HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Andrei79]

What Silayev has done is nearly unprecedented. Whoever picks him will have a new number 1 prospect in their prospect pool. And within a few years they’ll have a new top3 dman.

Dickinson is a different story— he’s a safe bet with a very high floor and appropriately high ceiling. His defensive performance is excellent.

What are your thoughts on drafting Silayev at 5? I agree with your assesments by the way, it's difficult to ignore his performance, especially when considering his physical tools.

 

[Zilo44]

I don't know that he is. A puck hound like Iginla with his compete, shooting skills, IQ and pro game is pretty unique. I don't think we quite know what Sennecke is yet and that might turn off some teams while be very interesting to others who, like Slaf, feel they can add to his game.

Tij has that Tkachuk brothers vibes to me. No one saw them as elite players, yet they’re both 1st liners now

 

[Garnet76]

Yeah I can’t wait to see them have to move the puck up to first liner Cedrick Guindon.

Wait to you get the point of having to sign them all. Habs would have a huge chunk of the cap tied up with defensemen. Not a formula you build a long term winner with in my opinion.

 

[The Great Weal]

Everything after 1 is difficult to predict. I don’t think Sennecke is *safe* enough to pick top5 but he could certainly have the upside of a top5 pick in the eyes of an intrepid hockey team.

While he may not be seen as safe enough, others might be seen as too safe making their upside questionable.

 

[ReHabs]

What are your thoughts on drafting Silayev at 5? I agree with your assesments by the way, it's difficult to ignore his performance, especially when considering his physical tools.

I don’t want to pick a D in the first place but at 5 it’s hard to look past him. His size and the experience he’s picking up at 17 in the KHL make him such an interesting prospect. If he’s good in interviews and seems bright and passionate — then the sky is the limit.

I see it this way: Russian Hockey was no longer discriminated against, he would be hyped like Hedman.

 

[le_sean]

Wait to you get the point of having to sign them all. Habs would have a huge chunk of the cap tied up with defensemen. Not a formula you build a long term winner with in my opinion.

It’s not the way. There’s a limit to it. Top guys need top icetime to be their best. There’s only so much TOI to hand out. Meanwhile we have one good offensive line with nothing in the pipeline, but you need 3 to compete.

 

[The Great Weal]

Yeah I can’t wait to see them have to move the puck up to first liner Cedrick Guindon.

Are Suzuki/Slaf/CC/Dach/Roy being traded for picks for Cedrick Guindon to be on the 1st line?

 

[le_sean]

Are Suzuki/Slaf/CC/Dach/Roy being traded for picks for Cedrick Guindon to be on the 1st line?

They might as well be traded to shore up the defence even more. We could maybe target Makar for our 3rd pairing. Maybe grab Hedman for the pressbox

 

[sampollock]

Sennecke*

That's my pick too in the scenario that you commented on

The iggs Jr looks okay sometimes we can't get caught up on the last name not saying he's not a good young player just saying sometimes we can get over excitable because he's a son of a great hockey player

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I don't know that he is. A puck hound like Iginla with his compete, shooting skills, IQ and pro game is pretty unique. I don't think we quite know what Sennecke is yet and that might turn off some teams while be very interesting to others who, like Slaf, feel they can add to his game.

Iginal isn't a dime a dozen prospect, but being a big body with silky smooth hands is more rare/rarer than Iginla.

I tend to trust the argument that he’s a late riser due to his physical growth etc etc but that doesn’t make him any less of a project and there are so many prospects worthy of going top5 it’s hard to justify picking him at 5

I'm not saying Sennecke is a for sure fire NHLer, it's more what he projects to be is rarer than what Iginla projects to be.

 

[sampollock]

Your obsession with Kotkaniemi is well documented here and irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

Can't believe why we still talk about KK or why people bring him up

 

[le_sean]

Can't believe why we still talk about KK or why people bring him up

Well because the argument was that production makes you a better prospect. Kotkaniemi had 3x the points Slafkovsky did in his draft year in the same league. But no one would ever argue he was ever a better prospect than Slaf.

I know it’s a faux pas on these boards, but sometimes the eye test truly works.

 

[Jaynki]

Silayev at 5 would be received in a similar fashion then Reinbacher last but it could be such an absolute homerun pick.

Silayev Reinbacher
Hutson Guhle
Xhekaj Mailloux

We will contend for a decade with a D like this. That first pair will be a nightmare for opposition top line and a top PK unit in the league. They will eat 25 tough defensive minutes each and every night.

Silayev is such a no brainer at 5 but i think he is picked before.

 

[sampollock]

Well because the argument was that production makes you a better prospect. Kotkaniemi had 3x the points Slafkovsky did in his draft year in the same league. But no one would ever argue he was ever a better prospect than Slaf.

I know it’s a faux pas on these boards, but sometimes the eye test truly works.

Gotcha

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Silayev at 5 would be received in a similar fashion then Reinbacher last but it could be such an absolute homerun pick.

Silayev Reinbacher
Hutson Guhle
Xhekaj Mailloux

We will contend for a decade with a D like this. That first pair will be a nightmare for opposition top line and a top PK unit in the league. They will eat 25 tough defensive minutes each and every night.

Silayev is such a no brainer at 5 but i think he is picked before.

So we lose all our games 2-1 like the good old days

 

[Riggins]

The only way I'll be pissed is if we pick Silayev. In fact I'll fly over to KevSkillz house and trash it with him.

We can have Zadorov for free on July 1, we don't need to use the 5th overall on him.

 

[le_sean]

The only way I'll be pissed is if we pick Silayev. In fact I'll fly over to KevSkillz house and trash it with him.

We can have Zadorov for free on July 1, we don't need to use the 5th overall on him.

Zadorov actually hits too

 

[JeffreyLFC]

The only constant is Columbus want for the exact same guys as Montreal and they get to pick first.

It's not just McCagg though, it's everyone at this point.

His only true connection work for Columbus now. So his friend might be feeding him information to influence Montreal. In the end, Hughes will select one of Lindstrom, Sennecke or Demidov.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Sennecke is much more rare than Iginla. If Iggy Jr was a clone of iggy Sr, then he might challenging for.1st overall..

His dad was drafted outside the top ten

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

At the end of the day, it doesn't come down to who YOU think is the best prospect. It comes down to this question, do you trust HuGo to make the right decision even if it means not following your subjective analysis

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

He's also the best player on the team at 26 still playing at an elite level. They overpaid for him with his contract at the time because they love him there. Sure he could want out at some point, but you don't draft a player based on this assumption. It would be like us drafting a center because Suzuki might not be a Hab in a couple of years, it's highly unlikely.

You don’t draft on assumptions period. Agreed. You draft BPA. And at 4 the BPA could very well be a D

Tij has that Tkachuk brothers vibes to me. No one saw them as elite players, yet they’re both 1st liners now

People underestimate bloodlines I think. When you grow up having access to decades of elite coaching and NHL experience as dinner table concersation, those kids are wired differently. Especially when you talk about kids of HOF captains who were respective beasts in their time

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

Gotcha

Slaf also dominated against men internationally

 

[Bourdon101]

If Trevor Connelly is available at 26, could they pull the trigger?

I would.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

If Trevor Connelly is available at 26, could they pull the trigger?

I would.

Bergevin would’ve but I don’t think Hugo would.

 

[Skip Bayless]

If Trevor Connelly is available at 26, could they pull the trigger?

I would.

I would, but Molson would never give the green light.

Connelly is probably in Trudeau's no fly list.