Confirmed with Link: Canadiens Will Pick 5th (Hughes Presser in OP) NO POLITICS

[Rapala]

I think he can hold his ground, but the pair is soft. They need a serious dose of sandpaper on that line. Can we stop playing with definitions? We all know there is a problem on that line (and it's not talent).

Yeah. We've been talking about not having the ideal winger for that line going back to Toffoli. The closest we've come is Kirby Dach but we absolutely need him to blossom at C.

 

[Milhouse40]

So you’re against drafting NCAA players as well?

Three years wait for a 17/18 year old is no big deal — it is a natural impediment to rushing the player. If he can cook in the KHL as a 19/20 year olds then his odds of busting in the NHL are even smaller. I don’t see how that is a red flag at all.

No, but still has not seen one NCAA being NHLready picked top 3 that refuses the NHL by signing a contract pre-draft for multiple years. Most of them they only sign up for a year.

If Slafkovsky was playing last year, then we can all agree that Michkov would be playing with the Habs. It's all a red flag because in that 3 years you have zero control over him and his development, over his future and even on competition (KHL) cause if he's as good as advertised here......they will throw the kitchen sink to keep him there. And I'm not even talking about the geopolitic crap that can throw a curveball at any time either.

No offense, but then what's the point of any discussion at all?

Obviously we won't know how any of this truly turned out for several years. As it stands today, outside of the Russian factor everything (data, eye test, performance) points to Michkov being a can't miss prospect

Actually....I think we're actually missing a lot of data and eye tests, not by his fault by any means....but even Hugues didn't seen him live in 2 years and he wasn't there at the WJC or Worlds which sucks but the still a lot of data we're missing.

Not really. He outscored, in ppg terms, at 16, 17 or 18, in MHL or KHL, the likes of Ovy, Kaprisov, Kucherov and many others.

In terms of talent, he's probably the safest pick to come out of Russia in two decades.

So we can exect Hutson to outproduce Hughes and Makar in the NHL?
He outproduced them at 18 in the NCAA

But I agree in terms of pure skills, he's at the top for sure.
Without his contract, I wouldn't hesitate one second and slot him right next to Dach next year

 

[Koivu11]

I have seen people say Fantilli/Carlsson/Michkov/Smith would go first overall most years.

Can the same be said about Ryan Leonard?

 

[JoelWarlord]

I'll agree with you when Leonard is the missing piece to a Stanley Cup Champion who is scores clutch goals at will.

This doesn't really make sense. By this standard, every forward prospect with any two-way ability/motor is a Lehkonen comparable until they score clutch playoff goals and win a cup, regardless of anything else they do or any other skills they show as prospects. I didn't even say Leonard will necessarily be a better player than Lehkonen! I do think he projects as a better player, but with the inherent attrition rate of hockey prospects I certainly wouldn't call that a guarantee with how good Lehkonen was in 2021 for us and how strong he's been with Colorado.

I just don't really get what you're trying to argue here. All I was saying is that they aren't very similar stylistically beyond generalities like "two way forward that works hard" which are so vague as to be meaningless. It's just a bad comparison, and saying that doesn't even necessarily mean I'm saying the prospect is better, I'm talking about style and tools and Leonard's hands, passing, play style, and shot do not resemble Lehkonen's.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Yeah. We've been talking about not having the ideal winger for that line going back to Toffoli. The closest we've come is Kirby Dach but we absolutely need him to blossom at C.

...Slaf will be that man...have faith...in Ares...

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I have seen people say Fantilli/Carlsson/Michkov/Smith would go first overall most years.

Can the same be said about Ryan Leonard?

No, but there are players in other drafts that would be a top pick in many drafts and 5 years later they're terrible.

Michkov has the talent and might even be the best player in the draft, but there's no way to really know.

Carlsson and Smith might just end up being a good number 2 centre and a good 3rd line/somewhat a shutdown centre in Carlsson's case while Leonard is a 30g - 40g forward.

There's going to be a late 1st, a 2nd rounder and likely a late round pick player that's going to go top 10 in a redraft.

The thing that f***s us the most is that the Habs need to draft Benson, Leonard, Reinbacher and Michkov.

 

[JoelWarlord]

I have seen people say Fantilli/Carlsson/Michkov/Smith would go first overall most years.

Can the same be said about Ryan Leonard?

Who is saying that about Smith? I think 2022 is the only year in the past 10 drafts Smith would be considered for #1. Carlsson would be a below average #1, maybe on par with Ekblad (although Ekblad was pretty well regarded in his draft year). Fantilli would be an above average #1 most years.

Michkov would go #1 most years on talent for sure, but we're into a tricky hypothetical there because the contract and political situation would still be included in the analysis against prior draft years. Without the contract he goes #1 in every year except 2023, 2015, and probably 2016 + 2013 (Matthews & MacKinnon would be picked ahead of him as Cs I think). If we're including the same contract/political situation as right now, I think 2022 and 2017 are probably the only years Michkov goes #1 in the last 10 drafts.

 

[Runner77]

...Slaf will be that man...have faith...in Ares...

Ares? That’s a store that sells kitchen accessories in la belle province.

Where are you getting these deities from?

I have faith in my Peugeot pepper mill that came from Ares. Loving the quality and its 6 settings.

 

[Andrei79]

Which is as worst as the "i need to brace myself to not get hurt" mentality which is rampant here.

There's an inherent risk to almost any pick and you just don't win without taking any.

There's a difference between bracing yourself by diminishing what Michkov is, which is basically coping, and accepting the disappointing reality that a number of NHL teams will take the lesser talent, likely including the Canadiens. The problem here is our risk tolerance isn't based on what management have to take into consideration. We might not agree on it, but discussing alternatives is interesting, at least it is to me. There's also a difference between Michkov or bust (which I was also guilty of) and discussing what's the risk, who the player is, what management could do, etc, which definitely is interesting discussion regarding Michkov. In any case, I doubt the decision will be done on a whim, either.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I have seen people say Fantilli/Carlsson/Michkov/Smith would go first overall most years.

Can the same be said about Ryan Leonard?

No LOL

 

[26Mats]

I trust the consensus more than any specific team’s scouting dept — especially and particularly the Habs’ who haven’t had any notable success drafting productive forwards in a very long time.

Now some will say that HuGo deserve a clean slate but my response is simple: until the results change we cannot just assume these new bosses are better at drafting than the general consensus. It requires actual evidence.

I mean our scouts get paid a lot of money. They can't just go by the consensus, they have to form their own opinions.

The only way we'll know if they made the right selection is 5 to 10 years down the line.

 

[JackZap]

You have Lehkonen's motor and hard work + skills + unafraid to lay a hit = that's a combination of a player I'll be thrilled to have in Leonard.

_________________________________

Meanwhile, apparently a San Jose beat reporter says he hears Habs contemplating between Leonard and Reinbacher if Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson & Smith are taken in the 4 first picks.

fantastic

 

[Paddyjack]

I’ve read many of that user’s comments and those about Michkov are heavily tilted against the player. The point comes with subtext that is very hard to miss.

Also it is just assumed that Michkov is NHL ready and therefore it is a red flag that he is under contract elsewhere. So it’s better to not draft the NHL ready phenomenon who’s breaking the production pace of his comparables because he’s too NHL ready? How does that make sense?

Well I was more referencing to your NCAA exemple, because I've never seen a player from there being NHL ready at 18, and that is pretty much what Milhouse was saying with being a top pick instead of a middle round. To be honest, I find it very strange myself that the guy signed a 3-year deal over there, being projected at such a high pick and likely to play in the NHL. But then, HuGo would know more about this situation than all of us anyway. All we can do is some guessworks

To answer your last sentence, the risk here is to waste a very high pick for a guy that could possibly never come here. That would have more dire consequences than drafting another high ranked player.

 

[River Meadow]

Welcome to Montreal

 

[Andrei79]

You have Lehkonen's motor and hard work + skills + unafraid to lay a hit = that's a combination of a player I'll be thrilled to have in Leonard.

_________________________________

Meanwhile, apparently a San Jose beat reporter says he hears Habs contemplating between Leonard and Reinbacher if Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson & Smith are taken in the 4 first picks.

I really doubt a San Jose reporter has the inside on who the Habs want to draft. They haven't even written their board yet, no ? And none in the local media have speculated. Not saying Leonard vs Reinbacher aren't who they're considering, but really have doubts about his sources.

 

[Natey]

This doesn't really make sense. By this standard, every forward prospect with any two-way ability/motor is a Lehkonen comparable until they score clutch playoff goals and win a cup, regardless of anything else they do or any other skills they show as prospects. I didn't even say Leonard will necessarily be a better player than Lehkonen! I do think he projects as a better player, but with the inherent attrition rate of hockey prospects I certainly wouldn't call that a guarantee with how good Lehkonen was in 2021 for us and how strong he's been with Colorado.

I just don't really get what you're trying to argue here. All I was saying is that they aren't very similar stylistically beyond generalities like "two way forward that works hard" which are so vague as to be meaningless. It's just a bad comparison, and saying that doesn't even necessarily mean I'm saying the prospect is better, I'm talking about style and tools and Leonard's hands, passing, play style, and shot do not resemble Lehkonen's.

If you go back and read a lot of the scouting reports about Lehkonen, you'd see some different things. Like his wrist shot was a huge strength in his draft profile.

The reason we were able to get him in almost the 3rd round was because of the multiple concussions he suffered before the draft.

 

[Hacketts]

You have Lehkonen's motor and hard work + skills + unafraid to lay a hit = that's a combination of a player I'll be thrilled to have in Leonard.

_________________________________

Meanwhile, apparently a San Jose beat reporter says he hears Habs contemplating between Leonard and Reinbacher if Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson & Smith are taken in the 4 first picks.

lol, buddy doesn't know jack.

This isn't to say that one of them won't be our pick, but don't tell me Sheng Peng has the inside scoop.

 

[sheed36]

You have Lehkonen's motor and hard work + skills + unafraid to lay a hit = that's a combination of a player I'll be thrilled to have in Leonard.

_________________________________

Meanwhile, apparently a San Jose beat reporter says he hears Habs contemplating between Leonard and Reinbacher if Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson & Smith are taken in the 4 first picks.

If it's between Leonard and Reinbacher I want...

 

[Tyson]

Michkov is easily the player that should be picked based on talent if he is available. Too many unknowns with Russia, the 3 year contract that needs to be honored. If somehow a team like SJ picks Michkov then I see Will Smith chosen. If Smith is picked before 5th then I believe Leonard will be chosen.

 

[SlafySZN]

lol, buddy doesn't know jack.

This isn't to say that one of them won't be our pick, but don't tell me Sheng Peng has the inside scoop.

It’s not a scoop, Basu and Godin talked about both those players in their podcast yesterday. It might be a little indicator on who the habs are thinking about if the top 4 is set.

 

[Hacketts]

It’s not a scoop, Basu and Godin talked about both those players in their podcast yesterday. It might be a little indicator on who the habs are thinking about if the top 4 is set.

Nobody knows anything, and that's became quite apparent with the coverage of this years combine.

All speculation as of now.

 

[ReHabs]

Well I was more referencing to your NCAA exemple, because I've never seen a player from there being NHL ready at 18, and that is pretty much what Milhouse was saying with being a top pick instead of a middle round. To be honest, I find it very strange myself that the guy signed a 3-year deal over there, being projected at such a high pick and likely to play in the NHL. But then, HuGo would know more about this situation than all of us anyway. All we can do is some guessworks

To answer your last sentence, the risk here is to waste a very high pick for a guy that could possibly never come here. That would have more dire consequences than drafting another high ranked player.

He didn’t sign a three year deal. At age 15 he signed a six year deal and it turns out he developed into an even better prospect and is now in contention to be a top NHL draft pick with three years left on his contract.

I don’t know the specifics of his contract but it seems like players can buy out their own contracts so, if true, this super good prospect can join his NHL team possibly even sooner than three seasons after the 2023 NHL draft.

 

[Destopcorner]

Whats stopping a fanatic millionaire to pay off Michkov contract so he can leave Vodka country and play with his favorite team right away? All and all Michkov could repay the man over his career (or not) kinda like a loan and live stress free from now on.

Also goes without sayin this would take away all the uncertainty of the pick. I mean he'd be a god in Montreal... Can you imagine what a mere 2 million could do for this franchise? For some it ain't much...

Seriously that millionaire man would deserve keys if the city, statues, virgins, my first born and lifetime season tickets from Molson.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

I have seen people say Fantilli/Carlsson/Michkov/Smith would go first overall most years.

Can the same be said about Ryan Leonard?

He is very comparable to Gabriel Landeskog who went 2nd overall and I think last year he would have been in contention for 1st overall too.

 

[admiralcadillac]

After the war, genocide and its latest iteration with the dam attack, the current leadership in Russia can’t be trusted to allow Michkov to leave. That’s tough for any team.