HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[crosbyshow]

Update from Anthony Martineau

Catton at 5.10 3/4 175 pounds.

He said that he should play in the NHl at 190 to 195 pounds

Question: who the habs should draft between you Lindstrom and Iginla;

Listen, the team who will draft any of us will be in good position down the road. I have a great IQ and good skills and you need it to win

 

[WeThreeKings]

Just because he said it doesn’t mean anything. Its the equivalent of a GM saying he’s not going to trade a player then he trades the player a week later.

By saying he doesn’t want an LD it can create a false sense of a security for a team chasing a LD that is picking 1-2 spots behind us.

Never show your cards.

Well they took him to dinner, so we will see if that meant anything.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Well they took him to dinner, so we will see if that meant anything.

If they take him I’ll take you for dinner.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If they take him I’ll take you for dinner.

I'm a big fan of Dickinson, so I wouldn't hate it at all.. I don't think it makes the most sense, but hey they could do a lot worse lol.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

I'm a big fan of Dickinson, so I wouldn't hate it at all.. I don't think it makes the most sense, but hey they could do a lot worse lol.

I would’ve felt the same , but with so little going on the recency bias kicks in and with it being such a wild ride after Celebrini - who the hell knows who goes where anymore?!

Fun to speculate.

 

[Playmaker09]

Update from Anthony Martineau

Catton at 5.10 3/4 175 pounds.

He said that he should play in the NHl at 190 to 195 pounds

Question: who the habs should draft between you Lindstrom and Iginla;

Listen, the team who will draft any of us will be in good position down the road. I have a great IQ and good skills and you need it to win

Almost an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than Keller at the 2016 combine. Essentially the same size as Cooley who went 3rd. But he's too small.

 

[le_sean]

Well they took him to dinner, so we will see if that meant anything.

Months ago I had mentioned maybe the strategy is to pick the better version of Guhle and trade Guhle for offence. Who knows what they are thinking.

I understand he raised eyebrows at the Memorial Cup, but that is one heck of a loaded team and in the position we don’t really need.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Almost an inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than Keller at the 2016 combine. Essentially the same size as Cooley who went 3rd. But he's too small.

Catton is one of my favourite players in this draft. Cant help but feel we will regret not drafting him.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

If he “should” become a #1, why isn’t he the consensus 2nd rated prospect? In fact, if his upside was 1D with the high likelihood of getting there, the conversation would be him vs Celebrini, like it was for Tavares vs Hedman.

That is a weird statement.

In 2018, 4 defenseman were taken before Dobson, does it mean he could not become a #1 defenseman..?

In 2016, 3 defenseman were taken before McAvoy, does it mean he was not considered a #1 defenseman?

In 2008, 2 defenseman were taken before Pietrangelo, based on that again, he was not a potential #1 defenseman?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Months ago I had mentioned maybe the strategy is to pick the better version of Guhle and trade Guhle for offence. Who knows what they are thinking.

I understand he raised eyebrows at the Memorial Cup, but that is one heck of a loaded team and in the position we don’t really need.

Trading Guhle doesn't make any sense with their whole trying to push the rebuild forward, that dials it back.

 

[le_sean]

That is a weird statement.

In 2018, 4 defenseman were taken before Dobson, does it mean he could not become a #1 defenseman..?

In 2016, 3 defenseman were taken before McAvoy, does it mean he was not considered a #1 defenseman?

In 2008, 2 defenseman were taken before Pietrangelo, based on that again, he was not a potential #1 defenseman?

Not what I said. Solberg might be a 1D in the future, who knows.

The comment made was that Dickinson was likely to become a 1D which is pushing it.

Trading Guhle doesn't make any sense with their whole trying to push the rebuild forward, that dials it back.

I’m not advocating for it, but if they are concerned with his injuries and want an actual impact forward, he’s the prime candidate because of his perceived value.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Trading Guhle doesn't make any sense with their whole trying to push the rebuild forward, that dials it back.

I think the argument could be made that something around Guhle for Necas and then Dickinson stepping in to his spot fairly quickly (I feel he has top pair upside and is already pretty close to top 4 level, but not sure he's smart enough to become a #1) would put as ahead in the rebuild a bit.

I guess it also depends on how you evaluate Guhle's potential. I don't know that he's a guy I want on my top pair when all is said and done, but he also hasn't had a chance to really showcase his abilities and fully establish himself.

I probably wouldn't do that trade and would just take one of Demidov/Catton and look to move 26+ for an established forward with higher potential like we've done the last 2 drafts. I think our defense just has to develop and we already have a significant roadblock going on.

 

[Habs Icing]

Which team is better long term:

Caufield - Suzuki - Slaf
Ignila/Lindstrom - Dach - Newhook
Roy - Beck - Kapanen
Tuch - RHP - Heineman

Hutson - Reinbacher
Guhle - Mailloux
Xhekaj - Barron


OR

Caufield - Suzuki - Slaf
Zegras/Necas - Dach - Newhook
Roy - Beck - Kapanen
Tuch - RHP - Heineman

Dickinson - Mailloux
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Barron

That's a trick question. What did you give up to get Zegras/Necas?

 

[Sorinth]

Months ago I had mentioned maybe the strategy is to pick the better version of Guhle and trade Guhle for offence. Who knows what they are thinking.

I understand he raised eyebrows at the Memorial Cup, but that is one heck of a loaded team and in the position we don’t really need.

The main problem with that strategy is that it sets back the teams window for competing. Especially for D it takes time for them to hit their stride in the NHL, so it's going to take 3-4 years minimum before they can take the reigns and be that #1 D. Everything Hughes has said and done has shown that they want to accelerate the rebuild where possible and there's zero interest in prolonging it. So trading Guhle and drafting a D is the opposite of what they want to do as it prolongs the rebuild.

Now it's possible a team makes an offer we just can't refuse in which case sure take the massive overpayment for Guhle and draft a D, but odds of that are minuscule.

 

[1000eeer]

That's a trick question. What did you give up to get Zegras/Necas?

Guhle and wpg's first round pick

 

[Sorinth]

Well they took him to dinner, so we will see if that meant anything.

As we saw with Slaf who they take to dinner doesn't mean much at all. No point in shunning a top pick just because you aren't interested in drafting him.

 

[le_sean]

The main problem with that strategy is that it sets back the teams window for competing. Especially for D it takes time for them to hit their stride in the NHL, so it's going to take 3-4 years minimum before they can take the reigns and be that #1 D. Everything Hughes has said and done has shown that they want to accelerate the rebuild where possible and there's zero interest in prolonging it. So trading Guhle and drafting a D is the opposite of what they want to do as it prolongs the rebuild.

Now it's possible a team makes an offer we just can't refuse in which case sure take the massive overpayment for Guhle and draft a D, but odds of that are minuscule.

While I agree, I also think there is no way to get an impact forward without including Guhle or multiple futures. We’ve already seen them trade a high profile LD basically 1v1 for a forward. And that was a forward with some question marks. If you want more of a sure thing, you kind of have to give up a sure thing.

 

[Habs Icing]

Just because he said it doesn’t mean anything. Its the equivalent of a GM saying he’s not going to trade a player then he trades the player a week later.

By saying he doesn’t want an LD it can create a false sense of a security for a team chasing a LD that is picking 1-2 spots behind us.

Never show your cards.

That makes no sense. If he wanted to hoodwink a team behind him that wanted a LHD he would say he would most definitely draft a LHD.

 

[Habs Icing]

Guhle and wpg's first round pick

I prefer the first lineup.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

That makes no sense. If he wanted to hoodwink a team behind him that wanted a LHD he would say he would most definitely draft a LHD.

lol.

If he says he wants a LHD and Ottawa wants a LHD they can try to trade up past Montreal to get that player.

If Ottawa likes Dickinson and so does Montreal, and they are both aware of each others interest - it incites the team below to try and reach above.

By saying he has no interest in a LHD, Ottawa or another team could run under the veil of thinking their guy will be there at their spot when infact Hughes has every intention of taking him at 5.

First time?

 

[Sorinth]

While I agree, I also think there is no way to get an impact forward without including Guhle or multiple futures. We’ve already seen them trade a high profile LD basically 1v1 for a forward. And that was a forward with some question marks. If you want more of a sure thing, you kind of have to give up a sure thing.

Yeah if you want a sure thing then generally you will have to give up something valuable, but it's also not an imperative that we add an impact top-6 forward this offseason. We can afford to be patient, and arguably should excersise that patience in order to see whether Dach can be healthy or not because if he can't be healthy then the team needs are going to be drastically different then if he is healthy and can anchor that 2nd line.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Why are you justifying NHL management's stupidity? Cole and Benson should've both went much higher than they did.

I'm not justifying it, mostly just saying it's a thing that happens and that we can take advantage of in the event we pass on Catton and pick in the 8-15 range next year. I could have made it a little more clear by saying that bad teams picking high "feel like they need to go C/D and target size high" so these players consistently fall.

I agree both players should have gone higher than they did. To the extent I'm justifying anything I'm slightly hedging in saying that both players should have gone around 7-10ish rather than top 5. With that said, while I preferred Reinbacher I wouldn't have had any real problem with taking Benson at 5 last year, nor would I have any particular problem if we draft Catton this year at 5 even if I'd rather Demidov or Lindstrom.

 

[sheed36]

Another final draft ranking I saw posted earlier today from Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News ranking his top 120 players for this draft.

His top 15.

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov
3. Silayev
4. Buium
5. Dickinson
6. Lindstrom
7. Levshunov
8. Parekh
9. Iginla
10. Helenius
11. Catton
12. Sennecke
13. Eiserman
14. Yakemchuk
15. Greentree

Full list.

https://thehockeynews.com/news/final-2024-nhl-draft-rankings-ryan-kennedys-top-120

 

[SamHabsFan]

Which team is better long term:

Caufield - Suzuki - Slaf
Ignila/Lindstrom - Dach - Newhook
Roy - Beck - Kapanen
Tuch - RHP - Heineman

Hutson - Reinbacher
Guhle - Mailloux
Xhekaj - Barron


OR

Caufield - Suzuki - Slaf
Zegras/Necas - Dach - Newhook
Roy - Beck - Kapanen
Tuch - RHP - Heineman

Dickinson - Mailloux
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Barron

thats a good question..if Dickinson is a surefire 1D like lets say heiskanen, I think I would go with the 2nd line up...but if management think that Hutson could be on par with Hughes and be a 1D then id rather have the 1st line up. not enough space to have two 30mins / game pairings, you're usually good with 1.

and btw, there is no way in hell Xhekaj-Barron would do good haha, both are very much prone to brainfarts

 

[Runner77]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1799107563935687015

https://x.com/i/web/status/1799110304166707684