HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[The Great Weal]

Interesting. I don't think the IQ is elite. Michkov and Demidov have Elite IQ. Helenius has good IQ. It's his best attribute, but it's still only a generous 8/10 in my view.

I understand why people like the player, but he's my least favorite potential top 10 by a mile.

I don't think you need to be top 2 in the draft class to have elite talent. I do agree that he's more of a "does everything well but doesn't excel at anything" player, but when the IQ, athleticism, and compete for most of the year are that high end, it makes it more accepting. I doubt he's someone we draft anyways, but I really do think he's going to be a good 2way second line center for a team.

 

[Mrb1p]

I think we did interview him during the season but the writing seems to be on the wall that he'll slip out of the top 10. I'd really hope we'd be looking into trading up if that happens since he's #3 on my board.

I could see him dropping like Benson or Perreault did last year.

Benson 2.0 again lol.

 

[montreal]

Assist 2:52
Button Report on Dickinson 3:17
Nice End to End Attempt 6:57
Would be 3rd Assist 14:14

 

[The Great Weal]

Benson 2.0 again lol.

It really sucks that Barron sucked this year instead of continuing to progress. He might have been able to return a 1st like Lundkvist did and that 1st and the Jets 1st with a guy like Harris might be enough to get to that range.

 

[vokiel]

THW 2024 Mock NHL Draft Round 1: Our Writers Make Their Picks - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft about a month away, it’s time for the THW writing staff to make their picks in the annual mock draft.

thehockeywriters.com

Interesting; Helenius drops like a rock, and we reach like idiots on a late 1st rounder again.

Mock draft is suspicious..

 

[Twisted Sinister]

His best attributes IMO is that he's a puck hound and even while being a smaller center he goes hard into board batlles and seems to come up on top against bigger stronger players. He also seems to give everything he has every shift.

That's why he reminds me of Nico Hischier so much, giving it all and then coming to the bench and looking like he's about to die but when his next shift comes he's ready to go again.

I don't inherently disagree with this but I'm just so tired of drafting for tenacity. Let's get some talent for once, for the Love of God.

I don't think you need to be top 2 in the draft class to have elite talent. I do agree that he's more of a "does everything well but doesn't excel at anything" player, but when the IQ, athleticism, and compete for most of the year are that high end, it makes it more accepting. I doubt he's someone we draft anyways, but I really do think he's going to be a good 2way second line center for a team.

Yeah, I feel you. I think he definitely has a chance to project where you're saying. I'm just allergic to these types of players. Part of it is fear of the plateau and part of it is that I'm exhausted with the recent history of the Montreal Canadiens and their allergy to elite talent. If we were drafting 10th, I'd have no issues with this player.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Interesting; Helenius drops like a rock, and we reach like idiots on a late 1st rounder again.

Mock draft is suspicious..

Truly remarkable how bad THW is. It's like if you took all the know it alls off my ignore list and gave them a platform.

 

[Balthazar]

THW 2024 Mock NHL Draft Round 1: Our Writers Make Their Picks - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft about a month away, it’s time for the THW writing staff to make their picks in the annual mock draft.

thehockeywriters.com

Another mock draft where it feels like it's just convenient that one of Demidov or Lindstrom is still available at #5 and Iginla is still available for CGY at #9.

The issue with mock drafts like that is they think about who's coming next (and their need) when they make a pick. That's not what's happening in real life.

The teams drafting before #9 don't give a shit if Iginla is a good fit for Calgary. Same with the top 4 teams not caring if Montreal is not getting one of the top 3 forwards available.

 

[McGees]

Every mock draft ever:
MTL selects the QC player.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Interesting; Helenius drops like a rock, and we reach like idiots on a late 1st rounder again.

Mock draft is suspicious..

I wouldn't call Poirier a reach at that range, I've got him late 20s as well

Every mock draft ever:
MTL selects the QC player.

Yeah...anyway, here's why Calgary will draft Iginla

 

[overlords]

Every mock draft ever:
MTL selects the QC player.

they're not wrong, just usually off by a few rounds.

 

[G0bias]

I wouldn't call Poirier a reach at that range, I've got him late 20s as well

Not when Connelly is still on the board. 27th pick is such a shot in the dark, that kind of talent is never around at that point. Don't care, i'd take him.

 

[overlords]

Does anybody know when the eliteprospects people usually release their full draft guide?

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Not when Connelly is still on the board. 27th pick is such a shot in the dark, that kind of talent is never around at that point. Don't care, i'd take him.

Do you hold investments in dog poop bag companies in the city of Montreal?

 

[ChesterNimitz]

THN Draft Preview 2024 arrived in my mailbox this morning.

Top 10 with “best case” NHL comps:

1. Macklin Celebrini (Elias Petterson)
2. Ivan Demidov (Mitch Marner)
3. Anton Silayev (Victor Hedman)
4. Zeev Buium (Devon Toews)
5. Sam Dickinson (Mattias Ekholm)
6. Cayden Lindstrom (Mikko Rantanen)
7. Artyom Levshunov (Jacob Chychrun)
8. Zayne Parekh (Brent Burns)
9. Tij Iginla (Brandon Hagel)
10. Konsta Helenius (Brayden Point)

Catton (Aho) and Sennecke (Kadri) are 11 and 12, for those wondering.

Keep in mind that the NHL comps have ben pretty well meaningless, historically.

If you are attempting to compare Parekh to Brent Burns this ‘comp’ exercise is worse than meaningless. I question whether the authors have ever watched Parekh play.

 

[Simarino]

Knowing what we know about this management so far, I would be flabbergasted if they passed on Lindstrom unless they know something about his medical situation.

Indeed! They seems to like young players with Size Skills and good Work Ethic. Draft players with these characteristics and trust your development system to make them reach their full potential.

 

[Xirik]

I don't inherently disagree with this but I'm just so tired of drafting for tenacity. Let's get some talent for once, for the Love of God.



Yeah, I feel you. I think he definitely has a chance to project where you're saying. I'm just allergic to these types of players. Part of it is fear of the plateau and part of it is that I'm exhausted with the recent history of the Montreal Canadiens and their allergy to elite talent. If we were drafting 10th, I'd have no issues with this player.

Oh i definitely agree that the Hab's shouldn't pick himt though that might change a bit if they think Dach isn't a center, But as they are right now Helenius wouldn't fit the habs greatest need.

Demidov, Lindstrom, Levshunov would all be better picks for the Habs. Iginla, Catton, and Helenius are much more closer together and you'd just want to pick which fits your current and future team the best.

A. Catton if you want someone who will dominate the regular season but might struggle a bit in the playoffs

B. Iginla if you want a gritty guy who might not have as much points as Catton but will give everything to succeed in those must win moments. The guy every team wants in the playoffs.

C. Helenius who will work hard and be a responsible two way center. Might eventually get some Selke votes.

Based off what Hughes wants his team to become I can see that B. and possibly A. are wants needed and wanted.

 

[sampollock]

Ivan Demidov or Lidstrom

 

[Twisted Sinister]

The thing with Sennecke is this;

The very thing that makes him unique (consistently beating Ds one-on-one, making high-risk plays and getting away with his because of his great hands), are things that nobody is doing in the NHL, unless you're called McDavid or Kucherov.

So you pretty much bank on him being able to fool guys like Charlie McAvoy and Jacob Trouba like he SOMETIMES does in junior without getting his head ripped off. That means you bank on him doing things that 95% of players in the NHL can't do. Or else, if you take that trait away from him (his ability to slip past defenders with a deke like it's nothing), there's not a whole lot of things to like.

His size? Well, he's definitely not a guy who uses it just yet. People are pegging this on "not having grown into his body yet". But you're putting a lot of chips on a VERY abstract possibility - him ending up using his physical tools accurately. Something a lot of players never learn to do properly in the show.

His speed? He's not slow, but I wouldn't say he has the speed to be able to stand out in the big league.

His engagement? Definitely not.

So what's left?

If the kid ever turns into something substantial in the NHL, it's going to be by playing a completely different game that he plays in junior, because there's no way in hell half the stuff he does down there works in the big league. Hell, it's far from always working in the junior as well, it's just that when it does it ends up in a highlight reels package.

To me, it seems like a lot of people are trying to talk themselves out of a very safe, rather high-reward, logical pick in Iginla for some reason. There are so few reasons to make a tough exercise like this even tougher.

I have to say, I believe this is an overly simplified view of Sennecke's talent. Sure, he's good at deking people out of their shoes, but that's not the only thing he's good at. He's extremely good at using his body and reach to keep the puck away from people until options become available to him, he has the ability to break down defenses, and he sees the holes and options available to him at all times. It's not just his hands, he finds the spots on the ice where people aren't and uses them to make plays.

That level of creativity in that frame has the potential to be an absolutely devastating NHL player. I don't even really see him as a particularly risky pick, because he almost seems to have too many tools to fail. The floor seems relatively high to me and the sky is the limit in terms of ceiling.

I think the one of the reasons people are freaking out over is how fast of a riser he is and I don't think they're used to the idea, at least in my view. He'll be hovering around 10 on Mckenzie's list at the end of the year, i'd wager. Too bad he got injured at the end there or he might've cracked the top 10

 

[bleuetbio]

Another mock draft where it feels like it's just convenient that one of Demidov or Lindstrom is still available at #5 and Iginla is still available for CGY at #9.

The issue with mock drafts like that is they think about who's coming next (and their need) when they make a pick. That's not what's happening in real life.

The teams drafting before #9 don't give a shit if Iginla is a good fit for Calgary. Same with the top 4 teams not caring if Montreal is not getting one of the top 3 forwards available.

I think youre a bit rude with THW. I cannot say that I agree with the entire analysis but I consider that it is a very good and well educated job

 

[Beer and Chips]

Ivan Demidov or Lidstrom

I expect Chicago to take Demidov so HuGo will have to decide if Lindstom can be an impact player, if not it will be Iginla, who is a safe pick, disipointing tbo. I guess it depends on who they are targeting to trade for, Catton may still be in the mix.

 

[le_sean]

I have to say, I believe this is an overly simplified view of Sennecke's talent. Sure, he's good at deking people out of their shoes, but that's not the only thing he's good at. He's extremely good at using his body and reach to keep the puck away from people until options become available to him, he has the ability to break down defenses, and he sees the holes and options available to him at all times. It's not just his hands, he finds the spots on the ice where people aren't and uses them to make plays.

That level of creativity in that frame has the potential to be an absolutely devastating NHL player. I don't even really see him as a particularly risky pick, because he almost seems to have too many tools to fail. The floor seems relatively high to me and the sky is the limit in terms of ceiling.

I think the one of the reasons people are freaking out over is how fast of a riser he is and I don't think they're used to the idea, at least in my view. He'll be hovering around 10 on Mckenzie's list at the end of the year, i'd wager. Too bad he got injured at the end there or he might've cracked the top 10

Yeah this idea that he’s Josh Ho-Sang because he dangles Is funny.

 

[Jabba11]

I don't care about big centermen or big wingers. I want a player with killer instinct and swag like this kid:

Who is this draft class SHOWTIME?!

 

[waitin425]

Dickinson....nice goal

 

[bleuetbio]

I expect Chicago to take Demidov so HuGo will have to decide if Lindstom can be an impact player, if not it will be Iginla, who is a safe pick, disipointing tbo. I guess it depends on who they are targeting to trade for, Catton may still be in the mix.

Dickinson....nice goal

Yeah there a lot of rumors about Chicago GM being in LOVE with Dickinson since many weeks now. This tournament gonna feed the beast again.