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

[HabbyGuy]

Those two guys obviously don't know anything that we don't know... actually they seem quite quite clueless

Perhaps I'm just gravitating towards my own biases, I am not at all on the Reinbacher train at 5. It's top 5 consensus or bust for me at this point. So whoever is left at 5 is who we end up with. I'm just praying it's Michkov that falls to our selection.

That said I'll be fine with any of the 5.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Mine is...

Michkov 100 percent.

I am still of the belief if Michkov is there at 5, Hughes is far too bright not to pick him. I will wager all my "V-CASH" with anyone interested in taking that bet.

Edit is V-cash still a thing on here?

I hope you're right , I could live with michkov become worse than Leonard etc. - I don't see it happening but it would be OK because we took the obviously better prospect and he got passed.

If they take Leonard and to nobody's surprise Michkov ends up better, it'll be a laughing stock.

I hope they don't overthink this, lots of Russians still in the league and you have at least a 2 year wait with most of the options at 5

 

[Balthazar]

Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes was asked directly about Michkov a few times Thursday morning, and none of his answers suggested he is high on his radar. His first response essentially said they have to figure out who he is as a player, which is basically what Hughes said the night of the draft lottery more than a month earlier.

To me it's quite clear at this point that Michkov has been on their No Draft List from day one so they aren't in a hurry to learn more about him. It's basically a waste of time.

Stephane Leroux said it weeks ago but fans have been looking the other way, he basically said that the Habs aren't drafting Michkov and it was coming from someone "very close of the situation".

$10 says that it's the same "someone close to the situation" who told him who they were going to pick last year 30 minutes before the draft.

 

[bmore236]

That’s crazy without having the conversation with him as he is expected to be at the draft. Hopefully, the decision is not based on his passport since none of these players we won’t see in the lineup for a few years.

 

[Kennerback]

I hope you're right , I could live with michkov become worse than Leonard etc. - I don't see it happening but it would be OK because we took the obviously better prospect and he got passed.

If they take Leonard and to nobody's surprise Michkov ends up better, it'll be a laughing stock.

I hope they don't overthink this, lots of Russians still in the league and you have at least a 2 year wait with most of the options at 5

Michkov will end better than Leonard for sure. The question is how much better. Better but Leonard's still a big contributor or embarassingly better?

 

[McGuires Corndog]

I’m actually embarrassed for people here trying to convince themselves it would be ok to pass on Michkov to pick Leonard.

You’re drinking way too much Koolaid. Put it down.

 

[Rapala]

Mine is...

Michkov 100 percent.

I am still of the belief if Michkov is there at 5, Hughes is far too bright not to pick him. I will wager all my "V-CASH" with anyone interested in taking that bet.

Edit is V-cash still a thing on here?

I don't know about V-cash but I've always thought we should be allowed to wager our likes.

 

[Rapala]

Michkov will end better than Leonard for sure. The question is how much better. Better but Leonard's still a big contributor or embarassingly better?

Here's the thing for me and I'll probably get some blow back. Ryan Leonard could potentially be seen as a better building block for HuGo than Matvei Michkov. They are not the same type of players at all. I know the fan base is starved for the next great one but Leonard checks almost every box they covet in a player. We have to hope Hughes has a direct channel for information on MM other than the heresay we've been provided with as fans. If they don't I can't see us taking him.

 

[HabbyGuy]

To me it's quite clear at this point that Michkov has been on their No Draft List from day one so they aren't in a hurry to learn more about him. It's basically a waste of time.

Stephane Leroux said it weeks ago but fans have been looking the other way, he basically said that the Habs aren't drafting Michkov and it was coming from someone "very close of the situation".

$10 says that it's the same "someone close to the situation" who told him who they were going to pick last year 30 minutes before the draft.

Not worried in the least. If Michkov is there at 5 he's ours!! Book it!!

 

[Rapala]

I’m actually embarrassed for people here trying to convince themselves it would be ok to pass on Michkov to pick Leonard.

You’re drinking way too much Koolaid. Put it down.

It's easy for me to say I'm equally embarrassed for people here who think they will pass on him without valid reasoning.

 

[WeThreeKings]

It's easy for me to say I'm equally embarrassed for people here who think they will pass on him without valid reasoning.

No man, 9 teams are passing on a generational player just cause of his contract.

There's no other reason. There can't be anything else at play.

Finally, they are going to draft someone with only 3rd pair/3rd line upside at 5. Just gonna reach and pick a 3rd liner just because. You either are a PPG, generational player that I want them to pick, or a defensive forward/defenseman with hands of stone.

If there's one thing we learned about their picks last year is they didn't take anyone with upside.

 

[Justin11]

Yeah, I'm just happy the Habs are getting a good player.

From the sound of it, Reinbacher, Leonard, Benson, Smith, Carlson all have significant potential to be impact players.

Mitchkov would be great, he sounds like a potential HOFer, but it's not his fault that several world leaders are walking into world war III with the enthusiasm of coked-up lemmings.

Agreed. I’m not stressing at all. I will be content with any of the players you named above.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Michkov or trade the pick.

 

[SlafySZN]

Great interview with Leonard!

USNTDP forward Ryan Leonard targets top 10 at NHL draft - TSN.ca

Ryan Leonard proved quite a bit this season. He scored 51 goals in 57 games, which matched linemate Will Smith for third most among draft-eligible players.

www.tsn.ca

 

[26Mats]

Michkov or trade the pick.

Man, I hope our scouts know what they're doing if they don't take Michkov. Leonard, Smith, Benson could all be stars or nothing special. Hopefully our scouts can decipher which is which and who is who.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Man, I hope our scouts know what they're doing if they don't take Michkov. Leonard, Smith, Benson could all be stars or nothing special. Hopefully our scouts can decipher which is which and who is who.

Yeah, none of them are that exciting. Maybe we get lucky and pick a star, maybe we don't.

Michkov is the pick.

Else, trade it if you can get good value.

I don't like the Non-Michkov options at 5th.

 

[26Mats]

Yeah, none of them are that exciting. Maybe we get lucky and pick a star, maybe we don't.

Michkov is the pick.

Else, trade it if you can get good value.

I don't like the Non-Michkov options at 5th.

Yeah, in this one I'll just have to go with the scouts. Just because you don't think they're exciting, doesn't mean they aren't.

Or have you put in the work that a scout puts in and have the training and experience of a professional scout? I certainly don't.

For example the Sens scouts were really excited about a guy they picked 15, Erik Karlsson, even though many weren't too excited about him.

We've gotten Guhle, Caufield, and McDonagh outside the top 10. Sergachev at 9. Michkov is my guy. But there will be plenty of good players available at 5. There's more than Michkov in this draft - especially this draft class.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Yeah, in this one I'll just have to go with the scouts. Just because you don't they're exciting, doesn't mean they aren't.

Or have you put in the work that a scout puts in and have the training and experience of a professional scout

For example the Sens scouts were really excited about a guy they picked 15, Erik Karlsson, even though many weren't too excited about him.

We've gotten Guhle, Caufield, and McDonagh outside the top 10. Sergachev at 9. Michkov is my guy. But there will be plenty of good players available at 5. There's more than Michkov in this draft - especially this draft class.

If we pick at 5th with Michkov and Carlsson gone, I would pick Benson I think.

Will Smith makes me nervous more than all the rest including ZB. His play style looks so untranslatable.

 

[26Mats]

Not worried in the least. If Michkov is there at 5 he's ours!! Book it!!

In my heart of hearts I feel Kent Hughes is too smart to pass on the possibility of a potential generational talent like Michkov, in spite of size and the possibility of him taking longer than 3 years to come over.

 

[26Mats]

If we pick at 5th with Michkov and Carlsson gone, I would pick Benson I think.

Will Smith makes me nervous more than all the rest including ZB. His play style looks so untranslatable.

I hear so many good things about him. We have room for 1 and only 1 more small player in our top 9. So if he's BPA his size isn't a problem. We have room for one more especially an offensive genius with a non stop motor who's a puck hound and plays a strong defensive game, leading him to put up big points and be +68.

Kent Hughes said they want Compete/character and hockey sense. Benson has both in spades.

 

[26Mats]

If we pick at 5th with Michkov and Carlsson gone, I would pick Benson I think.

Will Smith makes me nervous more than all the rest including ZB. His play style looks so untranslatable.

As for Will Smith, I've heard some say his offensive game would translate better as a winger than as a center, where he has to worry about the defensive side. Many say he has great vision. I think of Patrick Kane and Alex Tanguay when watch him. But he'll be his own player.

I'd be so f***in stoked if we got Michkov. But it still doesn't mean taking him is the best decision.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

I’m actually embarrassed for people here trying to convince themselves it would be ok to pass on Michkov to pick Leonard.

You’re drinking way too much Koolaid. Put it down.

''But he's a risk''
''Leonard has some good upside , he's also good both ways of the ice ''
'' He could put 50 points a season in the future ''
'' medias and some pseudo expert said Reinbacher is expected to be 5-6 , it gotta be our next gem ''.

The Washington are proud to select Michkov
3 years later Michkov 80 games , 42 goals , 53 assists

Dvorsky 11 goal , 14 assists but he's good on both ways.
(habs fans , omg he's so bad .. hes only 22 give him some time , Some players bloom late like 1 of 1000 players that happened in the past 30 years)

Why pick talent when we can have a guy that can put his stick in front of the puck defensively!

'' I trust our scouting crew , you know the one that busted everything in NYR and the guy that did absolutely nothing under bergevin and Timmins , yeah those guys ''

 

[Twisted Sinister]

Yeah, in this one I'll just have to go with the scouts. Just because you don't think they're exciting, doesn't mean they aren't.

Or have you put in the work that a scout puts in and have the training and experience of a professional scout? I certainly don't.

For example the Sens scouts were really excited about a guy they picked 15, Erik Karlsson, even though many weren't too excited about him.

We've gotten Guhle, Caufield, and McDonagh outside the top 10. Sergachev at 9. Michkov is my guy. But there will be plenty of good players available at 5. There's more than Michkov in this draft - especially this draft class.

The 2023 draft is not the time to get a "good" player. It's the time to get a franchise player.

We should have tried to finish worse than we did, and now I'm almost certain we'll be taking a decent prospect over a gamebreaking talent.

The Habs always bring it on themselves.

 

[waffledave]

If we pick at 5th with Michkov and Carlsson gone, I would pick Benson I think.

Will Smith makes me nervous more than all the rest including ZB. His play style looks so untranslatable.

Yet you think Michkov scoring Michigan goals is translatable?

 

[waffledave]

All these people acting like it would be embarrassing, unforgivable, unconscionable to pass on Michkov... who are so convinced he will be a superstar... what are you basing this on? How many people here have seen him play last year? How many internet scouts have? How many NHL scouts even?