HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Skip Bayless]

If guhle can play effectively RHD, Buium is an awesome pick. Run Buium-Guhle and Hutson-Reinbacher 45 mins a game and see what happens

Buium can play RHD as well as LHD.

 

[Zilo44]

Buium can play RHD as well as LHD.

Did not know that. That explains the rumor Habs are interested

 

[CanadienShark]

Please don't tell me a name. I want it to remain a surprise until the Sharks announce the pick on draft night.

The sarcasm emoji suggests I don't actually know.

 

[WinterLion]

Pronman more accurate than Bobby over the last 2 drafts? (Tho Bob’s isn’t a mock and is gathering opinions)

https://x.com/i/web/status/1804087563793371656

VERY Interesting... was that Pronmans final mock?

 

[Scintillating10]

Can you give us notes?

- Said Buium be a star.
- Lindstrom is Kreider type
- If Demidov and Lindstrom gone He would take Catton at 5. He is most skilled. But thinks Habs take Sennecke because of size. Called him highlight goal machine. Inconsistent but had great playoff.
- teams don't like taking Russians high in draft.
- Hawks take Levs. Ducks take Silayev at 3. mentioned if dealt Zegras Ducks may take forward.
- Parekh could slide due to depth in defense this draft


Kind of lame actually.

 

[Scintillating10]

He was the best player on the best NCAA team as a 17 year old. And when I say best player it's not only "He made nice moves and scored goals", it's he played a crucial role both ways of the ice and played like a #1 defenceman on a championship team.

Guhle + Lane Hutson = Zeev Buium.

Holy, I'd say draft him then.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Holy, I'd say draft him then.

For me he's on the same tier as Lindstrom and Demidov, difference is Buium has much better pedigree coming into this draft.

 

[KevSkillz4]

If Habs pick Zeev Buium if Demidov or Lindstrom are gone, I will be a very happy man.

Buium is my favorite D in this year draft class, he have the potential to become the best D in few years.

He would be a very very solid player to add with Habs.

He can play RD aswell.

Guhle - Buium.
Hutson - Reinbacher.

Or trade Guhle (I don't want trade him, but with Engstrom and Xhekaj at LD, Buium aswell, we need to trade great value to acquire great value at forward) and let play Buium with Mailloux.

Hutson - Reinbacher.
Buium - Mailloux.


That's insane D-core.

 

[Gally11]

Everyone talks about how Florida is built but their lack of game breaking D is glaring. Look at those PP stats in final; I’m not saying this because I want a forward to drop but Chicago going forward would be incredibly shortsighted if they leave a future #1 D on table

 

[McGees]

Florida is missing a Buium

 

[salbutera]

Everyone talks about how Florida is built but their lack of game breaking D is glaring. Look at those PP stats in final; I’m not saying this because I want a forward to drop but Chicago going forward would be incredibly shortsighted if they leave a future #1 D on table

I like Bouchard but he isn’t a “game breaking D”, who else do Edm have on the back end?

As for Fla PP, not enough credit if being given to Oilers dominant playoff PK - it’s been legendary throughout the playoffs

 

[Ozmodiar]

Buium-Reinbacher
Guhle-Mailloux
Hutson-Xhekaj

You get 3 minute munching all situations defenseman in your top 4. That projects well for the playoffs, which is how they are building this team, to win a cup.

Also right now Hutson is their only player that projects to be a puck moving defenseman. They might not feel comfortable gambling on him becoming a top 4 guy and can play playoff hockey to pass on Buium who is basically a lock to be one, probably closer to top pairing.

Let’s say Buium needs a year of seasoning before he’s ready. I don’t know his plans, but not unreasonable for a 5 OA …

In 2025, do you think Hughes would roll with a D corps with 24 year old Xhekaj as the oldest player?

I don’t - and I like the lines. I’d just expect a trade … or an extension … or both.

 

[dinodebino]

What happened to @Goldenhands ?

 

[Rapala]

Everyone talks about how Florida is built but their lack of game breaking D is glaring. Look at those PP stats in final; I’m not saying this because I want a forward to drop but Chicago going forward would be incredibly shortsighted if they leave a future #1 D on table

Well f*** they had Matheson.

 

[Rapala]

What happened to @Goldenhands ?

He took his ball and went home after the World Championships played out.
I don't know if his guy even goes top 10 in this draft it is so all over the place.

 

[le_sean]

Florida is missing a Buium

I’d say it’s a bigger problem than that. But they have gone to the Finals two years in a row without anyone spectacular on D. It’s not like the Oilers have a lot of great defenders, they have one pairing.

Florida is just getting outworked and out-skated. Anyone who signs Reinhart to a massive contract is going to regret it. He is the worst 57 goal scorer I’ve seen. Slow as molasses and zero physicality.

 

[Team_Spirit]

1st rounders drafted out of the Russian jr league;

Spoiler

Daniil But Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Daniil But, a hockey player from Yaroslavl, Russia born Feb 15 2005 who was active from 2021 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Ivan Miroshnichenko Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Ivan Miroshnichenko, a hockey player from Ussuriysk, Russia born Feb 4 2004 who was active from 2020 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Fedor Svechkov Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Fedor Svechkov, a hockey player from Tolyatti, Russia born Apr 5 2003 who was active from 2020 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Vasili Podkolzin Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Vasili Podkolzin, a hockey player from Moscow, Russia born Jun 24 2001 who was active from 2018 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Grigori Denisenko Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Grigori Denisenko, a hockey player from Novosibirsk, Russia born Jun 24 2000 who was active from 2016 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Denis Gurianov Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Denis Gurianov, a hockey player from Tolyatti, Russia born Jun 7 1997 who was active from 2013 to 2024.

www.hockeydb.com

Nikita Filatov Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Statistics of Nikita Filatov, a hockey player from Moscow, Russia born May 25 1990 who was active from 2007 to 2019.

www.hockeydb.com

 

[le_sean]

1st rounders drafted out of the Russian jr league;

I don’t think that’s fair to Demidov. He should not have been in the MHL. His team was being spiteful.

 

[Gally11]

I like Bouchard but he isn’t a “game breaking D”, who else do Edm have on the back end?

As for Fla PP, not enough credit if being given to Oilers dominant playoff PK - it’s been legendary throughout the playoffs

Having one of the best players to ever play the game up front can help mitigate that issue lol and then your 2nd best player being Draisaitl doesn’t hurt. But Oilers as a team started turning around with solid D like Ekholm and Bouchard progressing, not a coincidence, McDavid was arguably better through first few rounds last year

 

[No More Subban]

I really want a forward but if it's gonna be a dman, I'm taking Sam Dickinson.

Guhle-Mailloux
Dickinson-Reinbacher
Hutson-Zhekaj

Taking a dman is actually not that bad..

 

[Playmaker09]

I really want a forward but if it's gonna be a dman, I'm taking Sam Dickinson.

Guhle-Mailloux
Dickinson-Reinbacher
Hutson-Zhekaj

Taking a dman is actually not that bad..

One of the things that needs to be considered is cap management.

Guhle, Reinbacher and Dickinson (or whoever we draft) are all going to get paid based on draft pedigree (top 15 picks).
Hutson will also get paid due to PP1 production.

Are we going to spend 35+ million a year on defense?
I don't think that's a winning formula. Ideally you want at least one top 4 guy making below average money (someone to just play stay-at-home D with Hutson).

Below should be more than fine:

Guhle - Reinbacher (heavy matchup focus)
Hutson - Struble/Xhekaj/Kovacevic/Cheap Veteran
Xhekaj/Struble - Mailloux/Kovacevic/Barron

 

[The Last Red]

- Said Buium be a star.
- Lindstrom is Kreider type
- If Demidov and Lindstrom gone He would take Catton at 5. He is most skilled. But thinks Habs take Sennecke because of size. Called him highlight goal machine. Inconsistent but had great playoff.
- teams don't like taking Russians high in draft.
- Hawks take Levs. Ducks take Silayev at 3. mentioned if dealt Zegras Ducks may take forward.
- Parekh could slide due to depth in defense this draft


Kind of lame actually.

I’ve read that Sennecke’s comparable is Spezza. I’m not sure that’s what I want. But maybe.

 

[Sam I Am]

Do you think Demidov goes at #2?
If he's so far above the rest he should.
Believe it or not I don't think everyone thinks Demidov is.

I agree that not every team has Demidov as its second choice after Celebrini. But I suspect the Habs do.

 

[No More Subban]

One of the things that needs to be considered is cap management.

Guhle, Reinbacher and Dickinson (or whoever we draft) are all going to get paid based on draft pedigree (top 15 picks).
Hutson will also get paid due to PP1 production.

Are we going to spend 35+ million a year on defense?
I don't think that's a winning formula. Ideally you want at least one top 4 guy making below average money (someone to just play stay-at-home D with Hutson).

Below should be more than fine:

Guhle - Reinbacher (heavy matchup focus)
Hutson - Struble/Xhekaj/Kovacevic/Cheap Veteran
Xhekaj/Struble - Mailloux/Kovacevic/Barron

Oh, for sure. It'll be a good problem to have regardless. Just hope we don't give someone a Nurse-like contract down the line.

I still want the Habs to draft one of Demidov/Lindstrom/Iginla. That's still the priority. If not, I wouldn't be mad drafting Dickinson.

 

[ReHabs]

No. I acknowledged up front that I'm in the minority on Levshunov and have been all season and that there are some hockey people out there who have the same questions I do on some important areas for a defenseman especially as they move up to the next level. Nobody is questioning his offense or tools and far more scouts are higher than me on Levshunov. That's why he's in the top 5 on most lists. I still think he's a strong prospect who would obviously be great to have in the system but I don't have him top 5. We'll know in 3-5 years. No need to always get so sensitive when someone points out an imperfection or questions something about a player you like.

If Reinbacher was in this draft, he'd likely be anywhere between 1-7 in the D rankings depending on the list. One thing Reinbacher has going for him is that he has tested well against men in strong pro leagues. The transition from amateur to the NHL for young D isn't easy and usually takes time.

Okay — I’ll try this again: what do “some hockey people” have to say about his defensive game?

You referred to them and didn’t really demonstrate what they said. I’ve been genuinely curious about this but you keep changing your tone. As far as I can see, the hockey consensus is that Levshunov is a very very good prospect and likely the top dman prospect of this year and last.

I have zero attachment to Lev or Celebrini because I figure they’d be gone before the Habs pick. Not everything has a psychological angle to it, it could be that you’re just not communicating your thoughts in a way I can understand.