HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[A Loyal Demidog]

I will lose my mind if we take another LD.

"Take another LD... Take another LD..."

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

"It was Bo Callahan. And nobody went to his birthday..."

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

When was Markov ever the biggest D on the team? The best skater? The most physical? The hardest shooting? The best pure defender? Never. But there’s also very little debate that he was by far the most valuable Defenceman the Habs have had at any point in the last 30 years.

But it’s clear that you value individual tools over anything else so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Except for Subban? Sure.

 

[Kaiden Ghoul]

Lets not forget D is one of the two most important position value wise. IF we indeed goes with Biuum, in a couple years we can trade from a position of strenght for fwd or keep our best 4 and sign good Ufa winger

Unless Demidov is there and they are sure about Lindstrom, i would not be mad about Biuum 5th oa but not the other D... Igy or Catton all the way

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

This type of thinking led us to KK over Brady Tkachuk. We never had a 1C since 30 years.

The opposite of this type of thinking gaved us Carey Price. We had Theo, and there was Brule !

The failure from the decades and the current needs will only taint our analysis in the wrong way.

Its all about selecting the best at 5, relative to his peers.

It's one thing to draft Price when you have Theo. It's a whole other thing to use your next first round pick to take a goalie again. And your next draft to take another one with a first rounder again.

At some point it becomes an exercise in insanity. We need to stop collecting LDs as though they're Pitlicks.

We are completely stocked on LD. We don't need another one. We desperately need another forward and there are plenty of great ones available. Don't overthink this.

In a vacuum you could very well be right, I’ll concede that.

What I’ll counter you with is this; it sets your development back 3 years. We are actually counting on Guhle because of his age and progress. He’s the “vet” of the new crop, and you are aware that D’s take longer to blossom.

It sets our d squad back too much for my liking. So if Carolina wants Matheson for example I’m good with your trade. But not Guhle. Buium and Guhle could co-exist, I’m not disputing that, I’m only reticent on the back peddling in the formation of our D squad.

Not to mention we already have other LDs that we have to move. It makes absolutely no sense from that perspective.

If he was head and shoulders the right guy? Sure. But I'm not even sure he's the right LD. Meanwhile we've got Demidov who's taller than expected and a higher rated prospect. It would be absolutely crazy not to take him at this stage. Lidstrom I get. I wanted him but the injury is scary. But there's just no way to justify not taking Demidov if he gets to us. Sennecke, Lidstrom, Catton... I'm good with any of them. But draft a forward.

Ainec. Why is this even a debate

We already have a blueliner with a similar profile in Hutson
We already have an excess of LDs that we're going to have to move
We badly need a forward
Getting younger on D sets the development curve back even further
There'd be controversy that he's not even the best LD available

You're right. Why is this even a debate?

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

A guy here, a bully is negative about everything related to Buium. Not big enough according to him but Hutson is great according to him??? We saw it again in these playoffs, there is no place for a D the size of Hutson if the goal is to win the cup. In the regular season it can be OK, but you won't win the cup with a D so small. Not is fault, he won't be able to compete physically. So yes, draft Buium that is big enough and trade Hutson. That's it.

Hutson may be a bit of a unicorn but it's a huge stretch to say we can't win with him.

It's fine to have small players. You need a mix of talent and size. As long as you have that you'll be fine.

The guy has insane talent. And we saw what he did in his first two NHL games, it was like watching Subban when he first came up. The talent is there. I can't belive people are so quick to just give up on this guy.

 

[Kaiden Ghoul]

That's Buium's upside and it takes into account the aforementioned inflated point totals... which means you have to take into account the downside of him falling short of that. Also consider that he's not particularly the right size and we already have Hutson who is further along his development trajectory. I think they'd have to see something special in him to bee-line for him when the team has gaps at RD and Forward.

6f2 is not the right size ? Do you saw him skate ? He won everywhere, thats a legit top prospect, the time he will be ready, we will know what we have with Hutson, if he become good enough to be top 4 great, if not we have Buiim who i see at least top 2

And again if Hutson become solid, we could get élite talent for Buiim

D always have high trade value

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If we end up trading one of Matheson/Guhle for Necas, would people be more open to drafting Buium?

It doesn't solve anything. We already have too many LDs. We have to move Matheson to get Guhle back on the left side.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

6f2 is not the right size ? Do you saw him skate ? He won everywhere, thats a legit top prospect, the time he will be ready, we will know what we have with Hutson, if he become good enough to be top 4 great, if not we have Buiim who i see at least top 2

And again if Hutson become solid, we could get élite talent for Buiim

D always have high trade value

Thought he only measured in at 6ft

 

[ReHabs]

6f2 is not the right size ? Do you saw him skate ? He won everywhere, thats a legit top prospect, the time he will be ready, we will know what we have with Hutson, if he become good enough to be top 4 great, if not we have Buiim who i see at least top 2

And again if Hutson become solid, we could get élite talent for Buiim

D always have high trade value

Zeev Buium is listed at 6'0

 

[NotProkofievian]

Anyone have Zeev buium's height by any chance?

 

[River Meadow]

Anyone have Zeev buium's height by any chance?

According to the 2024 NHL Combine heights and weights reported, Zeev Buium measured in at 6 feet 0 inches tall and weighed 186 pounds.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Seems it will forever remain a mystery

 

[ReHabs]

Seems it will forever remain a mystery

You mean 6'3" 237lbs Zeev Buium? That Zeev Buium?

 

[NotProkofievian]

You mean 6'3" 237lbs Zeev Buium? That Zeev Buium?

More like Zeev Boo-'im amirite? Because he sucks so much you'd boo him?

.... I'll see myself out.

 

[skidcells]

Wheeler’s final mock:
1-Celibrini
2-Levshunov
3-Silayev
4-Demidov
5-Lindstrom


5. Montreal Canadiens: Cayden Lindstrom, C, Medicine Hat Tigers

If the Ducks and Blue Jackets don’t take Lindstrom, I think Montreal or Utah will. I know they had dinner with Tij Iginla at the combine and there is some chatter about Sennecke going really high (I had one OHL source tell me there has been chatter as high as No. 3 about Sennecke), but those feel more like Plan Bs and Lindstrom feels like a perfect fit within the forward group they already have in Montreal. If he’s a center, the Canadiens have their 1-2 with him and Nick Suzuki. If he’s a winger, it’s not hard to imagine him playing alongside (and off of) the smarts of a Suzuki. In the unlikely event that both Lindstrom and Demidov are available, I do wonder if the winds are blowing in Demidov’s direction. And if they do surprise and go with a D, I’d guess that Buium makes the most sense logically.

 

[Schooner Guy]

It's one thing to draft Price when you have Theo. It's a whole other thing to use your next first round pick to take a goalie again.

It's not the same thing at all. Only one goalie plays in a game (unless pulled which you don't play for). Six D play. Jose Theodore had just won the Hart and Vezina trophies. As deep as our D pool is, we probably don't have a Norris trophy candidate in the system or even a true #1 D.

And your next draft to take another one with a first rounder again.

This regime has only taken one D so far with its three 1st round picks.

 

[Schooner Guy]

It doesn't solve anything. We already have too many LDs. We have to move Matheson to get Guhle back on the left side.

Whoever the Habs draft at #5 next weekend is with almost certainty not playing in the NHL this upcoming season. The draft isn't the only way to address gaps.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Wheelers final prediction is

Celebrini at 1
Levshunov 2
Silayev 3
Demidov 4
Lindstrom 5

 

[FrankMTL]

Yeah he did - but he's talking about a few of the players and then makes other comments. Way he talked about Silayev and what he said later matched up and they were saying he did the same thing last year when asked about Fantilli and Carlsson.

Me when someone suggests drafting Iginla, Helenius or Buium at 5

View attachment 885836

I still don't mind Iginla at 5 though

 

[yianik]

One week till the draft ladies.

This shit is like looking at a menu too long, it gives me too much time to change my mind.

You f***ers have managed to convince me, dissuade me, re-convince me, make me question my own beliefs..........Thank god we only have to wait another 7 days or my head might explode.

Beauty post. I'm right there with you. I have it narrowed down to 10 guys at 5.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Wheelers final prediction is

Celebrini at 1
Levshunov 2
Silayev 3
Demidov 4
Lindstrom 5

I see Wheeler has us taking Eriks Mateiko in the 2nd round. WTF?

Wheeler must really hate the Habs.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I see Wheeler has us taking Eriks Mateiko in the 2nd round. WTF?

Wheeler must really hate the Habs.

It's not the first time I saw that.. I have no idea why.

Demidov went from 3.50 to 2.70 since Friday on SportsInteraction, 2nd overall pick. Wheeler still has them taking Levshunov, let's see how Pronman feels with this final mock.

 

[Rapala]

Courtesy of The Athletic:

“One of the reasons I believe the Canadiens passed on Michkov was the degree to which his willingness to compete would waver, and though I only watched Demidov’s playoff games, I did not see that same variance in competitiveness. He fights for pucks. He skates back hard on defence. He physically engages opponents. In other words, he cares, and it shows.

Is Demidov a defensive stalwart? An elite two-way player? No, of course not. But he was engaged in the game, at least in my viewings, in a way that was not the case in the games I viewed in Michkov’s draft year. Demidov’s compete does not appear to be an issue.”

- Arpon Basu

Yeah I'm sure Arpon watched all his games we probably have guys on our forum who saw more games than he did.
I never got the fascination with what Basu says on this board?

To me he's no better than any of the other shills we are subject to in our market.

 

[skidcells]

Yeah I'm sure Arpon watched all his games we probably have guys on our forum who saw more games than he did.
I never got the fascination with what Basu says on this board?

To me he's no better than any of the other shills we are subject to in our market.

It’s undeniable the guy has sources and when he writes pieces like this one, as much as he says he has no inside info, he’s being a vessel for information management wants to disseminate across the fanbase. It’s happened numerous times in the past and yet multiple people still dismiss this fact.