HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Hannibal]

If the medicals were dubious enough but sounds like the concern is gone.. so big potential center who is a great athlete on an upward trajectory? Just really hard to see that getting out of the top 4.

f***ing CLB. I’ll break f***ing hfboards once they make the pick! f*** them. Stupid organisation.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Quick poll, top 3 Canadiens defencemen of the past 20 years.

Karl Alzner, Douglas Murray, Janne Ninimaa

 

[WeThreeKings]

f***ing CLB. I’ll break f***ing hfboards once they make the pick! f*** them. Stupid organisation.

You gotta out do my Poehling reaction.. it's been #1 for too long.

 

[Vachon23]

So why do they rarely win anything but individual awards. As fans, are we cheering Norris victories or Cup victories? Because guys like Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo contribute to team success more than guys like Quinn Hughes and Erik Karlsson.

Waiting for someone to say “but Drew is productive”. 36 points and 37 points the two seasons his team won the Cup.

Doughty is the best dmen of the 2010’s decade in my eyes

 

[NotProkofievian]

If the medicals were dubious enough but sounds like the concern is gone.. so big potential center who is a great athlete on an upward trajectory? Just really hard to see that getting out of the top 4.

As soon as I saw Beckett's shoulders I knew. Cayden will always be 35 lbs heavier, leaner, faster, stronger. No way Trevor biceps Timmins passes it up.

Silayev might be a Madden guy, he likes guys with something special, not necessarily the most polished. That being said Demidov has the best hands since...well for a while.

 

[le_sean]

Doughty is the best dmen of the 2010’s decade in my eyes

Why? He wasn’t the most productive.

 

[WeThreeKings]

As soon as I saw Beckett's shoulders I knew. Cayden will always be 35 lbs heavier, leaner, faster, stronger. No way Trevor biceps Timmins passes it up.

Silayev might be a Madden guy, he likes guys with something special, not necessarily the most polished. That being said Demidov has the best hands since...well for a while.

I don't see Demidov going to Anaheim, not what Verbeek looks for and they are notably looking for a right shot forward. I do think they might forego handedness for Lindstrom.. which might tempt CBJ to go Demidov at 4 but you know Grant is pumping Sennecke cause Trevor told him he likes him a lot.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Why? He wasn’t the most productive.

...what?

 

[Vachon23]

Why? He wasn’t the most productive.

And I don’t agree with that point. Mike Green was far from being the best dmen in the league even when he was extremely productive

 

[jrom]

It’s not the best but it’s not an issue is it?

As for small winger, think we can survive with Cole and Ivan being in the top 6, I just wouldn’t want to see any more sub 6’ foot guys on the top 2 lines.

Like Suzuki & Newhook (although both are sturdy)

 

[ginomini]

Wow, they were 1-2-3 one year. I guess Jamie Benn is a perennial Art Ross candidate.

Again, you’re completely twisting the argument because you thought people would be like “yeah Karlsson! Pietrangelo sucks” but no one agrees.

The point is that the best defensemen are almost always top of the league in scoring. You keep giving the examples of Doughty and Pietrangelo, but you also conveniently avoid Makar and Keith. And you also don't talk about the fact that Karlsson almost carried a mid Sens team to the cup finals.

Yes Karlsson had 100 points with a mediocre team, but he also was an absolute playoff beast in the prime of his career. Suggesting you can't win with a player like Karlsson is narrow minded.

 

[Hannibal]

You gotta out do my Poehling reaction.. it's been #1 for too long.

Count on me. Im already f***ing mad. Imagine what i’ll be in 3 weeks after marinating in my frustration towards that stupid organisation.

Timmins was here for 20 f***ing years and never drafted a centerman and he’ll pick the second best one right in front of us. f*** him

 

[le_sean]

The point is that the best defensemen are almost always top of the league in scoring. You keep giving the examples of Doughty and Pietrangelo, but you also conveniently avoid Makar and Keith. And you also don't talk about the fact that Karlsson almost carried a mid Sens team to the cup finals.

Yes Karlsson had 100 points with a mediocre team, but he also was an absolute playoff beast in the prime of his career. Suggesting you can't win with a player like Karlsson is narrow minded.

Congrats to 2024 Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins! Adding a 100 point defenceman was really the key missing piece to get this consistent playoff team over the hump. Good for them

I’ve acknowledged players that can do both. Far more valuable than one that does offence better but leaves a lot to be desired defensively. Karlsson can’t do both.

 

[jaffy27]

If the medicals were dubious enough but sounds like the concern is gone.. so big potential center who is a great athlete on an upward trajectory? Just really hard to see that getting out of the top 4.

Habs should call Anaheim and see if they ready to drop 2 spots and still get their defenceman….if Habs are convinced Lindstrom is their player, make it happen!

 

[NotProkofievian]

And I don’t agree with that point. Mike Green was far from being the best dmen in the league even when he was extremely productive

Its not a point that was made by anyone but le_sean.

 

[jaffy27]

Like Suzuki & Newhook (although both are sturdy)

Suzuki is what….5’11 1/2 lol

He’s 210 and solid

Newhook is there by default, he’ll be bumped to the 3rd in due time

 

[Schooner Guy]

Silayev might be a Madden guy, he likes guys with something special, not necessarily the most polished.

And Verbeek was Stevie Y's right hand man in Detroit when they drafted Seider. I remember many posters in here ridiculing the pick.

 

[Hannibal]

Habs should call Anaheim and see if they ready to drop 2 spots and still get there defenceman….if Habs are convinced Lindstrom is their player, make it happen!

That my dream scenario right now. Ive lost all hope of Lindstrom falling to us. And i think theres a legit chance of happening.

 

[sampollock]

He does drive the net and he craves physicality.

thanks for stating that. that is what the habs need asap

 

[Leto]

Count on me. Im already f***ing mad. Imagine what i’ll be in 3 weeks after marinating in my frustration towards that stupid organisation.

Timmins was here for 20 f***ing years and never drafted a centerman and he’ll pick the second best one right in front of us. f*** him

Don't forget that Timmins got a premium centerman in Fantilli last year...

 

[sampollock]

Forget Lindstrom, we aren't getting him - we would need CBJ to go Sennecke.

then habs take Sennecke

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

With all hockey events over, here is my final top 80 with some player comps for the top 32.
The comps are a mix of style and expected role in the NHL.

For context, a 1W is what I would want a top winger on a team to be, likely paired with a 1C. A 2W is what I would want the second best winger on a team to be, either flanking the 2C or the third member of one of the best 1st lines in the league. A 1D is a player who can elevate a #4 to form a solid top pair (think Weber/Chiarot). A 2D is a player who can elevate a #4 to form a solid second pair (Petry/Edmundson). A 3D still needs to partner with another 1/2/3 to form an effective top 4 pairing (Brett Pesce, Adam Pelech, Filip Hronek, John Klingberg).

I've expanded my tiers from previous years to avoid being too rigid and have a little more nuance within them.
Within tiers, I typically valued low-risk/high-likelihood over swinging for the fences and while I used to have it strictly C>D>W, I've come around to valuing defensemen a little more outside of the top couple of tiers.

Demidov/Catton/Lindstrom would be my order of preference at 5. They've all been discussed to death, so I'll leave it there.
Connelly is as low as I could reasonably put him but is basically DND for me. Without the question marks he'd be top 12.
At 26, players on my radar include Artamonov, Badinka, Surin, Gridin and Danford.

• Artamonov is a buzzsaw with skill, and proven at the pro level. We've seen the development in both Benson and Brindley from last year. Don't overthink it and make the same mistake twice.
• Badinka at his best reminds me of Reinbacher with a weaker shot. Excellent skating, retrievals and first pass with physicality, length and a high motor. There's a reason he played 33 games in the SHL as a foreigner. Will make some poor reads from time to time though.
• Surin is a complete wrecking ball with above average tools that could play any position up and down a lineup and has an extra gear in the playoffs.
• Gridin, on his good days, reminds me a lot of a smaller version of Slaf. Disruptive stick and great board work to go with high-end vision and shot. Compete level improved a lot towards the end of the year but is still a work in progress.
• Danford is my favorite of the glut of shutdown RHDs in the 20-50 range. He has the best baseline of tools across the board with no weaknesses and a fantastic stick. Great anticipation and IQ as well. Will sacrifice everything to block a shot. Just a beauty.

In the 2nd and 3rd rounds I'm looking mostly at defensemen. This is a seriously deep class and there are a ton of big, mobile, rangy defensemen that are worth taking a shot on. Admittedly, my viewings start to decrease significantly from picks 50 onwards, so there are surely some gems both up front and on D that I'm missing. There also weren't any goalies worth considering for a first round pick and I didn't really scout any beyond that, so they did not make the list.


Franchise
1 Macklin Celebrini - 5'11.75 C - Boston University - NCAA - Joe Sakic

2 Ivan Demidov - 5'11 RW - SKA - MHL - Claude Giroux

Low End 1C / 1W / 1D
3 Berkly Catton - 5'10.25 C/W - Spokane - WHL - Artemi Panarin

4 Zeev Buium - 6'0 LD - Denver - NCAA - Adam Fox
5 Cayden Lindstrom - 6'3 C/W - Medicine Hat - WHL - Chris Kreider

2C / 2W / 2D
6 Artyom Levshunov - 6'1.75 RD - Michingan State - NCAA - Mikhail Sergachev
7 Sam Dickinson - 6'2.75 LD - London - OHL - Jeff Petry
8 Tij Iginla - 6'0 LW - Kelowna - WHL - Chris Kunitz

9 Zayne Parekh - 6'0.25 RD - Saginaw - OHL - Mike Green
10 Beckett Sennecke - 6'2.75 RW - Oshawa - OHL - Drake Batherson
11 Carter Yakemchuk - 6'3 RD - Calgary - WHL - Dustin Byfuglien

Middle 6 C / Top 6 W / 3D / 1G
12 Anton Silayev - 6'7 LD/RD - Torpedo - KHL - Nikita Zadorov
13 Konsta Helenius - 5'11 C - Jukurit - Liiga - David Krejci
14 Michael Brandsegg-Nygård - 6'0.75 RW - Mora - Allsvenskan - Patrick Sharp
15 Nikita Artamonov - 5'11 RW - Torpedo - KHL - Brandon Hagel

16 Michael Hage - 6'0.75 C - Chicago - USHL - Ryan Strome
17 Igor Chernyshov - 6'2 LW - Dynamo Moskva - MHL - Jake Debrusk
18 Liam Greentree - 6'2.5 RW - Windsor - OHL - Andre Burakovsky
19 Cole Eiserman - 5'11.75 LW - USNTDP - Jeff Skinner

20 Dominik Badinka - 6'2.75 RD - Malmo - J20 - Brett Pesce
21 Yegor Surin - 6'1 C - Yaroslavl - MHL - Brandon Dubinsky
22 Matvei Gridin - 6'1.5 RW - Muskegon - USHL - Martin Havlat
23 Trevor Connelly - 6'0.75 LW - Tri City - USHL - Jesper Bratt

3C / 4D / Middle 6 W
24 Ben Danford - 6'1.5 RD - Oshawa - OHL - Dan Girardi
25 Stian Solberg - 6'1.5 LD - Valerenga - Norway - Brayden McNabb
26 Alfons Freij - 6'0.5 LD/RD - Växjö - J20 - Nick Leddy
27 Julius Miettinen - 6'3 C - Everett - WHL - Adam Lowry
28 Cole Beaudoin - 6'2 C - Barrie - WHL - Jason Dickinson
29 Sacha Boisvert - 6'2 C/W - Muskegon - USHL - Nick Foligno
30 Andrew Basha - 5'11.25 LW - Medicine Hat - WHL - Alex Newhook
31 Teddy Stiga - 5'10 LW - USNTDP - Joel Farabee

32 EJ Emery - 6'3.25 RD - USNTDP - Brandon Carlo
33 Cole Hutson - 5'10 LD - USNTDP -
34 Adam Jiricek - 6'2 RD - Plzen - Czechia -
35 Jesse Pulkkinen - 6'6 LD - JYP - Liiga -
36 Jett Luchanko - 5'11 C - Guelph - OHL -
37 Maxim Massé - 6'2.25 RW - Chicoutimi - QMJHL -
38 Emil Hemming - 6'1.25 RW - TPS - U20/Liiga -

39 Adam Kleber - 6'5.5 RD - Lincoln - USHL -
40 Harrison Brunicke - 6'2.5 RD - Kamloops - WHL -
41 Charlie Elick - 6'3.25 RD - Brandon - WHL -
42 Linus Eriksson - 6'0 C - Djurgårdens - Allsvenskan -
43 Sam O'Reilly - 6'1.25 C - London - OHL -
44 Miguel Marques - 5'10.25 RW - Lethbridge - WHL -

45 Spencer Gill - 6'3.75 RD - Rimouski - QMJHL -
46 Raoul Boilard - 6'1 C - Baie-Comeau - QMJHL -
47 Terik Parascak - 5'11.75 RW - Prince George - WHL -
48 John Mustard - 6'1 LW - Waterloo - USHL -
49 Ryder Ritchie - 6'0.25 RW - Prince Albert - WHL -

4C / Bottom Pair D / Bottom 6 W / High Risk
50 Henry Mews - 6'0.25 RD - Ottawa - OHL -
51 Matvei Shuravin - 6'2 LD - Krasnaya - MHL -
52 Dean Letourneau - 6'6.5 C - St Andrews - U18 AAA -
53 Tanner Howe - 5'10 RW - Regina - WHL -
54 Adam Jecho - 6'5 RW - Edmonton - WHL -
55 Luke Misa - 5'10 C/LW - Mississauga - OHL -
56 Justin Poirier - 5'8 RW - Baie-Comeau - QMJHL -
57 Marek Vanacker - 6'0 LW - Brantford - OHL -

58 Luca Marrelli - 6'1.5 RD - Oshawa - OHL -
59 Lukas Fischer - 6'3 LD Sarnia - OHL -
60 Daniil Ustinkov - 6'1 LD - Zsc - NL -
61 Will Skahan - 6'4.5 LD - USNTDP -
62 Simon Zether - 6'3 C - Rogle - J20/SHL -
63 Lucas Pettersson - 5'11.5 C - MoDo - J20 -
64 Jacob Battaglia - 6'0.5 RW - Kingston - OHL -
65 Brodie Ziemer - 5'11 RW - USNTDP -
66 Clarke Caswell - 5'11 RW - Swift Current - WHL -

67 Aron Kiviharju - 5'9.5 LD - HIFK - Liiga -
68 Tomas Galvas - 5'10.25 LD - Bili Tygri Liberec - Czechia -
69 Leon Muggli - 6'0.5 LD - Zug - NL -
70 Colton Roberts - 6'3.75 RD - Vancouver - WHL -
71 Tomas Lavoie - 6'4 RD - Cape Breton - QMJHL -
72 Tarin Smith - 6'1.25 LD - Everett - WHL -
73 Leo Sahlin Wellenius - 6'0 LD - Vaxjo - J20 -
74 Noel Fransen - 6'0 LD - Farjestad - J20 -
75 Jakub Fibigr - 6'0 LD - Mississauga - OHL -
76 Heikki Ruohonen - 6'1 C - Kiekko-Espoo - U20 SM-sarja -
77 Kamil Bednarik - 6'0.25 C - USNTDP -
78 Blake Montgomery - 6'4 LW - Lincoln - USHL -
79 Melvin Fernstrom - 6'0.75 RW - Orebro - J20 -
80 Riley Patterson - 6'0.25 RW - Barrie - OHL -

Tremendous work. A good argument for Catton at 5 continues to emerge. At 26, I'd argue that a Foligno-type forward remains an organizational need. I've argued elsewhere for the merit of a weighted sum of bpa and need, based on optimization theory.

 

[jaffy27]

You gotta out do my Poehling reaction.. it's been #1 for too long.

If I remember correctly, you wanted the Finn player that went to Nashville didn’t you…

 

[NotProkofievian]

And Verbeek was Stevie Y's right hand man in Detroit when they drafted Seider. I remember many posters in here ridiculing the pick.

I don't ridicule Madden picks and I'm not about to start if they pick Silayev lol

 

[Andrei79]

So why do they rarely win anything but individual awards. As fans, are we cheering Norris victories or Cup victories? Because guys like Drew Doughty and Alex Pietrangelo contribute to team success more than guys like Quinn Hughes and Erik Karlsson.

Waiting for someone to say “but Drew is productive”. 36 points and 37 points the two seasons his team won the Cup.

I don't think this is an accurate way to view it. Hughes and Karlsson have never had the teams Doughty and Pietrangelo did, or even close to it. The Doughty Kings were stacked. Look at Makar and Letang. No issues winning with primarily offensive defensemen. I don't even find that Hughes's problem is his defense, it's his body that's limiting him.

As far as Doughty goes, he went over ppg as a D-2 player in the OHL. He was second in scoring for defensemen as a 20 year in only his second season in the NHL, during his D+2. His production dropped the moment Sutter came in. Which is ok, the proof is in the pudding and they won. But he was a hell of a player offensively. The best defensemen usually are.

Anyways, Im moving on. I just want to simp for Parekh.