HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[salbutera]

It seems at least somewhat probable that Russian phenom Ivan Demidov could be available for the Canadiens at No. 5, but if that happens, there is some question as to whether they would take him there, depending on who else is available, namely Medicine Hat Tigers centre Cayden Lindstrom.

In the unlikely event both of them survive through the first four picks, I would guess (and it is just that, a guess) that the Canadiens would lean toward taking Lindstrom (more on that in a bit). If just one of Lindstrom or Demidov is available at No. 5, that makes the decision somewhat easier for the Canadiens.
.
.
.
But in the equally unlikely event that neither of them is available, I think the Canadiens would lean toward taking a defenceman. And I don’t think they would trade down later in the top 10 to recoup an asset and take one of the top wingers available in either Tij Iginla or Beckett Sennecke, because they view the No. 5 pick as an opportunity to add a significant piece in their rebuild, and trading down would lessen the likelihood that player is a significant piece.
.
.
.
It is worth remembering that Hughes, in stating his preference to draft a forward with the No. 5 pick, prefaced that by saying “all things being equal.”

In the scenario where neither Demidov nor Lindstrom are available at No. 5, I believe that would make all things unequal.

The Canadiens like University of Denver left-shot defenceman Zeev Buium and Saginaw Spirit right-shot defenceman Zayne Parekh a lot, both of whom have a major puck-moving element the Canadiens lack on the blue line aside from Lane Hutson, who is still not a sure thing to hit as an NHL defenceman. I think both Buium and Parekh would be considered at No. 5, though it’s difficult to handicap which one would be preferred despite Parekh having the added bonus of shooting from the right side.
.
.
.
There are a lot of questions about Demidov, though.

From a strictly hockey standpoint, the Canadiens recognize Demidov has game-breaking qualities they lack in the organization. But there is some doubt about whether his style would translate well to playoff hockey in the NHL

 

[TheBuriedHab]

I would hope between Parekh and Buium they would go with Buium.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I would hope between Buium and Parekh they'd go Parekh.

Right shot defenseman is weaker than left shot and Parekh simply has the more dynamic tools than Buium.

Guhle-Parekh
Hutson-Reinbacher
Xhekaj-Mailloux

 

[Gally11]

I would hope between Buium and Parekh they'd go Parekh.

Right shot defenseman is weaker than left shot and Parekh simply has the more dynamic tools than Buium.

Guhle-Parekh
Hutson-Reinbacher
Xhekaj-Mailloux

That’s a championship D in a few years

 

[TheBuriedHab]

I would hope between Buium and Parekh they'd go Parekh.

Right shot defenseman is weaker than left shot and Parekh simply has the more dynamic tools than Buium.

Guhle-Parekh
Hutson-Reinbacher
Xhekaj-Mailloux

Buium played mostly on the right side this year and thrived. So I'm not counting handedness against him. But I don't think we need RHD over LHD.

Buium-Reinbacher
Guhle-Mailloux
Hutson-Xhekaj

I like this top 4 D more for playoffs.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

I would hope between Buium and Parekh they'd go Parekh.

Right shot defenseman is weaker than left shot and Parekh simply has the more dynamic tools than Buium.

Guhle-Parekh
Hutson-Reinbacher
Xhekaj-Mailloux

Buium is better on the other side of the puck though, I think he can actually end up a pretty good two way defender. We already have Hutson as an all-offensive option.

I’d definitely go Buium.

 

[The Great Weal]

That’s a championship D in a few years

Half of those guys (assuming Xhekaj significantly improves his defensive game) are not who you want on a PK. I don't see it as a championship D at all.

 

[Riggins]

Hutson and Parekh on the same blue line seems pretty risky. I'd go Buium too.

 

[McGees]

Damn. I do like Buium and there were reports before that they liked Parekh. For some reason I never thought they were truly enamored with Iggy.

Looks like a total toss up if Lindstrom/Demidov are not available.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Buium played mostly on the right side this year and thrived. So I'm not counting handedness against him. But I don't think we need RHD over LHD.

Buium-Reinbacher
Guhle-Mailloux
Hutson-Xhekaj

I like this top 4 D more for playoffs.

Engstrom has too, as has other guys but they like to have handedness in it's natural spot wherever possible when building a team.

Buium is better on the other side of the puck though, I think he can actually end up a pretty good two way defender. We already have Hutson as an all-offensive option.

I’d definitely go Buium.

Buium's defensive game is overstated, and Parekh is understated, I think they both have the same question marks defensively.. Buiums game is so similar to Hutsons that Parekhs dimensions are a better add.

Hutson and Parekh on the same blue line seems pretty risky. I'd go Buium too.

Same risk with Buium.

 

[Gally11]

Half of those guys (assuming Xhekaj significantly improves his defensive game) are not who you want on a PK. I don't see it as a championship D at all.

On the flip side the power play would be outrageous and our first PK unit would be elite, all you would need is an average second unit. Not saying it’s what I would do but I can see the appeal.

Also we’d spend a ton of time in O zone 5 on 5

 

[The Great Weal]

On the flip side the power play would be outrageous and our first PK unit would be elite, all you would need is an average second unit. Not saying it’s what I would do but I can see the appeal.

Also we’d spend a ton of time in O zone 5 on 5

Is there any healthy team that plays 2 dmen on a PP unit consistently anymore? If Guhle-Reinbacher is our first PK unit, we'd probably have the worst 2nd unit in the league with Xhekaj-Parekh/Mailloux.

I disagree about the O zone time given that they are probably all separated and their partner will be covering for them more often than not.

If we do draft Parekh, Mailloux is probably gone once all three of them show they can be good NHLers. You can't have those 3 on a defense.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Engstrom has too, as has other guys but they like to have handedness in it's natural spot wherever possible when building a team.

I don't know if that's true. They had Guhle and Harris play a lot on their off side this year and seemed fine with it. They will find a way to get the 6 best defenseman out there as long as they show the ability to play it.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I don't know if that's true. They had Guhle and Harris play a lot on their off side this year and seemed fine with it. They will find a way to get the 6 best defenseman out there as long as they show the ability to play it.

Reinbacher's handedness played a part in his selection last year, they said as much, too. So they clearly value it.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Reinbacher's handedness played a part in his selection last year, they said as much, too. So they clearly value it.

They value it, but its not the end all be all. If there was a better defenseman that Reinbacher last year that shot left but played on the right side would they still take Reinbacher over him? We don't know that.

 

[Gally11]

Is there any healthy team that plays 2 dmen on a PP unit consistently anymore? If Guhle-Reinbacher is our first PK unit, we'd probably have the worst 2nd unit in the league with Xhekaj-Parekh/Mailloux.

I disagree about the O zone time given that they are probably all separated and their partner will be covering for them more often than not.

If we do draft Parekh, Mailloux is probably gone once all three of them show they can be good NHLers. You can't have those 3 on a defense.

I think just because teams don’t deploy two D on a PP unit now doesn’t mean we can’t attempt it and be successful at it if we’ve built an offensive D corps. Lane is not your typical D man with how deep he goes in o zone, so you can try to deploy different strategies if that’s where your best players are.

There’s also two PP units if there are two PK units to be concerned about lol.

As for Mailloux I firmly believe he’s going to be a lot better defensively than this crowd gives him credit for based on what I’ve seen watching him live late this season. I find him to be very underrated around here.

Xhekaj is still a bit of unknown for me but I think he has a lot more to offer and will work towards it.

So while I respect your opinion, I simply disagree

 

[Team_Spirit]

Like I said, most had Fantilli no2 last year (including Vegas bets odds)

Vegas has spoken for '24

https://x.com/i/web/status/1799720156731695595

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Engstrom has too, as has other guys but they like to have handedness in it's natural spot wherever possible when building a team.



Buium's defensive game is overstated, and Parekh is understated, I think they both have the same question marks defensively.. Buiums game is so similar to Hutsons that Parekhs dimensions are a better add.



Same risk with Buium.

I agree that Parekh's defensive game gets overly shit on, but Buium is the best defensively after Silayev of the big 6 in this draft IMO. His offense won't translate as well I don't think, but he is fantastic defensively and is a one man breakout machine.

Also laughable that Basu is trying to stir up the Russian factor for Demidov. He's been nothing but clear that he wants to come to NA as soon as his contract is up, and is in fact why he got shafted the whole year by being stuck in the MHL.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Also laughable that Basu is trying to stir up the Russian factor for Demidov. He's been nothing but clear that he wants to come to NA as soon as his contract is up, and is in fact why he got shafted the whole year by being stuck in the MHL.

Did you read the article? He's reporting on questions being discussed by hockey ops people from NHL teams at the Combine (SKA pressure to sign an extension, two brothers belonging to SKA, entire family in the area). Also you mentioned that he got shafted by being stuck in the MHL. If he doesn't sign an extension with SKA, he'll almost assuredly be back in the MHL for another full season as they can't loan a player in their final year of a KHL contract.

NHL teams don't draft these kids in a vacuum and situations evolve as we get more information. North American media aren't getting a lot of information from Russia so these gatherings of hockey ops people from teams throughout the NHL like the draft Combine is the best place to hear all the scuttlebutt. Basu's simply reporting on discussions taking place at the Combine.

 

[Skip Bayless]

That’s a championship D in a few years

Only if the offense can score 3 GPG in the playoffs.

 

[The Great Weal]

I think just because teams don’t deploy two D on a PP unit now doesn’t mean we can’t attempt it and be successful at it if we’ve built an offensive D corps. Lane is not your typical D man with how deep he goes in o zone, so you can try to deploy different strategies if that’s where your best players are.

But it’s not exactly a recipe for success. Looking at the actual championship defenses, they are mostly 2 way guys as opposed to having half their defense being pure offense.

There’s also two PP units if there are two PK units to be concerned about lol.

I’m aware, the impression based on what current teams are doing is that 2 of Hutson/Parekh/Mailloux would each be on one unit leaving one to not play much.

As for Mailloux I firmly believe he’s going to be a lot better defensively than this crowd gives him credit for based on what I’ve seen watching him live late this season. I find him to be very underrated around here.

His defensive game has been an issue for a while. Of course I expect him to improve because otherwise he’d have a hard time cracking any defense let alone one of a “championship defense”.

Xhekaj is still a bit of unknown for me but I think he has a lot more to offer and will work towards it.

Having an unknown as your 3rd best dman defensively should immediately be a red flag.

So while I respect your opinion, I simply disagree

Having half the defense be pure offense is pretty much unprecedented. Not to mention that you won’t get the unreal production you’d expect on paper due to the fact that ice time and opportunities won’t be favoured to one player. Everyone thought the Sharks would be a championship team because they had two of the best offensive dmen in the league and it hurt them badly.

If we do draft Parekh, I’d wager that at least one of the three dmen would be traded in the near future.

 

[Michelangelo]

Mailloux is destined to be a 3rd pairing D at best, so drafting or not drafting Parekh doesn’t really affect his standing

 

[Schooner Guy]

His defensive game has been an issue for a while. Of course I expect him to improve because otherwise he’d have a hard time cracking any defense let alone one of a “championship defense”.

Did you watch Mailloux in his NHL debut against a Red Wings team that absolutely had to win that game? I was very impressed by his play. He looked so composed, played an almost flawless game and even produced a point. I was far more impressed by Mailloux's all around game than I was Hutson's.

Also keep in mind Mailloux played very little hockey in his draft year and his D+1 year and has showed great progression in the last two seasons. He made the AHL All Star Game as a true AHL rookie at age 20. He has some very raw upside and he's just starting to scratch surface. He could be an absolute gem by the time he's 25 years old. We've made enough huge mistakes trading 1st round D long before they became finished products.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Guys, I just watched Trevor Connelly highlights for the first time.

Why is he not a top 3 pick?

 

[Ozmodiar]

Hutson and Parekh on the same blue line seems pretty risky. I'd go Buium too.

Yeah, considering one would be thrown into PK duties whenever a D took a penalty.

Parekh has played some PK this season but not ideal. Hutson, no.

Much more comfortable with Buium there.