HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[le_sean]

Exactly. Can hardly understand how those buffoons amateur scout working for NHL teams and personal following the draft ranks this guy so high. le_sean knows better.

NHL teams are obsessed with size, more news at 11.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Get him to go the CHL route next season and I'll like the pick a lot more. He's a very long term project, playing in the OHL would at least accelerate things a bit.

I think he should have done the USHL for a year, but college will give him a chance to add some mass and play a more structured game. Might be too much too soon, but if he adjusts it definitely will have been the preferable route.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Iginla's reaction time is incredible but he can react with some pretty bad split second decisions. I think it's the kind of thing that can be improved to a degree though.

Demidov on the other hand has similar reaction time but somehow always seems to do the right thing or make a play I didn't even see in those split seconds.

He only has one full season as an actual top 6 under his belt, I'm willing to call it a simple lack of experience and leave it at that.

 

[dcyhabs]

To steal a quote from Draft Day, defense doesn’t make a splash and fans want to get wet

And management shouldn’t care.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Iginla's reaction time is incredible but he can react with some pretty bad split second decisions. I think it's the kind of thing that can be improved to a degree though.

Demidov on the other hand has similar reaction time but somehow always seems to do the right thing or make a play I didn't even see in those split seconds.

Funny because I have seen Demidov shy away from contact along the boards in some of the video I have watched. I guess it depends on what you are looking for when you watch the video.

One of the things I do when I watch video is to watch the D coverage and breakdowns when others look at the highlight reels and offense. It's a good way to see how they are doing what they are doing. Are they making some of these plays against good Defense or good defensive teams? Or is it against younger/soft D?

With Iggy, there is some layer to Domi in his game. In terms of him trying to much by himself. Can he do that at the NHL level after he fills into his fathers frame (6'-1 and 210 lbs)? Or will he have to learn how to pick his spots better? One thing I will say is he is not afraid to go to the dirty areas and he does keep the puck on his stick a lot in scrubs. There is a huge adjustments for prospects when they turn pro and Iggy's game and things he focuses on stand up well. No doubt his father tells him, nice shot but try it again against me. Show me how you can handle contact and still do that?

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Exactly. Can hardly understand how those buffoons amateur scout working for NHL teams and personal following the draft ranks this guy so high. le_sean knows better.

I've had this argument here before (and ended up blocked by a cErtain Poster in this thread), but professional scouts are far from infallible and can sometimes be outperformed over a decade by picking the draft eligible player with the highest points per game in the CHL remaining at their draft position (as someone tested with Vancouver in the 2000s).

Not to say le_sean is right about this (though I hold similar reservations about Silayev) but appeals to authority really don't go very far when it comes to NHL teams' scouting departments.

 

[Jaynki]

There’s nothing special here except the size and skating.

Playing 20min/g and doing what he did in the KHL at 17YO is special.

He is a unicorn.

He won't be there at 5 tho.

Silayev - Reinbacher is a dream 1st pair.

 

[Whitesnake]

Good thing is that barring they make an out of the field pick like Helenius, a good amount of poster will be satisfied with the pick.

Demidov, Lindstrom, Iginla, Dickinson, Buium, and Sennecke/Catton to an extend all seems to be popular choice for #5 on Habs board and one of those will be our pick.

I don't see a controversial scenario possible (unless they pass on Demidov, but words have been that Habs highly value his skillset and with Michkov signing with Flyers for next season soon it might have a positive influence on picking Demidov).

I can't wait to go back to a board being 100% for a pick....you know....when we drafted Sebastian Collberg!!!! Good times.....yet....it means absolutely nothing. Yes, no matter the pick out there, it will be 50-50. I made a list and no matter who I put top 10....I can easily make arguments to be dissapointed that we pick them. That's the kind of year. Except Celebrini....they all have issues..or there will be a player we have ahead of who will be pick.

Still...ALSO amongst that list...I have no doubt that any of those guys will help eventually. The closest to bust issues are Sennecke and Catton. Yet, I believe there are more qualities than issues.

 

[Trabdy2]

Yeah he's sitting there at 36 for me. I'd rather take a shot on a guy like Basha, Parascak, Artamonov, Vanacker, or Stiga

I agree. There are lots of prospects I'd be looking at with the 26th ahead of Letourneau, including the guys you mentioned, except maybe Parascak.

 

[Jaynki]

I can't wait to go back to a board being 100% for a pick....you know....when we drafted Sebastian Collberg!!!! Good times.....yet....it means absolutely nothing. Yes, no matter the pick out there, it will be 50-50. I made a list and no matter who I put top 10....I can easily make arguments to be dissapointed that we pick them. That's the kind of year. Except Celebrini....they all have issues..or there will be a player we have ahead of who will be pick.

Still...ALSO amongst that list...I have no doubt that any of those guys will help eventually. The closest to bust issues are Sennecke and Catton. Yet, I believe there are more qualities than issues.

Demidov is the only players out of the bunch where we are all unanimous outside our personal preference.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

I can't wait to go back to a board being 100% for a pick....you know....when we drafted Sebastian Collberg!!!! Good times.....yet....it means absolutely nothing. Yes, no matter the pick out there, it will be 50-50. I made a list and no matter who I put top 10....I can easily make arguments to be dissapointed that we pick them. That's the kind of year. Except Celebrini....they all have issues..or there will be a player we have ahead of who will be pick.

Still...ALSO amongst that list...I have no doubt that any of those guys will help eventually. The closest to bust issues are Sennecke and Catton. Yet, I believe there are more qualities than issues.

I think the last time there was close to a consensus here for a pick was Caufield. Hutson may have been but I wasn't on the board that day lol.

 

[le_sean]

I can't wait to go back to a board being 100% for a pick....you know....when we drafted Sebastian Collberg!!!! Good times.....yet....it means absolutely nothing. Yes, no matter the pick out there, it will be 50-50. I made a list and no matter who I put top 10....I can easily make arguments to be dissapointed that we pick them. That's the kind of year. Except Celebrini....they all have issues..or there will be a player we have ahead of who will be pick.

Still...ALSO amongst that list...I have no doubt that any of those guys will help eventually. The closest to bust issues are Sennecke and Catton. Yet, I believe there are more qualities than issues.

At least Collberg got us Vanek for a run. But yeah, I remember everyone being ecstatic that Day 2 started with him. I also thought there was no way Dalton Thrower would fail with his puck skills and determination.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

Such an interesting draft. I dont think, unless they go way off the board, that anyone should be super disappointed with the pick

The majority you can at least make an argument for at 5. Might not be your preference but can find reasoning

Lindstrom is the most interesting i find. From many pundits, his rank has either went up or stayed the same since combine. So are GMs not concerned of health issues or willing to risk it?

 

[le_sean]

I think the last time there was close to a consensus here for a pick was Caufield. Hutson may have been but I wasn't on the board that day lol.

I was at the draft when Hutson was picked and that was the loudest the Bell Centre was that day. Only the real freaks go to Rounds 2-7 and knew what type of talent he was

 

[Hannibal]

I hope we find a way to get Boisvert somehow.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

It's good numbers in the KHL at his age yes. But that's difficult to project because I feel he was focusing on the D side.

Chances he turns into a Hedman? Effective at both ends? What odds or % would you put towards that? How would you compare their offensive resumes (pre draft)? Similar?

He is not likely another Hedman but he doesn't need to be to justify a top 5 selection.

Comparing stats of players from very different leagues with very different structures is not a particularly effective methodology to attempt to determine offensive upside. Silayev plays as part of a four pairing rotation that limits his minutes in a league where 18 year olds are rarely given meaningful ice time and are expected to play extremely conservatively.

With Silayev you just can't draw much from his stats and the eye test certainly suggests that there may be significant room for offensive development given his physical traits. Dmen are extremely difficult to project and his situation only clouds the water even more. He could be a future Norris winner or he could be a bottom pairing low IQ stay at home shot blocker. Teams will vary in their opinions about where they think he might end up on this spectrum of outcomes and there just isn't enough evidence for any of us to fully support or debunk either stance.

There is almost no scenario where I see him falling out of the top 10 and he very well could go in the top five which would indicate that NHL teams likely see a continuum of limited offensive upside to significant upside but either way I suspect the consensus is that growth in this area is expected to some degree.

 

[GrandmaCookie]

I am already prepared for the following events to unfold on the 28th of June:

Martin Lapoine : "Nick, Columbus just took Lindstrom. We are picking after the commercial break. Demidov is on the board, so is Iginla, Buium and Dickinson. Who are we going with"

Nick Brobov: "I think Sam Dickinson and Buium have the potential to become fantastic defenseman".

Kent Hughes: "Aren't we already loaded at LD tho?"

Nick Brobov : "Always go for BPA Kent. Remember Reinbacher last season: see how he performed last season in the last 10 games with the Rockets?"

Martin Lapointe : "He is right Kent, I think those defenseman are too high profile to pass on. I say we pick the first on our list".

Kent Hughes: "With the 5th Overall selection of the 2024 entry draft, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select, from the OHL London Knights: Sam Dickinson".

Sam Dickinson: " I am so proud of being part of this historical organisation. I compare myself stylistically to Kaiden Ghule, I can't wait to meet him and learn from his experience".

 

[Balthazar]

He met with the Habs

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805292090597032139

 

[CapSpace]

This draft is gonna be very exciting.

I really do hope we'd take a shot at that hothead russian Surin with our 26th pick.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Are you willing to put faith that Byram turns into a top pairing stud after the age of 22 and know what we know today? That was just one example of someone who was pumped very high and many liked him a lot!

I would not bet more than 1 or 2 top pairing guys in this draft. Lots of top 4D though.

The 2-10 or 2-13 is wild. Lots of talent to choose from on both D and F but very difficult to establish BPA (list one after another).

It is not that I would necessarily bet that Byram becomes a top pairing D which is a subjective term and some would take that to mean that he would need to supplant Dahlin as the number one LHD at some point. The real point is that it does not make sense at all to write him off as a non top pairing dman after just finishing his 22 year old season and having battled enormous injury issues. Byram absolutely still has top pairing upside, whether he raeches this blurry line or not remains to be seen.....if indeed it ultimately can be seen.

 

[sampollock]

I am already prepared for the following events to unfold on the 28th of June:

View attachment 886247

Martin Lapoine : "Nick, Columbus just took Lindstrom. We are picking after the commercial break. Demidov is on the board, so is Iginla, Buium and Dickinson. Who are we going with"

Nick Brobov: "I think Sam Dickinson and Buium have the potential to become fantastic defenseman".

Kent Hughes: "Aren't we already loaded at LD tho?"

Nick Brobov : "Always go for BPA Kent. Remember Reinbacher last season: see how he performed last season in the last 10 games with the Rockets?"

Martin Lapointe : "He is right Kent, I think those defenseman are too high profile to pass on. I say we pick the first on our list".


View attachment 886246

Kent Hughes: "With the 5th Overall selection of the 2024 entry draft, the Montreal Canadiens are proud to select, from the OHL London Knights: Sam Dickinson".

View attachment 886252

Sam Dickinson: " I am so proud of being part of this historical organisation. I compare myself stylistically to Kaiden Ghule, I can't wait to meet him and learn from his experience".

and this board melts down

 

[Paddy17]

That's kinda what I mean. His best moments look very good. More fluid and more spectacular than Iginla's. But Iginla has 3 good moments to Sennecke's every 2 in my estimation. Maybe 4 to 3.

What's worth more? I can't say for sure right now.

And sometimes, simple efficiency works better than spectacular (see Matheson complaints). For me, Iginla plays a very translatable style of game. He can be a 30-30 guy, who will be just as effective in the playoffs. That's worth a lot in today's NHL. He's still very young, so I don't know if his ceiling can even be higher. There's less uncertainty because he's very mature and professional about his training and hockey already. For me, he has the Qwan (Jerry McGuire anyone?).

But like I said previously, I would be happy with any of Lindstrom, Sennecke or Iginla if Demidov is gone. But right now, if there's a choice to make, that's where my guts are leaning (Iggy).

 

[Balthazar]

It is not that I would necessarily bet that Byram becomes a top pairing D which is a subjective term and some would take that to mean that he would need to supplant Dahlin as the number one LHD at some point. The real point is that it does not make sense at all to write him off as a non top pairing dman after just finishing his 22 year old season and having battled enormous injury issues. Byram absolutely still has top pairing upside, whether he raeches this blurry line or not remains to be seen.....if indeed it ultimately can be seen.

Yea Byram is not a finished product as he missed nearly 2 seasons of development because of concussion issues. He also happened to play behind the best offensive defenseman in the league who eats a lot of minutes so his opportunities in Colorado were limited.

That was a terrible example from the other poster.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

It’s not Parekh’s D that concerns me.

And Saginaw played great five-man D; very structured and passing lanes became turnover lanes.

Parekh, from what I saw of him, doesn’t like physicality. I saw that stick come up when about to be hit.

That can be ‘fixed’ and I can view his spitting at two Kingston players as a one-time-only thing, but overall he just didn’t promote any “man, the Habs could use this guy!” when I saw him.

Certainly Didn’t earn a ‘character’ label.

His defensive effort is terrible and I seriously question his maturity. He reminds me of a young D version of Kadri who took years to tame into a responsible hockey player.

I have watched him and his brothers for over a decade so it is not as though this is something new to me. There is a lot of talent there but there are a lot of flags as well. He does have an edge and doesn't mind throwing hits or getting in opponents faces but he definitely avoids getting hit and purposely conserves energy in the dzone in order to use it on offence if one of his teammates can make a stop and turn the puck over.

 

[Jaynki]

He met with the Habs

https://x.com/i/web/status/1805292090597032139

Non news.

Guarantee that the top 15 players all have met with the Habs, let alone the top 5.

Would be lunacy to not meet him.