HF Habs: 2025 NHL Draft: Part II

[TheBuriedHab]

FWIW, I really think the whole Lakovic is soft narrative goes a bit too far. He's always moving his feet and being active, you won't see him float the way I've seen Martone, for example, float at times. He's soft in the way Suzuki and Evans are soft, meaning he doesn't go for the big hits or the post whistle shenanigans. He still does a lot of things that will help you win , his transition game alone can make a big difference on a line. We have other guys in the system who can bust heads, it's not really a problem IMO.

I'd like to see Lakovic not on Moose Jaw next year. My god that team stinks. I'd guess a lack of intensity can come from playing on a team that gets blown out almost every game. 308 goals against in 68 games is other worldly bad. He'll get traded to a good team next year and flourish imo.

 

[Hins77]

When people say "pick BPA and don't reach for size over skill", the skill they are referring too is puck handling, passing, shooting, etc.

They are not referring to, getting inside the dots, making passes or shooting in traffic, getting to pucks first, getting the puck off the wall, battling for position in front of the net, etc.

I am saying that those physical and size components that enable someone to do those things are part of a skill evaluation. When armchair scouts simply dont really evaluate that.

Its a trap I've fallen into before where I undervalued Brady Tkachucks skills because they weren't necessarily the loud and flashy skills that happen one on one, or in open ice that people pounding the table for Kindel or Reschny are pointing to.

Exactly. Team that win the stanley cup with are full of all-around player. They don't really have that kind of unidimensimionnal-one trick pony player , on their line up.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I'd like to see Lakovic not on Moose Jaw next year. My god that team stinks. I'd guess a lack of intensity can come from playing on a team that gets blown out almost every game. 308 goals against in 68 games is other worldly bad. He'll get traded to a good team next year and flourish imo.

He's in the rumor mill, I do expect him to end up in a contending team at some point, maybe before the start of the season even.

 

[dcyhabs]

When people say "pick BPA and don't reach for size over skill", the skill they are referring too is puck handling, passing, shooting, etc.

They are not referring to, getting inside the dots, making passes or shooting in traffic, getting to pucks first, getting the puck off the wall, battling for position in front of the net, etc.

I am saying that those physical and size components that enable someone to do those things are part of a skill evaluation. When armchair scouts simply dont really evaluate that.

Its a trap I've fallen into before where I undervalued Brady Tkachucks skills because they weren't necessarily the loud and flashy skills that happen one on one, or in open ice that people pounding the table for Kindel or Reschny are pointing to.

I suspect when people say “take BPA” they mean “take the player who will look good on hockeydb in five years.” Real scouts look at translatable skills and style of play, but they still sometimes get outperformed by guys who just look at points scored, or even by potatoes.

No one complains when the GM goes off the board and takes Romanov. People complain when the team reaches for McCarron and KK, definite projects, and then fails to do any project work. Or when the majority of the board thinks B Tkachuk just matured early and will get killed in the nhl.

Your analysis is fine but I think you are overrating the counter argument.

 

[DemidovSZN]

 

[BeliveauFan4ever]

Would there be a bad post-draft buzz IF this happened:

16/ Bear/Cootes/Lakovic
17/ Brzustewicz

I struggle with Fiddler and Hensler if Habs grab a RD in the first. Brzustewicz will get top notch minutes in a proven development program and is already looking good.

IMO, it’s not a big reach.

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

MCKEEN'S 2025 NHL DRAFT GUIDE FEATURE: CHL TO NCAA - The Turning Point

Kyle Watson looks at the possible implications of the recent rule changes regarding allowing junior players in the CHL to retain NCAA eligibility

www.mckeenshockey.com

What a draft that'd be

Carter Bear
Blake Fiddler
William Moore
Jack Murtagh

Surprised they would take Fiddler at 17. He had terrible playoff. I would took Kindel over Moore.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I suspect when people say “take BPA” they mean “take the player who will look good on hockeydb in five years.” Real scouts look at translatable skills and style of play, but they still sometimes get outperformed by guys who just look at points scored, or even by potatoes.

No one complains when the GM goes off the board and takes Romanov. People complain when the team reaches for McCarron and KK, definite projects, and then fails to do any project work. Or when the majority of the board thinks B Tkachuk just matured early and will get killed in the nhl.

Your analysis is fine but I think you are overrating the counter argument.

Actually, most of the board complained when we took Romanov. I was one of the few who liked the pick even if he went earlier than I thought.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Size and physicality are two important components of winning in the NHL. Zegras and Drouin are more skilled than Bennett but I'll tell you who i would want on my roster.

Brad Marchand isn't just small, he's 37. And he wasn't that bad in the playoffs...

 

[WeThreeKings]

Brad Marchand isn't just small, he's 37. And he wasn't that bad in the playoffs...

There's exceptions to the rule. Brad Marchand also won two cups being complemented by a bigger forward group.

With Caufield Suzuki and Demidov making up the forward group. Slafkovsky can't be the only big horse in that mix, who can get to pucks, protect it, get it off the wall, drive the net and have adequate reach.

You just simply can't have a top 6 of smallish 'skilled' guys. Hockey is played mostly without the puck and it gets harder and harder the deeper in the playoffs you go to win the puck back.

We are at the point in our build where we the skill maturing and coming to score. We need more people, especially in the top 6, who can do the grunt work and facilitate winning through those skills.

The time for drafting Mesars and chasing Zegras in trades is gone. The team knows it which is why they aren't looking at the guys the "pick the BPA skilled guy" are pounding the table for. Now they seem to be interested in Lakovic and I would say that in his case, his size isnt part of my evaluation when I rank him because he doesnt use it. So the reported interest in him by the Habs camp is a bit puzzling on that front.

Simply put, there are skills in hockey that are required to be successful in the playoffs and those get undervalued in the context of "BPA" here. BPA as a term has really gotten corrupted to the point that its -whoever i have at the top of my list right now and whoever performs the best in the NHL later-.

 

[yianik]

Be a good haul. If we could teach Lakovic to play with a little edge to his game he would be one of best players in draft

I think thats unteachable.

 

[Kshahdoo]

There's exceptions to the rule. Brad Marchand also won two cups being complemented by a bigger forward group.

With Caufield Suzuki and Demidov making up the forward group. Slafkovsky can't be the only big horse in that mix, who can get to pucks, protect it, get it off the wall, drive the net and have adequate reach.

You just simply can't have a top 6 of smallish 'skilled' guys. Hockey is played mostly without the puck and it gets harder and harder the deeper in the playoffs you go to win the puck back.

We are at the point in our build where we the skill maturing and coming to score. We need more people, especially in the top 6, who can do the grunt work and facilitate winning through those skills.

The time for drafting Mesars and chasing Zegras in trades is gone. The team knows it which is why they aren't looking at the guys the "pick the BPA skilled guy" are pounding the table for. Now they seem to be interested in Lakovic and I would say that in his case, his size isnt part of my evaluation when I rank him because he doesnt use it. So the reported interest in him by the Habs camp is a bit puzzling on that front.

Simply put, there are skills in hockey that are required to be successful in the playoffs and those get undervalued in the context of "BPA" here. BPA as a term has really gotten corrupted to the point that its -whoever i have at the top of my list right now and whoever performs the best in the NHL later-.

There will be much more of those "exceptions to the rule" in coming years. As they say, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"...

 

[crosbyshow]

There's exceptions to the rule. Brad Marchand also won two cups being complemented by a bigger forward group.

With Caufield Suzuki and Demidov making up the forward group. Slafkovsky can't be the only big horse in that mix, who can get to pucks, protect it, get it off the wall, drive the net and have adequate reach.

You just simply can't have a top 6 of smallish 'skilled' guys. Hockey is played mostly without the puck and it gets harder and harder the deeper in the playoffs you go to win the puck back.

We are at the point in our build where we the skill maturing and coming to score. We need more people, especially in the top 6, who can do the grunt work and facilitate winning through those skills.

The time for drafting Mesars and chasing Zegras in trades is gone. The team knows it which is why they aren't looking at the guys the "pick the BPA skilled guy" are pounding the table for. Now they seem to be interested in Lakovic and I would say that in his case, his size isnt part of my evaluation when I rank him because he doesnt use it. So the reported interest in him by the Habs camp is a bit puzzling on that front.

Simply put, there are skills in hockey that are required to be successful in the playoffs and those get undervalued in the context of "BPA" here. BPA as a term has really gotten corrupted to the point that its -whoever i have at the top of my list right now and whoever performs the best in the NHL later-.

Your 3rd and 4th line must be big.....reason why I was against the Jake Evan's contract extension no matter the price.

On your top 6 you need talent and skills most and foremost.

The case of Josh Anderson is the best example....awful second line player even if he is fast ,big and strong but a perfect 3rd line player

 

[FrankMTL]

NHL Mock Draft 2025: The Athletic Hockey Show predicts (and debates) Round 1 picks

On Friday's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, the Prospect Series crew did a live mock draft of next week's first 32 picks.

www.nytimes.com

Pronman, Wheeler and Bultman held a mock draft, and they had the habs picking Braeden Cootes at 16th and Carter Bear at 17th. Two very good picks in my opinion....I know we talk about picking a defenseman too, but I have no problem picking two forwards if they're the best players available.

 

[dcyhabs]

Actually, most of the board complained when we took Romanov. I was one of the few who liked the pick even if he went earlier than I thought.

Yes, at the time it was “who is this guy?” But two years later no one complained about it. Probably BPA, or pretty close, but few people knew it at the time.

It’s hard to be sure who the best player is, just comparing leagues is tough. It’s almost impossible to know which player will be best two years after the draft. Top picks are getting more scouted and more accurate, but there are still drafts like the Slaf ones that aren’t clear even a few years later.

You can’t ignore the consensus, you shouldn’t always go with the consensus, and if GMs go way off the board early first round they had better get it right. And don’t ignore position; if you take goalies really high in consecutive drafts your team is badly run.

Anything goes later, as long as some guys work out. Bergevin’s drafts tended to be praised early, then no nhlers would emerge, partially due to development, but partially because he went with media picks. Hughes’ picks tend to be seen as meh short term, but at least some of the guys are working out.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

NHL Mock Draft 2025: The Athletic Hockey Show predicts (and debates) Round 1 picks

On Friday's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, the Prospect Series crew did a live mock draft of next week's first 32 picks.

www.nytimes.com

Pronman, Wheeler and Bultman held a mock draft, and they had the habs picking Braeden Cootes at 16th and Carter Bear at 17th. Two very good picks in my opinion....I know we talk about picking a defenseman too, but I have no problem picking two forwards if they're the best players available.

The problem with Cootes is we already have Beck and Kapanen in that middle 6 RHC role. If they think he's A LOT better than both, not just a little, then fine they can take him. The centers available at 16/17 really don't move the needle much for me which is why I've been on the Lakovic/Carbonneau/Bear + a Defenseman train for a while.

Nesbitt might be the one I like the least in that cluster but he might be the best fit being a bigger LHC.

 

[Vachon23]

NHL Mock Draft 2025: The Athletic Hockey Show predicts (and debates) Round 1 picks

On Friday's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, the Prospect Series crew did a live mock draft of next week's first 32 picks.

www.nytimes.com

Pronman, Wheeler and Bultman held a mock draft, and they had the habs picking Braeden Cootes at 16th and Carter Bear at 17th. Two very good picks in my opinion....I know we talk about picking a defenseman too, but I have no problem picking two forwards if they're the best players available.

I’d be very happy with that

 

[WeThreeKings]

NHL Mock Draft 2025: The Athletic Hockey Show predicts (and debates) Round 1 picks

On Friday's episode of The Athletic Hockey Show, the Prospect Series crew did a live mock draft of next week's first 32 picks.

www.nytimes.com

Pronman, Wheeler and Bultman held a mock draft, and they had the habs picking Braeden Cootes at 16th and Carter Bear at 17th. Two very good picks in my opinion....I know we talk about picking a defenseman too, but I have no problem picking two forwards if they're the best players available.

Obviously I'd be beyond stoked at this result.

The problem with Cootes is we already have Beck and Kapanen in that middle 6 RHC role. If they think he's A LOT better than both, not just a little, then fine they can take him. The centers available at 16/17 really don't move the needle much for me which is why I've been on the Lakovic/Carbonneau/Bear + a Defenseman train for a while.

Nesbitt might be the one I like the least in that cluster but he might be the best fit being a bigger LHC.

Cootes shooting right is the biggest problem I see and why I think they ultimately pass even though they would like the player. Hage also shoots right, as does Dach, as does Suzuki. There's a real absence of left shot guys.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Again there is no chance the Habs take Lakovic, this is a team that cares about character and we don't need guys that got mysteriously suspended for a shady off ice incident for half of a season

WHL player from West Kelowna suspended for remainder of regular season

4 players were suspended indefinitely by the league on Feb. 11 for unspecified off-ice conduct

www.kelownacapnews.com

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Again there is no chance the Habs take Lakovic, this is a team that cares about character and we don't need guys that got mysteriously suspended for a shady off ice incident for half of a season

WHL player from West Kelowna suspended for remainder of regular season

4 players were suspended indefinitely by the league on Feb. 11 for unspecified off-ice conduct

www.kelownacapnews.com

That suspension happened in 2023. I'm sure the Habs and the rest of the NHL know what he was suspended for. The Habs still sent higher ups all the way to Moose Jaw just to watch him practice this season. They wouldn't waste their time like that if he was already seen as a DND.

 

[Lockin17]

#16 = BPA forward
#17 = BPA forward
#41 = Big RHD that is focus on 2 way
#49 = Big D with grid that is focus on Defense
The rest i would go in with Big body long shot type of picks.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Classement repêchage LNH 2025, par Simon St-L.

Classement repêchage LNH 2025, par Simon St-L. - TSLH -

www.toutsurlehockey.com

NHL Draft Ranking 2025, by Simon St-L.

NHL Draft Ranking 2025, by Simon St-L. - TSLH -

www.toutsurlehockey.com

A very long, detailed read. I don't agree with most of the rankings and there are quite a few hot takes, but excellent research work IMO. Certainly worth a few bucks on Patreon, if any of you are feeling generous.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Carter Bear is the Ryan Leonard//Tij Iginla of the 2025 draft right?!?!

@WeThreeKings

 

[le_sean]

The problem with Cootes is we already have Beck and Kapanen in that middle 6 RHC role. If they think he's A LOT better than both, not just a little, then fine they can take him. The centers available at 16/17 really don't move the needle much for me which is why I've been on the Lakovic/Carbonneau/Bear + a Defenseman train for a while.

Nesbitt might be the one I like the least in that cluster but he might be the best fit being a bigger LHC.

Drafting Nesbitt would be drafting for need which rarely works out. He is in no way the BPA at 16 or 17

 

[WeThreeKings]

Carter Bear is the Ryan Leonard//Tij Iginla of the 2025 draft right?!?!

@WeThreeKings

I would say Seth Jarvis.