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

[MTL-rules]

It is in our best interest to keep bluffing about any player in that "best of the rest" tier (Leonard, Reinbacher, Benson) if we are indeed skipping Michkov.

It's clearly what a ton of posters are doing right now...

 

[angusyoung]

So I see the pandemonium is still going strong

Just pick the one deemed best available,If he's got ''Matador syndrome '' pass and grab the next up. No big deal,not like one singular player puts a team over the top anyways,just continue to build properly.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Some people just need to categorize, and the problem is they often use ready-made stereotypes to define their categories.

It's certainly saves time and reflexion effort.

Below PPG = Plug

PPG or above = Top 6

100 pts and above = Generational

150 pts or above = McDavid

 

[David Suzuki]

the worst crime putin has ever committed was allowing people to revert back to their russians don’t win in playoff
i thought we moved passed that kind of dogma

 

[ReHabs]

Below PPG = Plug

PPG or above = Top 6

100 pts and above = Generational

150 pts or above = McDavid

Our organization desperately needs players with PPG upside. Like, more than most other organizations.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Our organization desperately needs players with PPG upside. Like, more than most other organizations.

...agreed; we need to take whichever one of the Definitive Top 5 that is left, imo, be it Michkov, Carlsson, or Smith (or, by some mysterious fluke, Fantilli)...

 

[Canadienna]

 

[salbutera]

It’s BS that a given player is the guy you win Cups with. You need a bit of everything. Flyers have the reputation, deserved or not, of staying away from Europeans and getting good NA boys that play the right way. In a year, it’ll be 50 years since the Flyers won a Cup. All those hockey-tough character guys with sandpaper that play the right way and win you Cups have come and gone and are now forgotten.

Dunno about that from Pelle Lindbergh to Mikael Renberg to Kjell Samuelsson, Timonen, Pelle Eklund..

If anything their focus has been Swedes & Finns vs other Euros

 

[habdynasty]

Vegas was loaded with Canadian players. Those boys are probably still celebrating.

 

[Genghis Keon]

I don't like picking Leonard not because I don't think he's skilled he obviously is but his absolute best case projection is 70 to 80 point winger and the amount of players who reach their absolute potential is very low I don't like those odds

How do you figure that's his absolute best case projection?

30+ guys scored 80 or more points last season.

59 scored 70 or more.

Take a look at the list. In his draft year, Leonard is way ahead of tonnes of them with, I would argue, more potential/likelihood of reaching his potential.

The kid has decent size, strong skating, a good shot, good hands, obvious playmaking skills, and obvious talent. He also attacks the middle. I think that alone gives him obvious top 60 scoring upside, and not pie in the sky there's a sliver of a chance he can do it upside.

Throw in his obvious drive/will and he's the kind of guy who can out produce his perceived upside. He's unlikely to ever challenge for the Art Ross (though who the hell would have thought Jamie Benn would win one), but I think there's a very realistic chance for him to be a ppg type guy (based on current scoring levels).

 

[HabbyGuy]

Bob McKenzie’s Final Draft Rankings (Top 10):

1. Connor Bedard
2. Adam Fantilli
3. Leo Carlsson
4. Will Smith
5. Matvei Michkov
6. Ryan Leonard
7. Dalibor Dvorsky
8. David Reinbacher
9. Zach Benson
10. Gabe Perreault

This is a perfectly fine list. I'd personally question Perreault at 10.

 

[Skip Bayless]

Our organization desperately needs players with PPG upside. Like, more than most other organizations.

I think you're aiming way too low. We need generational talent. Like 2 or 3 of them. Anything less is unacceptable.

 

[Frank Drebin]

So bob's list (which is built from actual rankings from actual scouts) has michkov going anywhere from 2-5. Yet none of the teams drafting 2-5 have really shown any interest in him. Or spoke in a manner that would lead you to believe they were interested in drafting him.

I personally think bob's list carries much more weight than fans inferring teams preferences from interview quips.

I think it's between us and San Jose and it will go Smith/michkov or michkov/smith, with Hughes et al preferring the latter.

 

[waffledave]

the worst crime putin has ever committed was allowing people to revert back to their russians don’t win in playoff
i thought we moved passed that kind of dogma

Literally nobody this.

 

[HabbyGuy]

So bob's list (which is built from actual rankings from actual scouts) has michkov going anywhere from 2-5. Yet none of the teams drafting 2-5 have really shown any interest in him. Or spoke in a manner that would lead you to believe they were interested in drafting him.

I personally think bob's list carries much more weight than fans inferring teams preferences from interview quips.

I think it's between us and San Jose and it will go Smith/michkov or michkov/smith, with Hughes et al preferring the latter.

I would think so, because this, (what you said) atleast on the surface, makes the most logical sense.

Nevermind from a habs or fan perspective.

 

[morhilane]

So bob's list (which is built from actual rankings from actual scouts) has michkov going anywhere from 2-5. Yet none of the teams drafting 2-5 have really shown any interest in him. Or spoke in a manner that would lead you to believe they were interested in drafting him.

I personally think bob's list carries much more weight than fans inferring teams preferences from interview quips.

I think it's between us and San Jose and it will go Smith/michkov or michkov/smith, with Hughes et al preferring the latter.

Last year, Wright and Slaf were equal in term of #1 votes and Wright was #2 on Bob's list. Wright dropped all the way to 4 in the end and Nemec who was 4 on Bob's list went #2.

The rumors were that NJ was going to take Nemec if Slaf was gone and that Arizona were not going to take Wright.

 

[Heffyhoof]

So you're saying that a 5 year wait is a dealbreaker?

We can do it for Bedard too if you want.

Not sure why this is such a challenging exercise.

Because it's entirely pointless, why do you keep pushing it? It holds zero relevancy except you trying to get gotcha points.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Wheeler compares Leonard to Toffoli and calls him a 60-70 point guy who makes his teammates better and plays with some jam. ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS?

Honestly that is the worst comparision I have seen out there. It's like drawing names out of a hat... ridiculous comparison.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Vegas was loaded with Canadian players. Those boys are probably still celebrating.

They are also big & fast, and have an absolute monstrous D.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Yep.. it's a big conspiracy. A bunch of Habs fans who want to see the Habs be littered with 50 point scorers just posed as Bob's trusted scouts and voted a 50 point grinder into the 6th spot of a highly lauded draft.

And 1st overall last year too!

We pay all of McKenzie contacts to put the worst player at the top because we are evil.

 

[yianik]

So Leonard plays a real nice, hard hitting power forward ( meaning he has skill for sure) game. He is 5'11" and 190 lbs. He is not going to be able to bowl over people in the NHL like he does now, how much will that affect his overall game ? Just throwing it out.

 

[Heffyhoof]

I've got a hypothetical. Say Mitchkov made us wait 5 or 8 years to come over, the Russian meanie, what if him coming over made his ELC coincide exactly with Montreal's best years for chances at the cup. Do you draft him then?

Please come answer my stupid and useless hypothetical or you're exhibiting cult-like behaviour.

 

[ReHabs]

So Leonard plays a real nice, hard hitting power forward ( meaning he has skill for sure) game. He is 5'11" and 190 lbs. He is not going to be able to bowl over people in the NHL like he does now, how much will that affect his overall game ? Just throwing it out.

It's like those who insist on Ryan Leonard want to pull the wool over everybody's eyes: He is NOT going to be able to play to his own purported strengths in the NHL. It's physically impossible.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Dunno about that from Pelle Lindbergh to Mikael Renberg to Kjell Samuelsson, Timonen, Pelle Eklund..

If anything their focus has been Swedes & Finns vs other Euros

Don't forget the Flyers also drafted Peter Forsberg.

Last year, Wright and Slaf were equal in term of #1 votes and Wright was #2 on Bob's list. Wright dropped all the way to 4 in the end and Nemec who was 4 on Bob's list went #2.

The rumors were that NJ was going to take Nemec if Slaf was gone and that Arizona were not going to take Wright.

Slaf was actually a hair ahead. He had five 1st place votes to Wright's four. Cooley had the other one.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

It's like those who insist on Ryan Leonard want to pull the wool over everybody's eyes: He is NOT going to be able to play to his own purported strengths in the NHL. It's physically impossible.

This discussion reminds me so much of the talk about Crosby before the draft. (Yes he had his critics) and everybody were sure he would not succeed because he was too small. It was funny but yes people were serious when they claimed Crosby was too small. This discussion about Leonard being too small to play a power game reminds me that. Guess what Michkov is probably smaller than Leonard and Benson is smaller too but nobody talk about how their size will impact their efficiency in the NHL. As if the only attributes of Leonard was physicality and nothing else.

Leonard being 6'0 (he is closer to 6' than 5'11 before somebody point that out) has little impact of how he plays the game. Why? It's not that much about size but about winning board battle and 1 on 1. He is a beast at doing that.

Marchand is 5'9 and he is one of the hardest player to play against. Why? Compete! I see similar traits with Leonard but being also a bit taller.

People freaking out about Leonard size are hilarious especially after just claiming Slafkovsky is a bust. Make up your mind...