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HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

Who do you want at #5?

  • Tij Iginla

    Votes: 209 49.5%

  • Cole Eiserman

    Votes: 14 3.3%

  • Berkly Catton

    Votes: 92 21.8%

  • Konsta Helenius

    Votes: 13 3.1%

  • Beckett Sennecke

    Votes: 75 17.8%

  • Zayne Parekh

    Votes: 19 4.5%
  • Total voters
    422
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Omar

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Oct 10, 2017
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MSLs absurd thighs said:
I'm the one who keeps some reserves before suggesting this management is filled with player development masterminds and that Bobrov/Lapointe picks have warranted us blindling trusting them.

And supposedly I'm the one who needs to relax? lol. Take your own advice buddy.

I'm not the one playing the "well if they pick a player they should get our full trust" card.

If you feel comfortable being in awe in front of Lapointe and Bobrov after all of two NHL games from a pick, that should tell you more about your need to relax than mine.
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Hfboards is not that serious man. Chill
 
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Runner77

Runner77

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sampollock said:
ya me too.
can find one on the shelf yet. I will stop and check today
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I haven’t bought them in a while but I’m hearing good things about The Black Book, very exhaustive and probably exhausting all at once.

I bought Kyle Woodlief’s draft guide a couple of years back. Ordered the paper version only to find out it was printed on red sheets, that made it a chore to read.

On the positive side, Woodlief is a caring guy and he’ll respond if you write him. And his comments and takes are a lot of fun to read and are nothing like you’re used to. He even throws some humor in there.

On the downside, it was expensive for the few pages I got, don’t know if it’s changed.

If you buy Woodlief’s Red Line draft guide, take the online version and print it yourself.
 
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G0bias

G0bias

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Oct 4, 2007
8,011
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MTL
ReHabs said:
What explains Lindstrom's more goals than assists? It's unheard of for a very good player in the NHL to have more Gs than As.
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A big part is his environment the role he was expected to play. Basha likes to control the puck alot, this didn't let Lindstrom take on more of a playmaking role. He managed to adapt and this was a big reason that line was so dangerous.

His shooting percentage being higher than average is a smaller part, but that's not uncommon for goal scorers in juniors.
 
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Ozmodiar

Ozmodiar

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Oct 18, 2017
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G0bias said:
A big part is his environment the role he was expected to play. Basha likes to control the puck alot, this didn't let Lindstrom take on more of a playmaking role. He managed to adapt and this was a big reason that line was so dangerous.

His shooting percentage being higher than average is a smaller part, but that's not uncommon for goal scorers in juniors.
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Was gonna write the same thing. Basha’s the playmaker/distributor on that line.
 
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WinterLion

WinterLion

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Oct 1, 2017
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MSLs absurd thighs said:
Brilliant. Not agreeing with everyone and not being blindly happy at virtually any possible pick we can make, makes me an unhappy person. Have you got other pearls of widsom like this that I can learn about myself?



Here's pretty much my whole take; While others have said that I have a "favorite player" for the Habs to take, it's simply not true. I really like Iginla, but would not be disappointed with any of him, Lindstrom, Demidov or Catton to be honest.

It's more about seeing way too many red flags about Sennecke than absolutely wanting this team to pick a particular player.

First, on the "uneducated" side of things;

It was reported as recently as this month, that at some point in time in the last year, there were concerns about his attitude and off-ice behavior from several scouts. Scott Wheeler went as far as saying most scouts speaking about him were often letting out a huge sigh, and feeling puzzled about what to actually think about the guy.

Then, there's an obvious lack of production. If a guy has hands that are as good as his, you'd expect him to show that in some way, shape or form, it allows him to distance himself from the pack and dominate. This is what happened with Lindstrom in the games he played, this is what happened with Iginla at many points in the season, same with Catton and even Demidov in the MHL. What you see here is a guy who struggled performing any better than 1 PPG in the OHL, and who "randomly" picked it up after being paired with Calum Ritchie. People are saying that it's because "he's growing in his body", which in my opinion is overstated and a load of b.s. I just don't buy it. It might have an impact, absolutely. But not to the extent that the jump in production between his D-1 and D year is almost nonexistant. Not even close. I think people are quick to buy on that.

There is also the fact that this guy is nowhere near as high on any projected list, and that the other fanbases don't seem to view the guy with the same enthousiasm as some here do.

So first, I read all of that. But still kept seeing how high some people were on the guy. So I decided to forge my own opinion and actually watch some of his shift-by-shift.

I tried to like the guy. I really did. The fact is that he's a lanky player with an odd skating style, who's trying to deke every opponent one-on-one like 95% of the time, and who doesn't exactly strike you as a fast player. His involvement away from the puck is also worrysome to say the least. And it's not just in the defensive zone. In the offensive zone he's often extremely passive, waiting for the puck to come to his stick instead of actively looking to get in the open. He's not particularly good at opening passing lanes. He's very often caught cheating at the opposing blueline. And most of the highlight goals he scores are just not projectable in the NHL. He's just an awkard player. The dekes he pulls off that end up being goals are spectacular, but there are very few of them I envision working against guys like Trouba or McAvoy. Guy is going to get murdered. There's also the fact that for his size, his strength is pretty darn worrysome. Guy falls on his ass most of the time he goes in the corner.

So yeah. You look at all that, and I think it is extremely short-sighted to suggest that he isn't the likeliest prospect to bust out of all the discussed group at 5.

Which, then again, would be perfectly fine if you're an organization with a ton of good forward prospects, and willing to swing for the fences with little to lose. At this point, I'd be all ears, would actually welcome the organization I'm cheering for to go with a high-risk, high-reward pick, and hope for the best.

But we're not this organization. We have absolutely NOTHING in the pipeline up front. Filip Mesar's lack of improvement is beyond concerning. Joshua Roy I won't even get into what I think of the guy, because I'll still get told that I'm "full of shit". And Owen Beck is not projected to be a top-6 forward. So this is pretty much a can't-miss pick for the organization.

Could Sennecke become a better player than Iginla? There's a possibility. Everything is possible. But he's a darn more risky pick. And I'm not the only one saying it. Most lists have him as low as mid-first round.

I think a lot of people high on Sennecke are trying to play 4D chess and convince themselves that this would be a great pick. This would be a "jury is still out pick", and I'm not sure we can afford that. People will probably come up and tell me "he's not any riskier than any of the other prospects". Which is not true. People will say "offensive numbers don't matter", but in the end, the guys who ended up becoming star forwards in the NHL after struggling to hit a PPG in the CHL on their draft year are very far and few between. You can come up with Scheifele all you want, he's not exactly the most common scenario.

Call it "Kotkaniemi derangement syndrom" if you want. I don't care. In my opinion there's no world in which Iginla is not a safer pick than Sennecke. And even a rather "boom-or-bust" type of pick like Lindstrom is safer, because of how natural and effortless his style looks and feels. And mainly because he's shown that he's a dominant player pretty much 100% of the games he played this season.

I also am tired of the ongoing notion that St. Louis is some kind of hockey coach version of "The dog whisperer" who magically transforms hockey players into superstars. I think this reputation is overdone. As is the one that suggests the organization as a whole now "knows how to develop players". I don't think there's enough evidence to suggest this yet.
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You have some fair points for sure. I do understand the stats concerns, but I wouldn't really say Iginlas stats are that much more impressive. The attitude thing is definitely scary, but it seems like the Habs under Hughes have really targeted hard working guys, so if it is true they likely won't take him. Sennecke really progressed as the year went on... but Iginla certainly stepped up when things mattered. I would be more excited by Iginla even though I do feel like the upside is not quite as high.... I think he will help teams win and those types are always my favs.

I guess we will see on draft day. I honestly wouldn't be shocked by much after pick #1.
 
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Angler

Angler

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Jan 16, 2006
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It would be nice to get a forward, but I just hope that they draft whoever they think will be the best player in the future, regardless of position. If its a defense, even a left defense, I'd be okay with it. On the other hand, it would be interesting is Demidov is available at 5...
 
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WinterLion

WinterLion

Registered User
Oct 1, 2017
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Runner77 said:
I haven’t bought them in a while but I’m hearing good things about The Black Book, very exhaustive and probably exhausting all at once.

I bought Kyle Woodlief’s draft guide a couple of years back. Ordered the paper version only to find out it was printed on red sheets, that made it a chore to read.

On the positive side, Woodlief is a caring guy and he’ll respond if you write him. And his comments and takes are a lot of fun to read and are nothing like you’re used to. He even throws some humor in there.

On the downside, it was expensive for the few pages I got, don’t know if it’s changed.

If you buy Woodlief’s Red Line draft guide, take the online version and print it yourself.
Click to expand...

Is Redline still available? I'll get that... it's always fun.
 
WinterLion

WinterLion

Registered User
Oct 1, 2017
5,419
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Dickinson is a stud. I think he's gone before we pick... and if he's there the phone will be ringing!

Jaynki said:
Dickinson at 2
Levshunov at 3
Silayev at 4

A real strong possibility imo. Team will value these top pair D a lot.

Dickinson is such a f***ing stud no way he is available at 5.
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Ha you just said the same thing ooops!
 
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