar concerns were applied to Aho, but he is a top center in the league. Kid is a young 2006 too. Still 17 years old, lots of room to grow.

Helenius has a higher floor than Catton, which I think Catton is a harder player to reach his potential than Helenius. You win with players like Helenius. He's not your typical soft Finnish player. The kid has game.

@Goldenhands Agreed?

I like Helenius a lot as well. He’s an excellent all around hockey player. If I’m ignoring outside noise he’s my 4th ranked forward behind Celebrini, Demi, and Catton.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

When is the lottery draft?

 

[Rozz]

When is the lottery draft?

not soon enough!

but I think I read that it's tentatively may 6th or 7th

 

[The Last Red]

not soon enough!

but I think I read that it's tentatively may 6th or 7th

Yeah, May 6 or 7. Our Stanley Cup final, game 7.

 

[Rozz]

Yeah, May 6 or 7. Our Stanley Cup final, game 7.

damn right! how f***ing amazing would it be if we win? dare to dream! lol

 

[blueberry]

Has anyone heard whether the habs brass have met with lindstrom . Someone said they had met with iginla.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Recency bias and maybe cause it’s been +/- 1000 days since we played a meaningful game (that didn’t involve losing to improve draft odds of course) but watching the first games of the playoffs and its way more physical than anything I’ve seen us be able to play. We need to add 6 forwards and 2 D to our roster with some size/physicality/nastiness. Obviously won’t all come at the draft and maybe we have some pieces in the system but needs to be in the game plan.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Kessel is one of the softest, laziest players ever to play in the NHL. Eiserman has no qualms about throwing his weight around when he is engaged which unfortunately is not nearly often enough.

Eiserman's one timer is much better than Kessel's as he couldn't do it due to using a 65 flex stick. Kessel definitely had a higher IQ, was faster and had better mitts than Eichel so all in all they really should not be compared as they don't have much in common.

Sidenote: Kessel also doesn't get the respect he should. He spent a few years as a top ten scorer in the league. He's also the prime reason Malkin and Crosby got over the hump for two more cups. Highest Pen scorer in 2016.

Unlikeable personality and very prickly (Malkin hated him) and yeah he looked like a cross between Ed Sheeran and Phil Collins but the man could play. It was funny listening to people saying he wasn't clutch and then watching him go out and crush it in the playoffs.

 

[River Meadow]

Not bad, not bad at all...

 

[HuGort]

We don't know for certain Lindstrom is heading our way.

I don't think we should rule out the prospect of drafting Trevor Connelly.

Can't see it. Connelly doesn't fit Hughes culture

 

[Playmaker09]

If Helenius goes 5-8 I wouldn't be surprised if Hage sneaks into the top 10. The quality of Cs in the draft really falls off a cliff after that and we've seen both Danielson and Kasper get "overdrafted" by about 5 spots on draft day.

A team like Calgary who only have Kadri and old man Backlund down the middle seem like a prime candidate.

 

[Habs Icing]

I did one the second we locked 5th in Arizona last game... got Habs 1st! I have also not gone back for another spin... let's hope it's a sign lol

It definitely is a sign! A sign that you are superstitious.

We will be leaving this draft with Demidov, Lindstrom or Iginla, so this should make everybody happy as they are all exciting prospects. Hopefully, they make the right pick. Iginla was the best player on his team in the playoffs. I know he is ranked below Demidov and Lindstrom, but Iginla may end up the best of the three when it is all said and done. If two (or even three) of these guys are available when we pick, that will be a difficult decision for HuGo and his staff.

One of those three players! Pfffft That's nothing. I can do that. Now if they can come away with all three or at the least two of those players then I'll be happy.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

If Helenius goes 5-8 I wouldn't be surprised if Hage sneaks into the top 10. The quality of Cs in the draft really falls off a cliff after that and we've seen both Danielson and Kasper get "overdrafted" by about 5 spots on draft day.

A team like Calgary who only have Kadri and old man Backlund down the middle seem like a prime candidate.

Connor Zary is showing some promise at the center position, FWIW. He had a pretty good rookie season.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Think we should be able to land a high quality forward in this draft. Really do hope we stay away from Lindstrom though, way too boom bust for my taste. Plus we already have a way better version of him in Slafkovsky anyway. Outside of a lottery win, there are two guys I’d be thrilled with in Demidov and Catton, and two guys I’d be content with in Helenius and Iginla. All I think would fit in well albeit all a little differently. Demidov and Catton can be those dynamic offensive play drivers, while Helenius and Iginla just look like they will be really good all around players. All 4 looks like sure fire top 6 guys to me. My next guy would be Eiserman but we’ve already got our sniper in Caufield and not sure a winning team can support two one dimensional guys like that. If we needed a sniper I’d be very happy with Eiserman and if we needed a big body I’d be happy with Lindstrom but those other 4 guys just seem like better fits to me and don’t have the bust factor potential Lindstrom and Eiserman have.

 

[Goalfield13]

I am hoping we can find a way to trade up from our WPG pick to draft MBN. What would we need to add to that pick to get this done? Is MBN considered a top 10 pick now that is out of reach for us?

 

[habsfan891]

If that's validated, he'll definitely be gone early. Big centers with his talent always go very early unless there's massive red flags

The one bonus if he goes early is that Demidov should fall to us if we stay at 5 I don't see anyway one of the 2 isn't there for us there's too many good defense for it to happen otherwise

 

[Playmaker09]

Connor Zary is showing some promise at the center position, FWIW. He had a pretty good rookie season.

Forgot about him lol

 

[WeThreeKings]

I am hoping we can find a way to trade up from our WPG pick to draft MBN. What would we need to add to that pick to get this done? Is MBN considered a top 10 pick now that is out of reach for us?

He's not going top 10, he's probably going right around Detroit. If not to Detroit themselves. You basically need to see if he's still there when Washington picks, they make the most sense for a trade down as their prospect pool is bare.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

People need to fully understand how good Catton is and has been. This isn’t just a guy putting up points in the WHL, this is a guy who was a 1st overall pick in the WHL… captained Canada to gold at the U17… captained Canada to gold at the U18s last year… this is a guy who’s been elite at every level he’s played. And then just look at his production this past year, not many draft eligibles have put up the monster seasons in junior the way he just did.

Kid is a great player, has been and will continue to be at the next level.

I have been watching way too many prospect the past few weeks and none has to playmaking abilities and hands of Catton. He is so smooth, cerebral, with high IQ and elusive. I know he is not the ideal size but I have no doubt he will thrive in the NHL with better player around him. I get the size 'concerns' but at the same time I find them quite absurd, if you have a player with elite offensive abilities you cannot just discredit him because he is not the ideal size for you, he does not shy away from contact either.

On the opposite you have Lindstrom,he does look very good at first glance, who does not like a 6'4 Center that skate very well, protect well the puck, has a great shot release and hit everything that move but then you start watching him more and you realise that nobody ever mention that he handles the puck like a grenade and he has hard time connecting small distance passes never mind long stretch passes and that he is a very predictable player. I am very worried he might not even become a top 6 player and that is surprising considering every scouting service have him in the top 5 overall. For all the people that love size/strength you should start looking more at Sennecke or MBN or Greentree they don't have the pure size and power of Lindstrom but they offer more in term of hockey IQ/hands and are less predictable.

On Iginla, I am sold, very easy to see he is a NHL player. Lack explosiveness but I am not that worried about that.