HF Habs: Draft 2018: What are your immediate draft class feelings?

[Adam Michaels]

Fonstad was moved to the wing at some point in the second part of the season where he looked much more confortable and more productive, so I would say he is more likely to be a winger down the road...

All good. Kind of like Bitten, who was drafted as a center, but was put on the wing and was more productive there.

But I guess it falls in line with the saying that centers can play wing but wingers can't play center. Fonstad and Bitten could be two examples.

 

[Habby Patty]

The 2017 and 2018 drafts brought in a total of 18 prospects to the organization.

9 centers: Poehling, Ikonen, Kotkaniemi, Olofsson, Hillis, McShane, Fonstad, Houde & Stapley
6 defensemen: Brook & Fleury (RD), Walford, Tyszka, Romanov & Harris (LD)
1 winger: Gorniak
1 goalie: Primeau

The centers is what they were listed as when they were drafted. Some of them have been put on the wing on their respective teams. But they are still natural centers.

You forgot about RW Jesse Ylonen! You know, the guy we picked with our 35OA just yesterday! The finnish speedster who is considered a boom or bust pick! Yeah him!

 

[Adam Michaels]

You forgot about RW Jesse Ylonen! You know, the guy we picked with our 35OA just yesterday! The finnish speedster who is considered a boom or bust pick! Yeah him!

You are correct. I fixed it.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

My feeling is that the prospect thread will be amazing.

 

[Adam Michaels]

My feeling is that the prospect thread will be amazing.

I want the summer to go on as long as it can. But I also can't wait for the season to start. Nearly 20 players to follow.

 

[Habby Patty]

Why does Montreal never do things like this. I know they had the like 1 minute long video welcoming Jesperi to MTL but there is no behind the scenes stuff or anything like that. I wanna see like a 5 min long video of all his post draft experiences.

 

[habsgirl5000]

Bergevin continues to show he's unfit for the role & doesn't really understand what "build via draft" means.

ironically.....if MB just did what he said he would do when he was hired "build through the draft" we would be in a much better position today,

his dumb trades are what has hurt the most

 

[sandviper]

Why does Montreal never do things like this. I know they had the like 1 minute long video welcoming Jesperi to MTL but there is no behind the scenes stuff or anything like that. I wanna see like a 5 min long video of all his post draft experiences.

There’s a 90 second behind the scenes. Were you referring to another video?



They show him doing interviews and such. I guess there’s footage out there but we'll have To wait a bit longer. Maybe we’ll get some good interviews during development camp?

 

[sandviper]

My feeling is that the prospect thread will be amazing.

I want the summer to go on as long as it can. But I also can't wait for the season to start. Nearly 20 players to follow.

Obviously interested in Kotk but it’s Ylonen, Hillis and Olofsson I am most eager to follow. Romanov, I am super curious about him as I didn’t watch video on him as I never expected us to pick him up.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Obviously interested in Kotk but it’s Ylonen, Hillis and Olofsson I am most eager to follow. Romanov, I am super curious about him as I didn’t watch video on him as I never expected us to pick him up.

With Timmins saying that he wouldn't be surprised to see Romanov here next year because he plays a pro game, I could see them sign him to an ELC and send him to Laval.

 

[Lshap]

I'm more excited about our current prospect pool than I am about the Habs roster. That said, it's sobering to look back a few years at the bubbly optimism over Collberg, Kristo, Tinordi, Leblanc, Thrower, etc. So many of our prospective future Habs popped like soap bubbles; we're overdue for some good karma.

 

[Lshap]

ironically.....if MB just did what he said he would do when he was hired "build through the draft" we would be in a much better position today,

his dumb trades are what has hurt the most

The complete absence of strong draft picks on the team hurt the most. Trades are the icing; Habs were missing the cake.

 

[montreal]

In my best Peter Griffin voice, what grinds my gears is how I keep reading about our draft picks compared to former draft picks. This guy is our Staum, this our is our Pezzetta, this guy is our DLR, this guy is just like Vejdemo.

Each pic is it's own, really no need to compare them to any former draft picks imo. Then again I always hated comparing prospects to NHLers.

I want the summer to go on as long as it can. But I also can't wait for the season to start. Nearly 20 players to follow.

I'll be watching the NCAA guys closely for sure since I get so many games on tv, likely will have the WHL package again.

With Timmins saying that he wouldn't be surprised to see Romanov here next year because he plays a pro game, I could see them sign him to an ELC and send him to Laval.

Romanov is under contract till the end of 2020 so I would be shocked if he's here and in the AHL.

 

[1909]

The complete absence of strong draft picks on the team hurt the most. Trades are the icing; Habs were missing the cake.

The two second round picks given to Chicago two years ago for Shaw are biting the Habs in the the ass, big time. Just imagine DeBrincat and Girard + Sergachev in that line up

 

[montreal]

I'm more excited about our current prospect pool than I am about the Habs roster. That said, it's sobering to look back a few years at the bubbly optimism over Collberg, Kristo, Tinordi, Leblanc, Thrower, etc. So many of our prospective future Habs popped like soap bubbles; we're overdue for some good karma.

some bad picks, but terrible development system across the board from Lapointe to Lefebvre to MB calling them up too soon.

Hopefully there's a change under Bouchard where he at least handles them better and maybe can talk MB into not rushing them when they aren't ready.

 

[Adam Michaels]

So here are the returns of some trades:

- Eller: Joni Ikonen, Jordan Harris & Samuel Houde
- Weise/Fleischmann: Philippe Danault & Alexander Romanov
- Plekanec: Rinat Valiev, Kerby Rychel & Jacob Olofsson
- Montoya: Jack Gorniak

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I'm more excited about our current prospect pool than I am about the Habs roster. That said, it's sobering to look back a few years at the bubbly optimism over Collberg, Kristo, Tinordi, Leblanc, Thrower, etc. So many of our prospective future Habs popped like soap bubbles; we're overdue for some good karma.

That says more about the Habs roster than our prospect pool imo. It's awfully hard to get excited about the Habs roster.

 

[Adam Michaels]

The two second round picks given to Chicago two years ago for Shaw are biting the Habs in the the ass, big time. Just imagine DeBrincat and Girard + Sergachev in that line up

I am a fan of Shaw's and am happy he's with the team. I like what he brings. But looking back on it knowing now that we are better suited for a rebuild/retool/reset, they were better off holding onto those picks. But at the time, the team felt like 2016 collapse was an anomaly and was still in "window open" mode.

Just for torture's sake, the Habs prospect pool would have:

2016: Sergachev (assume he's still dealt for Drouin), DeBrincat, Girard, Bitten, Mete, Pezzetta & Henrikson.
2017: Poehling, Brook, Ikonen, Walford, Fleury, Tyszka & Primeau
2018: Kotkaniemi, Ylonen, Romanov, Olofsson, Hillis, Harris, McShane, Gorniak, Fonstad, Houde & Stapley

That would be 25 players drafted in three years. And bunch of them look like quality picks.

 

[Habby Patty]

There’s a 90 second behind the scenes. Were you referring to another video?



They show him doing interviews and such. I guess there’s footage out there but we'll have To wait a bit longer. Maybe we’ll get some good interviews during development camp?

Yeah thats the vid I was talking about. I hope they show some more because compared to the Hughes, Dahlin and Bouchard videos, Kotka's is god awful. I hope they release some more footage and interviews at training camp.

 

[Redux91]

These kids looks like gamers baby, i hope they are ready because Lol this is MTL, its the show, there's gonna be so many people at that development camp they wont even believe their eyes lol, i hope they get excited but not too nervous, because its going to be just as bad in september lol
I think theyre gonna shine personally, just because after the last 2 years there are so many decent prospects maybe we get to see some magic finally

 

[Lshap]

That says more about the Habs roster than our prospect pool imo. It's awfully hard to get excited about the Habs roster.

Yup - said the same thing earlier. I was talking to my wife today about being less interested in seeing the Habs than I am the Rockets, because Laval is where our future success is.

But the truth is the foundation of every good team is their homemade prospects. Tampa, Washington, Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Chicago, etc. -- all built on great drafting and development. 10 years ago the Habs' prospect pool grew into a core that brought the team close to contention. We didn't know how great those picks would become, just like we didn't know how poorly our picks from five years ago would develop, just like we have no frikkin idea what the last two/three drafts will become and how they'll transform the team.

 

[Lshap]

some bad picks, but terrible development system across the board from Lapointe to Lefebvre to MB calling them up too soon.

Hopefully there's a change under Bouchard where he at least handles them better and maybe can talk MB into not rushing them when they aren't ready.

Agree 100% about the piss-poor development. Our prospects' road to the NHL has deeper potholes than Montreal's roads.

 

[groovejuice]

ironically.....if MB just did what he said he would do when he was hired "build through the draft" we would be in a much better position today,

his dumb trades are what has hurt the most

Not just trades. Some of the contracts he gave players are unforgivable on both the high and low ends.

Let's not forget doubling down on buddies, cronies and bootlickers with not an iota of proper oversight.

 

[Lshap]

Let's not forget doubling down on buddies, cronies and bootlickers with not an iota of proper oversight.

That spot -- right there! -- that's where it hurts, doc. The buddies, cronies and bootlickers you're talkin' about are our entire coaching staff, from the NHL on down to the AHL. Those are the bro-appointees who were provided with dozens of prospects over the years and managed, through their quaint philosophies, to churn out precisely zero core players. I can't even blame them for bumping their heads on their own limited ceilings. I don't even blame Bergevin for giving them a shot. However, I do blame the GM for not pulling the eject chute after it became clear the plane was in a nosedive. How many years of failure does it take? All the trades in the world can't support a team without a solid foundation of ELC and RFA players, and for the last few years we've had nuthin' to show for our drafts and therefore nuthin' to show on our NHL roster. UFAs won't move the needle. Trades only supplement the core. But first you need a frikkin core worth supplementing. If, with this new crop of picks and AHL coaches, we're finally ready to follow the recipe for growing prospects, Habs will still be two years from having a worthwhile core.

 

[groovejuice]

That spot -- right there! -- that's where it hurts, doc. The buddies, cronies and bootlickers you're talkin' about are our entire coaching staff, from the NHL on down to the AHL. Those are the bro-appointees who were provided with dozens of prospects over the years and managed, through their quaint philosophies, to churn out precisely zero core players. I can't even blame them for bumping their heads on their own limited ceilings. I don't even blame Bergevin for giving them a shot. However, I do blame the GM for not pulling the eject chute after it became clear the plane was in a nosedive. How many years of failure does it take? All the trades in the world can't support a team without a solid foundation of ELC and RFA players, and for the last few years we've had nuthin' to show for our drafts and therefore nuthin' to show on our NHL roster. UFAs won't move the needle. Trades only supplement the core. But first you need a frikkin core worth supplementing. If, with this new crop of picks and AHL coaches, we're finally ready to follow the recipe for growing prospects, Habs will still be two years from having a worthwhile core.

It's sad that only after 6 seasons of minimal development, poor coaching at all levels, nepotism running wild, bad acquisitions, horrible trades and next to zero accountability, FINALLY there is movement to do what other, successful teams have been doing from day one.

It sickens me to hear Bergevin is all woeful to be setting the table for another GM. That SOB should be on his knees giving thanks that his owner/president is an enabling buffoon with a creepy boy crush on him. He should have been in an unemployment line 3 years ago.

It looks like the beginning of a proper rebirth with the firings, hirings and exceptional draft. The first stage needs to completed with the goodbyes to Bergevin, deep evaluations of employees at all levels, especially pro-scouting, and a new hierarchy of experienced, modern hockey people to become President, GM, and everything below.

It's been a positive first step or two. Let's keep the momentum going. Bye Marc. Stick to concessions Geoff.