How would you grade the Habs drafting from 2017-2021 ?

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Habs Drafting Grade from 17-21

  • A) Very good

  • B) Good

  • C) Acceptable

  • D) Below Expectations

  • E) Very Bad


Results are only viewable after voting.

Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
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East Coast
Lets review our drafting (last 5 years from Bergevin/Timmins)

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2017:
* Poehling is a depth player
* Fleury and Primeau still battling to become NHL players

2018:
* Kotkaniemi is a middle 6C. Some say 3C, some say 2C
* Romanov is a top 4D
* Harris is a depth player. Some would say fringe top 4D.

2019:
* Caufield is a top line winger
* Struble is a depth player
* RHP is probably a depth player still trying to earn a full time NHL job

2020:
* Guhle is a top 4D
* Dobes looks like a NHL goalie with potential
* Too early with Tuch and Farrell but if they make it, depth NHL players

2021:
* Mailloux is probably a NHL depth defenseman but too early to know where he tops out at
* Kapanen showed some promise in the games he has played and is a pt/game player in the SHL. I think we have a middle 6F type
* Too early to know with Roy but he's probably a NHL player and we don't know where he tops out at (like Mailloux)
 
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2017 - Acceptable - We didn't have a pick until 25. So Poehling is acceptable at that range. Obvious goalie prospects drafted after, but it's a crapshoot at best when picking 25.

2018 - Very Bad - Depsite Romanov and Harris having production in the NHL beyond expected for their draft position, the miss with Kotkaniemi is unacceptable. There is very little room for error when picking in the top 5 IMO.

2019 - Very Good - Actually it is excellent. Caufield was a steal at 15.

2020 - Good - Guhle at 16 is probably where he should be. 2020 is a strong draft. Guhle will be a decent top 4 for the next 10 years. If Dobes becomes an all-star this moves into the very good category.

2021 - Acceptable - Drafting at 31st is a stab in the dark. Mailloux could still have an NHL career. Kapanen and Roy have higher expectations than their draft position, so that is pretty decent if you ask me. Trudeau still has a shot as well.

Overall - acceptable.
 
Caufield is electric but then everything else is meh on aggregate and dragged down bigly by Kotkaneimi, Mailloux, and the 2017 draft.
 
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It got better towards the end of their regime as i'm absolutely thrilled with Caufield and Guhle in the middle of the 1st round. With Mailloux, I didn't agree with the pick at the time as I didn't think it was worth all the media backlash and the negative press associated with it, but Mailloux has talent and you can see why he was picked there. Will it end up working out? That depends on Mailloux will to round out the rest of his game.

The later picks are much more of a crap shoot so I won't judge too harshly on those even though a few good players were drafted after the 1st round,

If we're just basing on 2019-2021 (3 years), I would rate it as "good" bordering on "great".

But since we're doing 2017-2021 (5 years), I would rate it as "acceptable"

Now, having said that, it would be interesting to do this exercise again from 2019-2024.
 
It got better towards the end of their regime as i'm absolutely thrilled with Caufield and Guhle in the middle of the 1st round. With Mailloux, I didn't agree with the pick at the time as I didn't think it was worth all the media backlash and the negative press associated with it, but Mailloux has talent and you can see why he was picked there. Will it end up working out? That depends on Mailloux will to round out the rest of his game.

The later picks are much more of a crap shoot so I won't judge too harshly on those even though a few good players were drafted after the 1st round,

If we're just basing on 2019-2021 (3 years), I would rate it as "good" bordering on "great".

But since we're doing 2017-2021 (5 years), I would rate it as "acceptable"

Now, having said that, it would be interesting to do this exercise again from 2019-2024.

Agreed. Just a little review of the 5 last drafts with Bergevin/Timmins and it will be interesting to do it for the 19-24 picks in a few yeas. See the difference because the draft power is better.
 
I find I have a hard time grading the Habs for these drafts.

Is it fair to say it's C) Acceptable?

Yeah i think it's between good and acceptable and it's totally fair to rate it as acceptable. I guess it will really depend on Mailloux, Dobes. Kapanen and Roy. If at least three hit and can be Nhlers and reach their celling than it ranks as a good 5 years crop. I feel like Kapanen will at least be a bottom 6 contributor and Dobes at least a 2 G but it's always hard to predict.
 
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Caufield, Guhle, Dobes, and Romanov rescue an otherwise "Very bad" grade into "Acceptable".

Obviously this could change if the 2021 class becomes better than expected.
 
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Not sure about the average length of the career of a top player ( top 6F, top 4D and starting goalie ) as a good player, but I will say 10 years. So that is 11 players. This means that every year, on average we need to at least draft one top player in order to fill up the roster with some level of quality.

So we have Romanov, Caufield and Guhle with maybe a couple guys , like Dobes, with that potential. The good is that Caufield is a top line player and maybe Guhle is a top pair D, the bad is we may be a player or 2 shy of replacement rate. Overall I will say acceptable. And yes I know we can sign UFAs and make trades, but you still need to be at around the replacement rate.

Between 2005-2007 we drafted Price, McDo, Patches and PK. Outstanding. All of them 1st line, top pair D or starting goalie. But in the 8 years after, between 2008-2015 our best picks were Gallagher, Lehkonen , Evans and Galchenyuk. Gallagher was a 2nd line player for a good while, Evans not top 6 and I think neither was Galchenyuk or Lehks. So thats 1 top player in total over those 8 years. Stretch it to 2 even . Thats awful, and one very good reason why we didnt become a contender year after year. And yes, giving up McDo for no return ( one okay year from Gomez ) hurt. So in 11 years we drafted 5-6 top players. Below replacement rate.
 
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Caufield, Guhle, Dobes, and Romanov rescue an otherwise "Very bad" grade into "Acceptable".

Obviously this could change if the 2021 class becomes better than expected.

I guess it comes down to Dobec, Mailloux, Kapanen, and Roy. Those are more of the unknowns. I believe all 4 are NHL players at a min.
 
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2022 alone makes it very good.

Edit : I can't read titles apparently, changed it to good.
 
Caufield single handedly saved this from being Very bad.

Shout out to Guhle who also helps bring up the average.

Dobes, Kapanen and Mailloux have some potential to bring us up a couple notches but it’s too early to tell in their cases.

I voted Below Expectations but i realistically fit somewhere between there and Acceptable, mostly because i do feel Kapanen will be a Top-9 forward and Dobes will be at least a average starter.
 
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I graded decent. Outside of '18, we drafted high in most those drafts. The '17 draft we picked 25th, 31st in '21. Both '20 and '19 we picked 16th. Hard to get studs drafting that high.

To get both Guhle and Caufield drafting mid-first round is pretty good. Caufield a key piece in our cup run of '21. He's 40 goals, first line winger. Guhle first pairing caliber player. Mailloux still a wildcard. Dobes also as goalies are usually all over the place. If both those prove out could be very good drafting. Kapanen and Tuch are solid prospects. Romanov got us Dach though.

I probably should have voted after writing this. Think I would change it, should voted good instead of decent.

Bergevin good GM, to last 9 years and get to Finals, two conference finals most GMs couldn't do it. He was smart enough not to trade his draft picks nor prospects
 
I’d bet money most of those guys are out of the habs system if Bergevin is still the gm.

Not sure about that but you did make me think... Romanov is probably still with us. Bergevin probably would have traded Romanov for Dach but when the Hawks said no, they want picks, Bergevin says ok... "trades are hard". Didn't realize he could get a pick another way :laugh:
 
Not sure about that but you did make me think... Romanov is probably still with us. Bergevin probably would have traded Romanov for Dach but when the Hawks said no, they want picks, Bergevin says ok... "trades are hard". Didn't realize he could get a pick another way :laugh:
Romanov for Dach was a bad trade.
Also it was for a pick for Dach...
Although i was all for the gamble at the time.

I give a B ranking.

Getting guys like Caufeild and Guhle pays off and we've done alright with later picks.
Calling Poels a depth player is disingenuous.
Hes clearly a solid 3rd line player.
Not many missed high end prospects.

The KK one hurts, especially considering he wanted Brady. Fans wanted Zadina and would have been fuming over Brady, so seems like everyone missed on it.
 
Romanov for Dach was a bad trade.
Also it was for a pick for Dach...
Although i was all for the gamble at the time.

I give a B ranking.

Getting guys like Caufeild and Guhle pays off and we've done alright with later picks.
Calling Poels a depth player is disingenuous.
Hes clearly a solid 3rd line player.
Not many missed high end prospects.

The KK one hurts, especially considering he wanted Brady. Fans wanted Zadina and would have been fuming over Brady, so seems like everyone missed on it.

Romanov for Dach is a neutral trade. Bad trade? I don't agree with that exaggeration. We added 2nd or 3rd rounder to make this deal work. That does not make it lobsided or a "bad trade" narrative. The book is yet to be completed. Dach getting injured last year derailed his momentum. We are talking about a big boy with skating and skill at age 24. Yeah, we want more points and I believe it will come. The base of this trade was not who they are from age 22-24, it was about who they will be from age 25+

Who is Poels? Poehling? If so, he is a depth player. He's not a 3rd liner on 2/3's of the teams in the NHL. If not Poehling, who are you talking about when you say Poels?
 
Romanov for Dach is a neutral trade. Bad trade? I don't agree with that exaggeration. We added 2nd or 3rd rounder to make this deal work. That does not make it lobsided or a "bad trade" narrative. The book is yet to be completed. Dach getting injured last year derailed his momentum. We are talking about a big boy with skating and skill at age 24. Yeah, we want more points and I believe it will come. The base of this trade was not who they are from age 22-24, it was about who they will be from age 25+

Who is Poels? Poehling? If so, he is a depth player. He's not a 3rd liner on 2/3's of the teams in the NHL. If not Poehling, who are you talking about when you say Poels?
Im clearly talking about Poehling.
If a 30 point center who can play great defense isnt a 3rd liner. I honestly don't know what is.
He would be a 3rd line center on 90% of the league. Off the top of my head, i can only think of Florida and maybe LA where he wouldn't be a 3C.
Not sure why you dont like the player. Not many flaws.


In my opinion, Romanov is worth more, and will continue to be a better player than Dach.
I take a #3 Dman who can hit and play physical over a low end 2C 1 dimensional player. I think its a bad trade, nobody used the hyperbole of lopsided. At the end of the day your love for Dach comes from faith, hopefully it works out for us. I dont, which is why i see it as a bad trade. I think he tops off as a Michael Rasmuessen
 

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