HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[The Last Red]

I love the notion that you can just easily trade excess talent so just go with another left d at 5OA. It’s pure wishful thanking. Actual “hockey trades” are few and far between in today’s NHL, and good ones are even rarer. Just take the “best” forward available at 5OA.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Ok. Cool.

So you're basing your whole "I fully trust them to pick the best prospect" off of;

- A good half season from Slaf.
- A good 12 games in the AHL from Reinbacher.
- Florian Xhekaj, Volokhin and Konyushkov not turning into complete duds.
- Mesar not having fully busted yet.

Good for you.

2022 draft looks incredible. Beck just won memorial cup MVP. Hutson’s done nothing but overdeliver. Slaf has killed it.

A little too soon to know about RB yet but overall I don’t see how anyone can be upset by what we’ve done with the new regime.

 

[Jaynki]

Personally, I'd pick the guy with the highest percieved point upside. Maybe he'll never hit 140, or 120, or even 100 but even a 90pt forward is still a guy you can't get except through the draft. A prospect who seems to trend toward a profile of a 60-70pt forward who 'hates to lose' and is 'tough to play against' is considerably easier to acquire... especially when he's already suffering back injuries innit?

It's a matter of taste, I suppose

Lindstrom scored at a pace of 58 goals over a full season.

A physical 6ft4 centerman who score 58 goals in the WHL is a top 3 pick in any given year.

Have to admit that injury are a major concern tho. It may be a luck in the sense of grabbing such a player 5th overall or a poison pill too if injury derail his career. I believe he may be picked before our pick tho because team will reach for top 6C and top pair D with size.

 

[austin316]

@WeThreeKings if somehow one of Levshunov or Silayev make it to 5 do you see us taking one of them? I don’t think our D is that strong that we can bypass taking the BPA if it turns out to be a dman.

 

[Deebs]

Lindstrom scored at a pace of 58 goals over a full season.

A physical 6ft4 centerman who score 58 goals in the WHL is a top 3 pick in any given year.

Have to admit that injury are a major concern tho. It may be a luck in the sense of grabbing such a player 5th overall or a poison pill too if injury derail his career. I believe he may be picked before our pick tho because team will reach for top 6C and top pair D with size.

If his medical reports comes back clean and he's available to us.....tough not to take him, especially if Demidov is gone.

 

[WeThreeKings]

@WeThreeKings if somehow one of Levshunov or Silayev make it to 5 do you see us taking one of them? I don’t think our D is that strong that we can bypass taking the BPA if it turns out to be a dman.

Levshunov, yes they could take him depending on the board (Demidov or Lindstrom being there they'd take them) but Silayev I don't see. Left shot, multiple years of development needed.

 

[The Last Red]

@WeThreeKings if somehow one of Levshunov or Silayev make it to 5 do you see us taking one of them? I don’t think our D is that strong that we can bypass taking the BPA if it turns out to be a dman.

I guess you missed his response to my post above. Oh well . . .

 

[Anardil]

Is this guy orbiting space? Who ever had any doubt that Dickinson’s game is more complete than Parekh’s?

Who even had Parekh so closely ranked with Dickinson that there needed to be a judgment call made about which of these two players ranked ahead of the other?

https://x.com/i/web/status/1797719483043160335

Leroux is completely clueless to anyone outside of the Q.

 

[Jack Skellington]

Fantastic game from Sennecke. Habs dev team could make this kid a force. I think he has a lot of runway.

 

[Gustave]

The reason I'm leaning Sennecke now is the same reason I wanted Slaf or Jiricek over Wright in 2022. I want the guy with the crazy upside and the guy that you don't find in every draft. Sennecke's puck skills, skating and IQ in that type of frame is hard to find. Give him to MSL and Adam Nicholas and let them turn him into a stud.

I’m not dissing your choice (it’s a fine one too) but I want to emphasize an interesting point; with what we have on offence, I’d like to add some serious meat and potatoes player with upside, like a Leonard last season or.. Iggy… even Lindstrom. I don’t necessarily need the big home run swing, I’d like to get the proverbial bird in hand.

I’m a Catton booster but I’m not going to fight what’s evident in the rankings. So if it comes to choosing something else, I’d rather go for the evident top 6 player, not risk it. I feel there’s less risk involved with Iginla and the upside he has satisfies me.

Demidov won’t be there so he’s not even considered in my eyes.

 

[bleuetbio]

Leroux is completely clueless to anyone outside of the Q.

People can have different opinion and its ok. I had a debate with one of my teamate last friday. He was well-educated but just a bit too much over Parekh. Can I blame for that? Not realy!

 

[ReHabs]

Lindstrom scored at a pace of 58 goals over a full season.

A physical 6ft4 centerman who score 58 goals in the WHL is a top 3 pick in any given year.

Have to admit that injury are a major concern tho. It may be a luck in the sense of grabbing such a player 5th overall or a poison pill too if injury derail his career. I believe he may be picked before our pick tho because team will reach for top 6C and top pair D with size.

Players or prospects with more Gs than As give off 'bad playmaker' red flags to my amateur eyes. I'm not so concerned with a draft year injury as I am with a *back injury*. How can he play hard, gritty hockey if he's got questionmarks about his *back*? He won't score more Gs than As in the NHL, so what sort of game will he play?

 

[ReHabs]

I love the notion that you can just easily trade excess talent so just go with another left d at 5OA. It’s pure wishful thanking. Actual “hockey trades” are few and far between in today’s NHL, and good ones are even rarer. Just take the “best” forward available at 5OA.

Funny -- last year we knew we needed a top-tier forward in a forward heavy top10 and were told that right shot D was a position of need and RB was too good to pass up. This year it seems like if a superb D prospect is there in a defense heavy top10, we're being told the Habs *shouldn't* take him? What?

 

[Balthazar]

Who should the Canadiens select with the fifth overall pick?

The 2024 NHL Draft is wide open after Macklin Celebrini. We take a look at the forwards likely to be available for the Habs at 5, and who they should take.

www.habseyesontheprize.com

I was already getting strong Kotkaniemi vibes from him...reading that "needs to improve" sure didn't help

 

[WeThreeKings]

I was already getting strong Kotkaniemi vibes from him...reading that "needs to improve" sure didn't help

Not even close to the same player

 

[The Last Red]

Funny -- last year we knew we needed a top-tier forward in a forward heavy top10 and were told that LD was a position of need and RB was too good to pass up. This year it seems like if a superb D prospect is there in a defense heavy top10, we're being told the Habs *shouldn't* take him? What?

It is what it is. I would have drafted Michkov or Leonard last year . . . but we didn’t.

 

[Deebs]

I was already getting strong Kotkaniemi vibes from him...reading that "needs to improve" sure didn't help

My issue with Sennecke is he's a big gangly kid, who can dipsy doodle with his head down in the OHL without fear of getting smoked all the time. He's going to put on weight and strength, but him trying all those moves in the big show will make him a prime candidate for donating his brain to science because of CTE. I don't see him driving to the net, using his body to shield opponents enough. I wish he had that in him on a more consistent basis. That stuff can be taught if one has the right mindset, I just don't know enough about the kid to say if he does or not.

 

[ReHabs]

It is what it is. I would have drafted Michkov or Leonard last year . . . but we didn’t.

I say stay the course: pick the player with the most upside (as perceived by your scouting team). If it’s one of the Dmen so be it. Doesn’t hurt to have too many good prospects.

Right now we have a few too many filler dmen, but no one of our dmen is being held back from greatness and no one is stepping on another one’s ice time. If Dickinson for example comes on board, all the better chances we’ve found our franchise dman. Or Lev or Silayev. If Reinbacher is meant to be the next Josi (or the next Hamrlik?) then one of the tall Slavs could surely be the next Chara.

Basically, it’s a good problem to have.

 

[Anardil]

People can have different opinion and its ok. I had a debate with one of my teamate last friday. He was well-educated but just a bit too much over Parekh. Can I blame for that? Not realy!

It's ok for you or I to not be knowledgeable about the inside/out of a draft class, but it is inexcusable for someone who is a long standing experienced supposed 'insider' to be pretty clueless to what he is being paid to be an expert on.

I know that I am singling Leroux out, but IMHO, all Quebecois CHL talking heads suffer from the same myopic views concerning Junior level hockey outside of Quebec.

 

[WeThreeKings]

My issue with Sennecke is he's a big gangly kid, who can dipsy doodle with his head down in the OHL without fear of getting smoked all the time. He's going to put on weight and strength, but him trying all those moves in the big show will make him a prime candidate for donating his brain to science because of CTE. I don't see him driving to the net, using his body to shield opponents enough. I wish he had that in him on a more consistent basis. That stuff can be taught if one has the right mindset, I just don't know enough about the kid to say if he does or not.

The same concerns should apply to Demidov, he's even smaller, is more handle driven and played two years in a league with very little hitting.

I understand the concern but that's a concern with most players. I don't see Sennecke with his head down a lot, especially since he already learned to handle as a smaller player. He would have never survived year dangling with his head down at 5'10

 

[BergevinBurner]

Fantastic game from Sennecke. Habs dev team could make this kid a force. I think he has a lot of runway.

When Hughes took Slaf he emphasized that he wasn't necessarily taking the player he thinks is best right now, but who he thinks will be the best in 4-5 years down the line.
I could see them applying similar logic to a potential Sennecke pick.

 

[Addik04]

This is why I like Iggy a lot. Late riser yes but then you look at his resume and you just see top 6F at a min. He has a real shot at being a top line asset and I really like how he is trending and being one of the youngest.

1) One of the youngest and hottest trending.
2) He already has good size/weight and was 1.5 months away from being in the 2025 draft. This is a huge plus for me because physical strength at an early age is a good indicator of how much hard work they are putting into it.
3) His shot is already NHL quality
4) Certainly not going to be just a perimeter skilled type
5) Skating is good. Cross overs and edge work is great.
6) Hard worker. You can tell he is working at the parts of the game that translate to the NHL well.
7) Ability to navigate in traffic and along the boards is very mature for someone his age.
8) Hockey IQ is very good from what I see.

I do like Dickinson and Dimidov equally as good. They also have top pairing and top line potential and their fall back is stable (top 4D or top 6F). Lindstrom is a wild card for me. I can see a monster and I can also see a bust. Catton and Buium with honerable mention but they are in the waive after.

Do you like Iginla?

 

[TheBuriedHab]

I’m not dissing your choice (it’s a fine one too) but I want to emphasize an interesting point; with what we have on offence, I’d like to add some serious meat and potatoes player with upside, like a Leonard last season or.. Iggy… even Lindstrom. I don’t necessarily need the big home run swing, I’d like to get the proverbial bird in hand.

I’m a Catton booster but I’m not going to fight what’s evident in the rankings. So if it comes to choosing something else, I’d rather go for the evident top 6 player, not risk it. I feel there’s less risk involved with Iginla and the upside he has satisfies me.

Demidov won’t be there so he’s not even considered in my eyes.

I agree, we do need some more sandpaper up front. So if we pick Lindstrom or Iginla I'm all for it because it does fit a need and would be much safer.

But I also think another profile we are missing upfront is an electric gamebreaker. I see Demidov and Sennecke that have that potential. And that type of talent is basically impossible to acquire outside of drafting it high.

In the last draft video for the Habs Gorton sais this, you have to draft high end skill at the top of the draft or just get extremely lucky.

I can't wait to see who they end up choosing. It's a fascinating decision they will have if Demidov isn't there.

 

[SlafySZN]

Do you like Iginla?

I’m not sure he does

 

[Kaiden Ghoul]

After more research and viewing

My top 5 outside of Celebrini

Demidov
Lindstrom
Iginla
Buuim
Dickinson