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

[Andrei79]

This.

Flashy guys like Michkov and Benson tend to catch the eye. But. a good solid defender may have a higher impact on winning.

It's out of my hands. I want Michkov. But I will hope for the best from whoever HuGo pick.

Flashy has always been criteria number 1 around here for as long as I remember. Even nothing players like Grabovsky and Avtsin were being hyped. We saw it with Norlinder recently. I think it's because it's hard to actually understand how offense in the NHL works, since it goes beyond simply having technical skills. Michkov does have translatable offensive IQ btw, so this isn't to put down Michkov per say as he does have very high potential, but players that give off that superstar vibe will always be hyped around here after years of being starved for one. Personally, I find it hard to project Michkov for this year though, but that's more because I don't have enough viewings and I'm still very much going off previous viewings.

I felt last year was the year to go with a defenseman in Nemec. We didn't, but I don't think that changes my opinion that we should go for Michkov this year. A lot of the red flags are pure speculation.

It don't think it was the notion of having Wright at number 1 that was bad per say. He had pedigree and a high ppg in the second half. It's more about dismissing any notion the team could look at other players.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Benson is considered at worst the fourth best playmaker of the draft. It is likely the case that two of him, Smith, and Michkov will be available at 5OA; almost certainly one of them will be there at 5.

There is no better opportunity for the Habs organization to acquire a coveted and long-necessary blue chip forward.

I definitely get where you're coming from and if you value Benson's overall playmaking upside over the more rounded Leonard/Reinbacher profile that's perfectly reasonable. I just think it's a stretch to call it a reach because I just don't think that's true, they're all in the same approximate tier as players IMO.

 

[DiglettDangles]

I think most felt bleh with the Guhle pick now have them on their untouchable lists...
Most 20+ minute Dmen aren't necessarily sexy picks but they likely DO help you win more than the guy doing spinoramas against 3 guys in the neutral zone.

Guhle was a great pick
...
...
AT 16 NOT 5 FFS


I strongly believe we can get a RHD Guhle next year at 16.


In the spirit of fairness I shall expose myself (intellectually): I wanted Reichel, still think he can be a player but Guhle is a better pick despite my initial lamentations.

 

[Guy Larose]

"I cheer for this team to get better by crapping on every move this management team does"

~ The Artist Formerly known as Expat Habs ~

There are a few like that on this board, HabsWhiteKnight being the king of doing that.

 

[Andrei79]

Guhle was a great pick
...
...
AT 16 NOT 5 FFS


I strongly believe we can get a RHD Guhle next year at 16.


In the spirit of fairness I shall expose myself (intellectually): I wanted Reichel, still think he can be a player but Guhle is a better pick despite my initial lamentations.

Go look at the 2020 draft. Where would you rank Guhle as of now ? He's very high on that list at the moment and easily top 10.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Flashy has always been criteria number 1 around here for as long as I remember. Even nothing players like Grabovsky and Avtsin were being hyped. We saw it with Norlinder recently. I think it's because it's hard to actually understand how offense in the NHL works, since it goes beyond simply having technical skills. Michkov does have translatable offensive IQ btw, so this isn't to put down Michkov per say as he does have very high potential, but players that give off that superstar vibe will always be hyped around here after years of being starved for one. Personally, I find it hard to project Michkov for this year though, but that's more because I don't have enough viewings and I'm still very much going off previous viewings.



It don't think it was the notion of having Wright at number 1 that was bad per say. He had pedigree and a high ppg in the second half. It's more about dismissing any notion the team could look at other players.

Fair enough. And I get the argument as far as us not having skin in the game, but I think with the team being fairly early in a rebuild, and our management group being fairly innovative and given some runway, they can probably afford to take a risk like that. I certainly don't think many fans would be upset about it.

 

[26Mats]

Guhle was a great pick
...
...
AT 16 NOT 5 FFS


I strongly believe we can get a RHD Guhle next year at 16.


In the spirit of fairness I shall expose myself (intellectually): I wanted Reichel, still think he can be a player but Guhle is a better pick despite my initial lamentations.

I would say Guhle has a shot at being top 5 in the 2020 draft (where Lafreniere and Byfield went 1-2). Probably for sure Stutzle and Sanderson will be better than Guhle. After that it's pretty wide open.

But the 2023 draft is rumored to be a much better draft than the 2020 draft.

Round 1						NHL Totals
Round	Num.	Drafted By	Player	Pos	Drafted From	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Last Season
1	1	NY Rangers	Alexis Lafreniere	L	Rimouski Oceanic [QMJHL]	216	47	44	91	78	2022-23
1	2	Los Angeles	Quinton Byfield	C	Sudbury Wolves [OHL]	99	8	25	33	52	2022-23
1	3	Ottawa	Tim Stutzle	L	Mannheim Eagles [DEL]	210	73	104	177	105	2022-23
1	4	Detroit	Lucas Raymond	L	Frolunda HC [SweHL]	156	40	62	102	40	2022-23
1	5	Ottawa	Jake Sanderson	D	U.S. National Under-18 Team [USHL]	77	4	28	32	12	2022-23
1	6	Anaheim	Jamie Drysdale	D	Erie Otters [OHL]	113	7	33	40	24	2022-23
1	7	New Jersey	Alexander Holtz	R	Djurgardens IF [SweHL]	28	3	3	6	10	2022-23
1	8	Buffalo	Jack Quinn	R	Ottawa 67's [OHL]	77	15	24	39	15	2022-23
1	9	Minnesota	Marco Rossi	C	Ottawa 67's [OHL]	21	0	1	1	12	2022-23
1	10	Winnipeg	Cole Perfetti	C	Saginaw Spirit [OHL]	69	10	27	37	16	2022-23
1	11	Nashville	Yaroslav Askarov	G	St. Petersburg Jr. (Russia)	1	0	0	0	0	2022-23
1	12	Florida	Anton Lundell	C	HIFK Helsinki [SM-liiga]	138	30	47	77	61	2022-23
1	13	Carolina	Seth Jarvis	C	Portland Winterhawks [WHL]	150	31	48	79	30	2022-23
1	14	Edmonton	Dylan Holloway	L	U. of Wisconsin [Big-10]	51	3	6	9	27	2022-23
1	15	Toronto	Rodion Amirov	L	Ufa Salavat Yulayev [KHL]
1	16	Montreal	Kaiden Guhle	D	Prince Albert Raiders [WHL]	44	4	14	18	27	2022-23
1	17	Chicago	Lukas Reichel	L	Berlin Polar Bears [DEL]	34	7	9	16	6	2022-23
1	18	New Jersey	Dawson Mercer	C	Chicoutimi Sagueneens [QMJHL]	164	44	54	98	42	2022-23
1	19	NY Rangers	Braden Schneider	D	Brandon Wheat Kings [WHL]	124	7	22	29	25	2022-23
1	20	New Jersey	Shakir Mukhamadullin	D	Ufa Salavat Yulayev [KHL]
1	21	Columbus	Yegor Chinakhov	R	Omsk Jrs. (Russia)	92	11	16	27	26	2022-23
1	22	Washington	Hendrix Lapierre	C	Chicoutimi Sagueneens [QMJHL]	6	1	0	1	2	2021-22
1	23	Philadelphia	Tyson Foerster	R	Barrie Colts [OHL]	8	3	4	7	8	2022-23
1	24	Calgary	Connor Zary	C	Kamloops Blazers [WHL]
1	25	Colorado	Justin Barron	D	Halifax Mooseheads [QMJHL]	46	5	12	17	20	2022-23
1	26	St. Louis	Jake Neighbours	L	Edmonton Oil Kings [WHL]	52	7	5	12	26	2022-23
1	27	Anaheim	Jacob Perreault	R	Sarnia Sting [OHL]	1	0	0	0	0	2021-22
1	28	Ottawa	Ridly Greig	C	Brandon Wheat Kings [WHL]	20	2	7	9	12	2022-23
1	29	Vegas	Brendan Brisson	C	Chicago Steel [USHL]
1	30	Dallas	Mavrik Bourque	C	Shawinigan Cataractes [QMJHL]
1	31	San Jose	Ozzy Wiesblatt	C	Prince Albert Raiders [WHL]

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Go look at the 2020 draft. Where would you rank Guhle as of now ?

Probably 2nd after Jack Smith

In all seriousness, I think he would climb but it's definitely too early to start redrafting. For all we know Lafreniere could get traded and explode for 90 points.

 

[Andrei79]

Fair enough. And I get the argument as far as us not having skin in the game, but I think with the team being fairly early in a rebuild, and our management group being fairly innovative and given some runway, they can probably afford to take a risk like that. I certainly don't think many fans would be upset about it.

I agree.

My concern with Michkov is how he'll have control over pretty much everything. If he wants his ELC to be 1 or 2 years, he can just resign in Russian and bypass that. He'll have an easy road to a high AAV or his UFA status afterwards. I would have loved to see him during best on best tournaments as well.

Probably 2nd after Jack Smith

In all seriousness, I think he would climb but it's definitely too early to start redrafting. For all we know Lafreniere could get traded and explode for 90 points.

Sure. But, I think saying he was a great pick at 16 is underselling how good he's been. From what we've seen, he would have been a great pick in the top 10. He's trending upwards like McDonagh was after 2007.

 

[MTL-rules]

If they draft Reinbacher, this will show how bad their scouting department is... Could have drafted Nemec last year instead... Would have a better defensive prospect and whoever left as forward is better than Slaf...

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

I agree.

My concern with Michkov is how he'll have control over pretty much everything. If he wants his ELC to be 1 or 2 years, he can just resign in Russian and bypass that. He'll have an easy road to a high AAV or his UFA status afterwards. I would have loved to see him during best on best tournaments as well.

Yeah we're (as fans) missing some key information by not being able to interview him of course.

 

[ReHabs]

I remember when people aggressively wanted Wright and scoffed at all the red flags that were being brought up, to the point there were insults flying around.

It's cool that everyone learned from that experience from a year ago and are showing a lot more openness and flexibility in their thinking.

People wanted Wright because he was long expected to be the 1OA and was meant to be the (pause for dramatic effect) productive forward.

Is there any confusion why Habs fans would want a productive forward? Any doubts you’d like cleared up?

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

If they draft Reinbacher, this will show how bad their scouting department is... Could have drafted Nemec last year instead... Would have a better defensive prospect and whoever left as forward is better than Slaf...

Yeah I'd definitely be disappointed if that's who we came out of the last two drafts with.

Granted, I was very low on Slaf and had him at 8 last year. Time will tell, but I have concerns with his hockey IQ and with his tendency to get caught with his head down.

 

[ReHabs]

I definitely get where you're coming from and if you value Benson's overall playmaking upside over the more rounded Leonard/Reinbacher profile that's perfectly reasonable. I just think it's a stretch to call it a reach because I just don't think that's true, they're all in the same approximate tier as players IMO.

As far as I’ve checked Benson is definitely rated above Reinbacher. Leonard has had some erratic rankings though and is rising. Tiers are fine but players tend to get ranked so ultimately there will be an order and it seems scouts believe Reinbacher will be third and last of those three but we’ll see. Very exciting.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Guhle was a great pick
...
...
AT 16 NOT 5 FFS

Where does Guhle go in a 2020 redraft? I think you could legitimately argue him as high as 4 right now, only Stutzle, Sanderson, and Mercer are definitively better players from that class. It's early so I think people would still take Lafreniere and Byfield's upside even in a redraft so you're looking at Guhle being a top 6-7 pick who could go as high as 4 in a redraft done today. Reinbacher is also a strictly better prospect than Guhle was on draft day, so this comparison doesn't really work in terms of where Reinbacher should go. In the most simple hockeydb stat scouting terms, 22P in 46 games in the Swiss league from a defenceman who plays an NHL transferrable game and isn't cheating for offence is far superior to 40P in 64 WHL games.

Reinbacher is a better shooter, better passer, and has better overall offensive instincts than Guhle did on draft day, and they're pretty similar in terms of physicality and transition defence, Reinbacher doesn't need as many things to go right as Guhle did to be a similar calibre player, and there's more chance for him to be better than Guhle, as the raw offensive capabilities at 18 are much better. They're a similar "type" of player but Reinbacher just has the much better profile right now.

As far as I’ve checked Benson is definitely rated above Reinbacher. Leonard has had some erratic rankings though and is rising. Tiers are fine but players tend to get ranked so ultimately there will be an order and it seems scouts believe Reinbacher will be third and last of those three but we’ll see. Very exciting.

I genuinely can't remember a draft with this much intrigue. Every draft always has some surprises but this year it feels like there are dozens of very unique and potentially hugely impactful branching paths the draft could take. I wish it was this week, I can't stand the waiting haha

 

[ReHabs]

There are a few like that on this board, HabsWhiteKnight being the king of doing that.

I strongly disagree with that assessment of me and my comments but the fact is you need heterodox viewpoints and a variety of perspectives to keep discussions fresh. You shouldn’t complain about people with different views and perspectives… and especially in light of what, two AWFUL seasons in a row — with erratic performances and basically no star players — which have followed the ten year tenure of a generally inconsistent and underachieving management group.

When Caufield was cooking nearly everybody was happy. We need something to cheer on for heaven’s sake.

There is something to be said about toxic positivity too. A far too common trend online. But that’s for another time.

 

[Guy Larose]

I strongly disagree with that assessment of me and my comments but the fact is you need heterodox viewpoints and a variety of perspectives to keep discussions fresh. You shouldn’t complain about people with different views and perspectives… and especially in light of what, two AWFUL seasons in a row — with erratic performances and basically no star players — which have followed the ten year tenure of a generally inconsistent and underachieving management group.

When Caufield was cooking nearly everybody was happy. We need something to cheer on for heaven’s sake.

There is something to be said about toxic positivity too. A far too common trend online. But that’s for another time.

I never mentioned you...

 

[Natey]

Well let's play the game then.

Size: Leonard
IQ: Draw - both have high hockey IQ, I'd lean Benson.
Hands: Draw - both have good hands, I'd lean Leonard.
Shot: Leonard
Skating: Leonard
Compete: Draw; I'd lean Leonard because his compete can actually impact the game physically
Defense: Draw; I'd lean Leonard because he had to carry the mail so much defensively for his line.
Passing: Benson

All we can say for sure is that Benson is the better passer.. I think we can both agree Leonard has the advantage in shot, skating and size.

They are comparable players but I think Leonard ends up higher than Benson in the draft and most scouts lists.

All you can say.*

I disagree about the advantage in skating. Benson isn't fast, but he's exceptionally deceptive and able to turn on a dime.

Benson has been called the best defensive forward in the draft many times. So again this shows it's all personal opinion. That was my point.

I could go on, but we see them differently. Although I have Leonard above Smith as well. I like what I've seen from Leonard. I just think Benson is a step above.

 

[Natey]

Now do it with Michkov. If you may, please. to me...

Size: Leonard
IQ; Michkov
Hands: Michkov
Shot: Michkov
Skating: Leonard
Compete: Benson/Leonard
Defense: Benson/Leonard
Passing Michkov/Benson

Offensive IQ maybe. The other two understand the game in all 3 zones.

 

[salbutera]

 

[ottawa]

I don't discredit wanting a high octane offensive forward.. I've been starved for it just like everyone else.

But if they're passing on Michkov, they're passing on Michkov... one thing you realize is that you can't expect someone to have the same risk tolerance as you, especially when you have 0 skin in the game and aren't privvy to all the information.

After that, we just have to hope that they get the right player..

I agree, a lot of people tend to forget that these picks (Slaf, #5 oa) will decide whether or not they get fired a few years from now.

I think most of us would have said just draft Michkov, if it doesn't work out then no one can blame the management...but after the past week and the potential red flags, I don't think Hughes would get as much of a pass if Michkov doesn't work out because people will act like the signs were crystal clear and pretend as though they knew Michkov had to be passed on at all costs. Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[sheed36]

Someone send this article to Hughes

View attachment 719429

Even though I don't think the Habs will draft Michkov (that's who I want though), reading stuff like this regarding Michkov will still make it sting even more and it'll just add to the disappointment when the Habs likely pass on this guy, if he's still there at 5, for a much less talented player it looks like. Sigh...

 

[ottawa]

Incarcerated Bob has as many sources as you

 

[salbutera]

Incarcerated Bob has as many sources as you

He’s Boomer Esiason, Matt Martin’s father in law ..

 

[Colezuki]

Incarcerated Bob has as many sources as you

He does occasionally call things, he nailed the MSL hiring and we were all like the f***