HF Habs: 2025 NHL Draft: Part II

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

Could Eklund be available at 16?

Slim chance, he's small though

 

[Runner77]

Looks like Dach's rehab is going very poorly!

Did he grow a third chin?

 

[JadedRandom]

Could Eklund be available at 16?

Eklund's a top-10 talent every day of the week for me so I can't see it.

Eklund played against men all year in the Allsvenskan so he is further along in his development than junior-level players, is not bad defensively, and arguably the single hardest-working player in this year's draft (is a real buzzsaw along the boards) to go alongside having nice playmaking skills, speed, and vision as a winger.

Aside from sub-optimal size Eklund doesn't have very many flaws as a prospect.

He kind of reminds me of Benson and Catton from previous draft years but is faster than either and more energetic too, though I'd say Benson is more physical/built more solidly and Catton has higher-end skills/vision.

Long story short, if Eklund falls to 16 from the projected 6-10 ranking that he gets depending on the source, well, teams drafting higher will have been dumb.

Kind of like 2024 with Dickinson AND Buium falling outside the top-10.

Lindstrom (was an egregious pick at #4, had him #10 on my list, was dang happy Demidov fell though), Yakemchuk, Iginla, Silayev, and Catton should not have been taken ahead of both Dickinson and Buium (whom I had #3 and #5 overall respectively) in 2024.

A player in a similar position to Eklund is Bear, who could be a good energy top-6 wing, or recycle himself into an energy bottom-6 forward.

Except Bear has higher end tools in my opinion, but also less consistency, much lesser skating (Bear was "NHL-average-ish" even before the achilles tear injury), and is a much bigger wildcard and thus risk because of the injury that he suffered.

If we want to draft an "Eklund-type" of talented energy forward without trading-up, I think our best bet is actually to just take Carter Bear rather than hope/pray against all odds that Eklund makes it there.

 

[dauv]

Looks like Dach's rehab is going very poorly!

it's the classic ALL SUMMER articles claiming XX player put on 15-20 lbs of muscle during the hard summer in the gym, their in the best shape of their life. Then in September XX player shows up to training camp looking like the picture above

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[Adam Michaels]

I think this is the most important paragraph in the article: "They will always prioritize skill earlier in the draft. But later on, that physicality and heaviness will surely become an increasingly important factor in how they approach their picks."

I'm ok with trying to hit unicorns at the later draft, as long as we focus on BPA/Skill in the first round.

It's basically what they did with taking Florian in the 4th (6'4" & 205 lbs). They got Protz in the 4th also (6'2" & 207 lbs). Got Thorpe in the 5th (6'5" & 214 lbs).

All guys with size, skill, and nastiness.

They also got Merrill in the 6th, who is 6'4" and over 200. We'll see how he'll do at BU.


It is a trend I like. I'm also a fan of drafting players with different profiles. You can't have a team full of skill. You need other types of players to build a successful team.

 

[JadedRandom]

It's basically what they did with taking Florian in the 4th (6'4" & 205 lbs). They got Protz in the 4th also (6'2" & 207 lbs). Got Thorpe in the 5th (6'5" & 214 lbs).

All guys with size, skill, and nastiness.

They also got Merrill in the 6th, who is 6'4" and over 200. We'll see how he'll do at BU.


It is a trend I like. I'm also a fan of drafting players with different profiles. You can't have a team full of skill. You need other types of players to build a successful team.

Merrill's skating is so damn bad that I don't think he'll ever be an NHLer.

I came to that conclusion swiftly after the draft, at rookie camp, and that opinion solidified even more once in the NCAA.

Aside from that, I agree with your take.

We need diversity in our prospect pool if we want to one day have a complete team and not just either grinders with no skill, or skilled midgets with no grit, and everything in-between that's similarly unbalanced.

If we select a, say, Carter Bear in the 1st, then we'll need heavier players in the 3rd+ rounds to counteract that.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Getzlaf had 121 PIMs his draft year. Anyone that questioned his intensity was just lying. I think they expected him to play like Lindros, killing everyone. But he was simply a cerebral player. He certainly wasn’t afraid of mixing it up and going to the net.

Getzlaf issue was not physicality but consistency. He had games he was dominant and other time he was desinterested.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Slim chance, he's small though

Eklund is like lehkonen with more talent. This guy would be a key piece for a Championship team.

 

[Apfle Strubble]

Eklund is like lehkonen with more talent. This guy would be a key piece for a Championship team.

Would love to see the Habs trade up for him even though I know it won't happen

 

[le_sean]

Getzlaf issue was not physicality but consistency. He had games he was dominant and other time he was desinterested.

Whereas Lakovic is both physicality and consistency.

 

[Artaud]

Would love to see the Habs trade up for him even though I know it won't happen

I don't think they would trade up for a sub 6' guy given how much they seem to emphasize size this offseason.

The guy I could see them moving up for is McQueen, even knowing fans are going to compare the move to the Dach debacle.

 

[red devil]

 

[Doublechin]

Can't say I'd be shocked

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Him being out of shape was part of the reason why he got into trouble in the first place, so yeah, no real surprise.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

At this point,

I don't think they would trade up for a sub 6' guy given how much they seem to emphasize size this offseason.

The guy I could see them moving up for is McQueen, even knowing fans are going to compare the move to the Dach debacle.

The only player I can see them trade up for is Martka. The rest are either not worth it or too high of picks

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Could Eklund be available at 16?

I think he falls but doesn't get past Detroit.

 

[Goldenhands]

Eklund's a top-10 talent every day of the week for me so I can't see it.

Eklund played against men all year in the Allsvenskan so he is further along in his development than junior-level players, is not bad defensively, and arguably the single hardest-working player in this year's draft (is a real buzzsaw along the boards) to go alongside having nice playmaking skills, speed, and vision as a winger.

Aside from sub-optimal size Eklund doesn't have very many flaws as a prospect.

He kind of reminds me of Benson and Catton from previous draft years but is faster than either and more energetic too, though I'd say Benson is more physical/built more solidly and Catton has higher-end skills/vision.

Long story short, if Eklund falls to 16 from the projected 6-10 ranking that he gets depending on the source, well, teams drafting higher will have been dumb.

Kind of like 2024 with Dickinson AND Buium falling outside the top-10.

Lindstrom (was an egregious pick at #4, had him #10 on my list, was dang happy Demidov fell though), Yakemchuk, Iginla, Silayev, and Catton should not have been taken ahead of both Dickinson and Buium (whom I had #3 and #5 overall respectively) in 2024.

A player in a similar position to Eklund is Bear, who could be a good energy top-6 wing, or recycle himself into an energy bottom-6 forward.

Except Bear has higher end tools in my opinion, but also less consistency, much lesser skating (Bear was "NHL-average-ish" even before the achilles tear injury), and is a much bigger wildcard and thus risk because of the injury that he suffered.

If we want to draft an "Eklund-type" of talented energy forward without trading-up, I think our best bet is actually to just take Carter Bear rather than hope/pray against all odds that Eklund makes it there.

Eklund being a better skater than both Catton and Benson can make a world of difference at the higher level. Eklund can snipe better than both and he is much more involved physically than Catton ever was. I think Eklund is a better prospect than both were in their draft years,

As for Lindstrom, the back injury derailled his development, he was projecting well as a top 6 power foward and was ranked pretty high everywhere. Loved his game personally and if he gets back to form, Columbus wont regret that selection.

As for Silayev, maybe it would be more careful to wait until he skates in the NHL 1st, defensively he has monstrous upside, I think he will surprise alot of people.

As for Eklund vs Bear, I perfer Eklund's offensive upside.

 

[HabsMD97]

Eklund is definitely the type of player this habs brass tends to like, wouldn't trade up for him since there's a good chance he falls to us anyways from the draft buzz we've been hearing. If he's there at 16, the habs will 100% take him

 

[Rob Sense]

Looks like Dach's rehab is going very poorly!

on the bright side his knee looks ok...just needs to hit the exercise bike and cut down on twinkies.

 

[JadedRandom]

Eklund being a better skater than both Catton and Benson can make a world of difference at the higher level. Eklund can snipe better than both and he is much more involved physically than Catton ever was. I think Eklund is a better prospect than both were in their draft years,

As for Lindstrom, the back injury derailled his development, he was projecting well as a top 6 power foward and was ranked pretty high everywhere. Loved his game personally and if he gets back to form, Columbus wont regret that selection.

As for Silayev, maybe it would be more careful to wait until he skates in the NHL 1st, defensively he has monstrous upside, I think he will surprise alot of people.

As for Eklund vs Bear, I perfer Eklund's offensive upside.

I'd likely have Eklund a touch higher too, but I think that overall he's roughly on the same level as those two as a prospect.

Even without the back injury, the maximum position I would have been comfortable putting Lindstrom at is #7, before Yakemchuk and Iginla but after Celebrini, Demidov, Dickinson, Levshunov, Buium, and Silayev. In light of his injury, I had Lindstrom ranked #10 on my list.

I was/am just not a fan of Lindstrom's defender-manipulation skills, decisions with the puck, and his playmaking. And those are pretty major flaws to have as an offensive prospect since they could mean the difference between a first-line ceiling and more of a middle-6 outcome.

Moreso since Lindstrom's puck-protection technique isn't very good, and that means that he has/had to rely more on pure physical tools than a guy like Tij Iginla ever did. And if Lindstrom doesn't improve that facet of his game, that could mean recurrent back injuries for him

Also, I'm not ripping on Silayev at all. In fact, I am/was likely higher on Silayev than a lot of other people at the draft; I had him #6 in my list.

But I would take Dickinson and Buium before him is what I was saying.

Agree to disagee on Bear vs. Eklund's offensive tools.

I think Bear has the better offensive toolset in a nutshell but is moreso limited by skating than Eklund likely ever will and so likely won't reach the same level in the NHL.

But if you magically made skating equal for both, I think Bear would have more offensive success than Eklund.

Things being the way that they are, I expect Eklund to be taken 6-12, and Bear to be taken 9/10-20.

 

[sampollock]

It's taking forever for the hockey news to bring out their draft issue

 

[Nedved]

Here's an attempt

1. NYI - Schaefer, no questions asked

2. SJS - Misa, again, no questions asked

3. CHI - Frondell, it gets quite complex as of this pick, I think there's a strong chance they see Bedard as being a better fit on the wing and I feel like they go Frondell

4. UTAH - Martin, lots of smoke here that they might love Martin and are comfortable with leaking it because he ain't going top 3

5. NSH - Desnoyers, best C available and a better fit for the system they've had in place for so long

6. PHI - Hagens, I think they'd ideally like more size here with Konecny and Mitchov in their top 6 but a top 6 center is an absolute must here, you can't pass

7. BOS - Martone, while I think they'd consider O'Brien and more so Martin had he been available but in this scenario, I think they go PM

8. SEA - Mrtka, they got lots of center depth, they also lack solid D depth in the pipelines why not opt for the 6'5 RD which is a profile that rarely if ever goes beyond 10.

9. BUF - Bear, I think their whole identity needs to be questioned and getting players that play with a passion and an edge is something Buffalo needs to add, Bear is clearly the profile here and f*** it, every mock needs its surprises

10. ANA - O'Brien, not much to think about, I'd say it's him or McQueen but the lack of back issues make this the easy pick

11. PIT - McQueen, top 5-7 talent but too many health concerns which probably get them wondering but he isn't a guy that will fall much more than that

12. NYR - Eklund, I think ideally they go Dman here but I think Eklund is in a tier above any Dman available here and I refuse to be another dude mocking Eklund to Detroit because Yzerman collects Swedes

13. DET - Aitchenson, best dman available, I think he's got a lower ceiling that a Smith but has a higher bottom, a safe pick that plays with some punch

14. CBS - Smith, 13 or 14 is where I see Smith going, both teams probably prefer to add dmen to their prospect pools and both Smith and Aitchenson line up well here in the rankings

15. VAN - Lakovic, I do see the Canucks and hope they grab him, selfishly to simply making him unavailable when we pick, I'd hope their scouts saw something they liked from him while he did indeed play in their back yard

16. MTL - Hensler, not a pick I'd be fond of here but it feels like he'd be the pick if this scenario plays out and also because all the best forwards available here are slightly undersized so this compensates for the next pick

17. MTL - Cootes, the three guys I'd personally consider here are Reschny, Kindel and Cootes in this order, especially if we do take a D or a big forward as to who we'd take, I'd go with what the organization might think and the rumors that we don't love Reschny.

18. CGY - Reschny, great fit here, BPA and IMO an actual center for the future

19. STL - Kindel, Can't see him drop more than that but what do I know, STL is well built to just go BPA and not are about size or position

20. CBS - Prokhorov, following the Smith pick and what better player to pick here than the smooth skating hard hitting Russian, the Jackets know a thing or two about developing big eastern Europeans and Russians lately and Prokhorov would probably be comfortable landing there.

21. OTT - Carbonneau, I do see this as being a realistic destination for Carbo, he needs a lot of development and coaching but the fit in Ottawa looks good to me and the profile matches.

22. PHI - Fiddler, Philly adds an RD with size here and hopes Fiddler can become a solid #4 or a 5 one day

23. NSH - Reid, I think it's a no brainer here, they went forward at 5, historically they. Have done well developing Dmen and the can definitely add some puck moving Dmen to their prospect pool, I think Reid has more upside than most players which are picked after 18 or so

24. LAK - Zonnon, don't ask me why, have been mocking him here consistently, it just feels like the perfect fit

25. CHI- Vansaghi, Chicago needs anything and everything and could add some size to their forward core, I like Vanshaghi and can see how many times picking in the 20s will want him

26. NSH - Potter, after selecting Desnoyers and Reid why not go for the undersize but dynamic winger, probably the best pure talent (which actually works hard) available

27. WSH - Gastrin, not gonna fall into the Ryabkin generic pick here, I think he's a player that should be way later, Gastrin would give the Caps a young responsible center that already plays a smooth game and looks to be a future 3C

28. WIN - Nestrasil, I see it already, another huge forward on the Jets, it was already written, I also think this is the range for this player where if he's picked here the value is proper

29. CAR - Limatov, he's big, mobile, plays the proper way, I think if we wasn't Russian he'd be ranked close to Smith and Aitchenson and the Hurricanes drafting and identifying top talent has been as good as it gets

30. SJS - Brzustewicz, why not select the London Knight RD and maybe have him eventually pair up with Dickinson

31. CGY - Spence, after going Reschny, Spence is a good complement and select the big hard working winger but one with third line upside IMO

32. PHI - Frolov, the Flyers selecting the big 6'3 goalie with their third and final pick of the first, I think if any team selects a goalie in the first it's Philly and potentially with this pick

Written on mobile so odds are there's a lot of typos etc

this is really thoughtful. I see the board falling in a similar light. I hope there are a few reaches so a guy inside your top 14 fall to us. I would be happy with any of those players inside your top 14.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

It's taking forever for the hockey news to bring out their draft issue

It's released no?

 

[sampollock]

It's released no?

They said it was supposed to be on newsstands June 9th
It's the only magazine I still get
Everything else is digital but for some reason I like this way