HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Habs Icing]

Pronman reported it

I'm not a doctor and don't play one on TV, but a herniated disc is a do-not-draft warning.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Here's the thing about picking a D in a forward heavy draft vs picking a forward in a d heavy draft.

1. Name the right shot defenseman with size and a advanced defensive game in this draft that we have a shot at picking who is billed as a top 10 pick.

2. We are not sure whether or not 3 forwards will go in the top 4 of this draft.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I'll be as straight forward as I can be right now.

It's not about Iginla being more "predictable" than "the rest".
It's about Sennecke being less "predictable" than "the rest".

You can make an argument for a whole lot of players at 5.

Lindstrom showed he can be downright dominant, plays with pugnacity, and scored as many goals as Sennecke on a full year in... 32 games.

Demidov did what no other prospect before him did in the MHL, no matter how poor people say the calibre is in that league.

Iginla just had a very good 17 years old season, being one of the top goal scorers in the whole CHL, while being one of the youngest players in this draft.

Hell, you can even make an argument for Catton, who had a season for the ages, and for Eiserman, who did what nobody did before him in the USHL.

All of these guys have showed they can actually elevate their game an be dominant in a way or another.

Then, you have Beckett Sennecke, a guy who by all means struggled to hit a point per game in the OHL, and who is being sold here as the second coming of God, but who somehow struggled to product consistently, and is going to get his game to the next level and do something he's never done because "GrOwTh SpUrT". A guy who Scott Wheeler reported that his off-ice reputation was average at best as early as this season.

And that's just taking the empirical data. I won't even get into how freaking disengaged and awkward this guy looks on the ice. Of course people will all put this under the "GrOwTh SpUrT" excuse. But this is the point; You should not justify picking a guy who has that many question marks around him because "GrOwTh SpUrT".

It's a hit-or-miss, and you should not go after hit-or-misses with a 5th overally pick, and pray the guy you drafted is going to do something he's NEVER done before - product consistently/be dominant.

People come up with all kinds of excuses you should not have to make for a 5th overall pick. People will say numbers don't matter and Scheifele didn't have tremendous numbers in his draft season. They'll also disregard how Scheifele is not the norm and how Scheifele is pretty much what every team wants to add to its arsenal - a right-handed C with good size. That alone motivated the reach.

He might just pan out and beat the odds. If so, props to the ones who saw it coming. But if he busts and Iginla becomes what he's pretty much anticipated to become - a fine sniper with a good all-around game and good level of compete - this is a fireable offense. ESPECIALLY considering the shallow depth of our prospects pool up front. ESPECIALLY knowing how much of a perfect duo he'd make with Kirby Dach.

The fact is that if you're drafting Sennecke, you're drafting a guy who hasn't even showed he can do what you draft him for consistently. And who does things that are simply not translatable in the NHL at junior, and who can't even pull it off consistently.

Hell, if that guy is really in the discussions I'd still rather take a chance with one of the Ds.

He’s a riser just as Lidstrom is. And I haven’t heard anyone say he’s the ‘second coming of God.’ That’s how the draft goes sometimes man, late risers and fallers. Eiserman was being touted as a solid number two - maybe even number one in the draft and now he’s fallen.

Senneke’s intruiging because of the growth for sure. It puts him on the radar because size matters. He had a strong second half and teams are looking at potential. Maybe there’s a little more risk here but calling Iginla blue chip and Sennecke a ‘mystery box’ is overstating things.

 

[SnapVirus]

Yeshhh Lindstrom might become a Latendresse. Big guy who wont play physical, with soso abilities. Im not risking this at 5, and good luck to the team taking him if he can have a healty career with that lifelong injury.

 

[jaffy27]

Yeshhh Lindstrom might become a Latendresse. Big guy who wont play physical, with soso abilities. Im not risking this at 5, and good luck to the team taking him if he can have a healty career with that lifelong injury.

lol…come on, the odds of that happening is the same odds as Lima receiving heavy rainfall

 

[Shutdown]

Pronman definitely got the info from the medical report that was circulated league wide. so nothing changes today in terms of how teams feel about Lindstrom. if people were hearing Columbus post-combine, it still applies.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Honestly we have gotten to the part of the discourse where everyone has dug in on their guys and won't change their opinion.

Most of the recent posts have been the guy I like has no risk and is guaranteed to be this and the guy I don't like has big risk and isn't the guarantee people who like him think he is.

 

[Hannibal]

Hope the herniated disk will scare away Timmins and Co. so that he can fall to us.

 

[SlafySZN]

Yeshhh Lindstrom might become a Latendresse. Big guy who wont play physical, with soso abilities. Im not risking this at 5, and good luck to the team taking him if he can have a healty career with that lifelong injury.

Good thing Lindstrom is a big guy who play physical.

 

[darrylsittler27]

I can tell right now there will be surprises this draft and some good players will drop. Looks like a decent draft into the 2nd round. Guys like Iginla will go too high and now rumours Lindstrom has a bad disk. He will drop. You don't risk a top 10 pick on a known medical issue. I can see teams drafting guys like Cole Hutson top 20 because he fits a team mold. This will be a draft where guys go all over the map. Some teams need C, some want a top 4 dman. I think it's good news for the Leafs. At 23 someone unexpected will fall through. They interviewed Eiserman, a winger!

 

[Favster]

My common sense.

And most betting websites now have Sennecke rising and Iginla dropping.

So yeah. I fully expect us to draft Sennecke. All it takes is either Chicago or Anaheim to pick Demidov, or us deciding once again to pass on Demidov because of the Russian factor like we did with Michkov last season.



Well, I have bad news for you if you think Sennecke is any better in that aspect.

I worked as a line manager for Sports Interaction for many years. This basically means that the book you're looking at has most likely taken more money than they want on Iginla and are trying to make other options more appealing (Sennecke) to balance out the market to profit of the VIG. I personally posted and ran all draft and draft prop bets for the Kotkaniemi draft. Don't put to much stock in draft odds, they are typically posted manually by traders rather than being on a feed like major north american sport games.

Bottom line is don't put too much stock into gambling odds, especially 2 weeks before the draft. You'll see the lines fluctuate constantly the closer we get to the draft.

 

[Locks]

The only real red flag around Michkov was his physical profile + speed/power. Everything else was nonsense noise, like always.

Picking Reinbacher over Michkov was not as much of a stretch as it was made-out to be... but zeroing in on Reinbacher ("unanimously") in a forward-heavy draft was rather suspect considering the 2024 draft was going to be d-heavy. Let's hope it works out.

You are free to believe whatever you want but were several reports regarding his problematic attitude and nothing is more damning than what former NHLer and a fellow Russian, Andrei Nikolishin, who works for the Caps said about Michkov's attitude:
"Nikolishin told the Slippery Ice Podcast last week, as translated by Google Translate. "I can show correspondence when I wanted to meet him and, as a scout, ask a few questions and do an interview... I have not seen such disrespect for other people in my life.
For me, he's first or second [based on skill]," Nikolishin added. "But in character, in relation to teammates, coaching staff, management, fans -- a person has now fallen very low in the eyes of all scouts, all managers."

There is more on Michkov's attitude from other sources in the article.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-andrei-nikolishin-scout-concerns-matvei-michkov-nhl-draft

The reply by Marty Lapointe at the post-draft presser to the question of why they took Reibacker over Michkov - "We are trying to build a culture here" - all but confirms it. And if there is a team with inside info on MIchkov, it has to be the Habs due to Bobrov's dad working for SKA.

 

[jaffy27]

Honestly we have gotten to the part of the discourse where everyone has dug in on their guys and won't change their opinion.

Most of the recent posts have been the guy I like has no risk and is guaranteed to be this and the guy I don't like has big risk and isn't the guarantee people who like him think he is.

I’m honestly feeling like I’m at day 1 of my high school chemistry class, confused as f***

We can’t go wrong and I will drop to my knees if we select one of Demidov, Lindstrom, Levshunov……I will fist pump with authority if we select, Sennecke, Iginla, Dickinson…..I will start balling if we select Helenius.

Not a chance this management screws this up

 

[Kents polished head]

He’s a riser just as Lidstrom is. And I haven’t heard anyone say he’s the ‘second coming of God.’ That’s how the draft goes sometimes man, late risers and fallers. Eiserman was being touted as a solid number two - maybe even number one in the draft and now he’s fallen.

Senneke’s intruiging because of the growth for sure. It puts him on the radar because size matters. He had a strong second half and teams are looking at potential. Maybe there’s a little more risk here but calling Iginla blue chip and Sennecke a ‘mystery box’ is overstating things.

I said Iginla was the surest thing between the two to become a 30 goals 30 assists forward. Not exactly what I would call a blue chipper.

I wouldn't be upset at any of Catton, Lindstrom, Demidov or Iginla for that matter. You can even add Buium and Dickinson to this list.

And yes, Sennecke is a complete mystery box. He plays weird, he's often disengaged, he beats defenders in a way that is pretty much impossible to do consistently in the NHL in juniors, and despite all that, he still has not proven he's a dominant offensive player statistically wise. Like mrb1p said earilier in this said, the same stuff is getting repeated ad nauseam by the same 2 or 3 people in this thread. That he has the best hands in the draft, that he has game-breaking potential, that he's all this and all that. And then when you ask questions about his sub-par offensive output, all you get as an answer is "muh growth spurt" or "muh Scheifele".

I'm sorry, this just doesn't add up. This is playing a game of 4D chess when there's no need to, really.

In a parallel universe where we drafted Leonard and where we'd have a pick in the 10-13 range, I'd say hell. Why not.

But at 5th overall, sitting on a literally empty forwards prospects pool, with a guy like Iginla who's pretty much as safe a bet as you can take? Come on... we're just trying to make a hard exercise even harder on ourselves.

We're at a point where people here are saying that Joshua Roy is our best forward prospect. We REALLY don't have to make this that complicated. Get the guy who has the highest shot at playing on your top-6 someday and call it a day.

I said it earlier and I'll say it again; with a pick that high there is such a thing called risk management. And Sennecke is a hell of a risky pick whether people here want to admit it or not. You're betting on him turning into a completely different player than he is now, because what he is now is never going to cut it in the NHL.

 

[ReHabs]

You are free to believe whatever you want but were several reports regarding his problematic attitude and nothing is more damning than what former NHLer and a fellow Russian, Andrei Nikolishin, who works for the Caps said about Michkov's attitude:
"Nikolishin told the Slippery Ice Podcast last week, as translated by Google Translate. "I can show correspondence when I wanted to meet him and, as a scout, ask a few questions and do an interview... I have not seen such disrespect for other people in my life.
For me, he's first or second [based on skill]," Nikolishin added. "But in character, in relation to teammates, coaching staff, management, fans -- a person has now fallen very low in the eyes of all scouts, all managers."

There is more on Michkov's attitude from other sources in the article.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-andrei-nikolishin-scout-concerns-matvei-michkov-nhl-draft

The reply by Marty Lapointe at the post-draft presser to the question of why they took Reibacker over Michkov - "We are trying to build a culture here" - all but confirms it. And if there is a team with inside info on MIchkov, it has to be the Habs due to Bobrov's dad working for SKA.

You cite the same piece twice — and ignore other people who said he’s a perfectly fine person and find the criticism of his character uncalled for. Goes to show your bias.

I never said he’s a perfect character, but I do think nonsense said about him pre-draft was no more than hysterical smears.

We’ll know as he enters the NHL. It’s not worth bickering about today.

(And I wouldn’t give a rat’s behind what Lapointe the roid head has to say about anybody’s )

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

I'm not touching Lindstrom with a 30 ft pole with the 5th OA pick now with the new reports out. I'm content with one of Iginla or sennecke

 

[jaffy27]

I'm not touching Lindstrom with a 30 ft pole with the 5th OA pick now with the new reports out. I'm content with one of Iginla or sennecke

What reports?

Maybe you have a link?

 

[ReHabs]

What reports?

Maybe you have a link?

The Athletic reported that the mysterious 'back issues' he struggled with was in fact a herniated disk.

 

[Kents polished head]

The Athletic reported that the mysterious 'back issues' he struggled with was in fact a herniated disk.

I mean. I'm no sports therapist. And I assume most teams already knew as much when his stock was reported to be high after the combine.

So I'm not sure it has that much of an impact.

 

[jaffy27]

I mean. I'm no sports therapist. And I assume most teams already knew as much when his stock was reported to be high after the combine.

So I'm not sure it has that much of an impact.

I’m sure, no, I’m certain that teams had this data before The Athletic

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

What reports?

Maybe you have a link?

Not official reports but Corey pronman stated it in the athletic podcast. So I guess he reported on it

 

[WeThreeKings]

Not official reports but Corey pronman stated it in the athletic podcast. So I guess he reported on it

He did and he said doctors felt more comfortable about it after the combine.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

You are free to believe whatever you want but were several reports regarding his problematic attitude and nothing is more damning than what former NHLer and a fellow Russian, Andrei Nikolishin, who works for the Caps said about Michkov's attitude:
"Nikolishin told the Slippery Ice Podcast last week, as translated by Google Translate. "I can show correspondence when I wanted to meet him and, as a scout, ask a few questions and do an interview... I have not seen such disrespect for other people in my life.
For me, he's first or second [based on skill]," Nikolishin added. "But in character, in relation to teammates, coaching staff, management, fans -- a person has now fallen very low in the eyes of all scouts, all managers."

There is more on Michkov's attitude from other sources in the article.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-andrei-nikolishin-scout-concerns-matvei-michkov-nhl-draft

The reply by Marty Lapointe at the post-draft presser to the question of why they took Reibacker over Michkov - "We are trying to build a culture here" - all but confirms it. And if there is a team with inside info on MIchkov, it has to be the Habs due to Bobrov's dad working for SKA.

Taking one source's word as gospel for anyone's character is insane behaviour for anyone who has ever had social interaction.

 

[VirginiaMtlExpat]

Interesting blog about herniated discs and hockey players. The Lumbar Disc Herniation & Hockey Athletes - Remi Sovran

The prognosis is rather discouraging, though who knows, perhaps orthopedics will get better over time.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Interesting blog about herniated discs and hockey players. The Lumbar Disc Herniation & Hockey Athletes - Remi Sovran

The prognosis is rather discouraging, though who knows, perhaps orthopedics will get better over time.

Not a doctor obviously but having known people with herniated discs it makes me pretty hesitant to take a chance like that.

Back injuries really suck.