Hutson, Slaf or Rainmaker?

[Lafleurs Guy]

I seriously doubt Hutson will be top 5, but even so, why couldn't we want more ? Why couldn't we aim for the actual best player for the 1OA ?

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what we did. We took the guy who in the long run we felt had the most upside. The guy is 6’4 210 as a teen. He’s got skill… The upside is obvious here.

As for Hutson, he just smashed every record there is. Would it be unreasonable to believe he might have the ceiling of a Quinn Hughes? If that’s what he turns into, we might well have gotten the best player in the draft. And YES it’s far from certain he’ll be able to adapt to the NHL with his size. But the upside is there.

It’s so early man. I’m not saying you don’t have some reason to wonder if we could’ve done better but it’s absolutely possible that we’ve done much better than you think. We have to give it some time.

And be honest, who did you want us to draft first? Who was your guy?

And why are we giving them so much credit for passing over a better player than Slaf twice if thats the stone were laying ? Slafs still got great upside and I still dream of him being Rantanen, but can someone tell me confidently he will be even close to that ?

Nobody can confidently tell you anything about any one of those players. That’s the kind of draft it was. We won’t know probably for at least a couple of years what we got out of that draft.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what we did. We took the guy who in the long run we felt had the most upside. The guy is 6’4 210 as a teen. He’s got skill… The upside is obvious here.

As for Hutson, he just smashed every record there is. Would it be unreasonable to believe he might have the ceiling of a Quinn Hughes? If that’s what he turns into, we might well have gotten the best player in the draft.

It’s so early man. I’m not saying you don’t have some reason to wonder if we could’ve done better but it’s absolutely possible that we’ve done much better than you think. We have to give it some time.

And be honest, who did you want us to draft first? Who was your guy?

Nobody can confidently tell you anything about any one of those players. That’s the kind of draft it was. We won’t know probably for at least a couple of years what we got out of that draft.

It was Shane Wright and don't let them try to wriggle out of that.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It was Shane Wright and don't let them try to wriggle out of that.

There you go. I had Wright as well but I would NEVER consider myself an authority on the minors as I don’t watch them myself.

I know a few people had Cooley. From what I can see, he has a great year. Maybe he’s going to be the best in that draft… maybe he has early success and our pick looks bad. But I think we should stay patient here and wait it out. We knew Slaf was a project, now we have to see it through.

It’s crazy to me that so many who advocated for a rebuild can’t actually sit through it once it’s here. This is what rebuilding looks like.

 

[WeThreeKings]

There you go. I had Wright as well but I would NEVER consider myself an authority on the minors as I don’t watch them myself.

I know a few people had Cooley. From what I can see, he has a great year. Maybe he’s going to be the best in that draft… maybe he has early success and our pick looks bad. But I think we should stay patient here and wait it out. We knew Slaf was a project, now we have to see it through.

It’s crazy to me that so many who advocated for a rebuild can’t actually sit through it once it’s here. This is what rebuilding looks like.

Cooley was a small group, I should know as I was spearheading the cause on this forum and received little support.

And yet, you can't find a post of me since the Slafkovsky selection belittling Juraj or pining for Cooley. There's way too much time left and way too much development still to come before a real logical conclusion can come into place.

I'm not gonna support people rewriting history and acting like they know better. It has simply changed around here from being mad they didn't take -their- guy, to just being mad at the selection that wasn't their guy and acting like any other choice that has a smoother development cycle since the pick was the clear and obvious choice.

These people also bake in stupid fall backs like "I wanted Slaf to succeed" or "I was this first person pushing for Reinbacher on this board" while dragging the entire forum into the mud and crying about Cooley, Jiricek, Nemec and Michkov in every thread, even if it is about a f***ing NBA Basketball team in Montreal.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

I had Slaf at 8 and Hutson at 10 pre-draft. I'm not really sure how different my list would look now, Hutson obviously blew the doors off but we still don't know how he adapts to the NHL. Slaf adapted to the NHL exactly as I feared he would (see: not at all), but he's still young and big players typically take longer. Still, I never saw particularly high upside with him, and I don't see it now.

I don't think he'll be close to Rantanen, but I also don't necessarily think he'll be Bryan Bickell.

I also don't see high upside with Reinbacher (believe I had him 10th), so I'm not really sure here. Safest pick is obviously Reinbacher, highest potential may be Slaf if he somehow figures it all out (I don't see much creativity or hockey IQ in his game), Hutson is the wildcard unicorn.

With that said, I guess Hutson since I think Reinbacher doesn't bring anything all that unique to the defense-corps beyond being a right-handed shot (I see him as a 2-3D similar to Guhle), whereas Hutson would. I also don't see Slaf hitting his supposed potential, and think he ends up as a complementary middle six winger.

 

[Habs10Habs]

My problem ? My choice was Wright and I can confidently say it was as wrong as Slaf, maybe even more. Completing a season or not doesn't change much development wise, age is not suspended because he doesn't play in the NHL. Im 30 years old, not 18 because I've never played pro hockey, lol. Jiricek, Nemec and Cooley have separated themselves from Slaf, Wright and Gauthier and Id say Gauthier has proved he could be every bit as good as Slaf and Wright.

There you go again, jumping the gun lol. Until all of those players are playing on the same level. How can you 100% without a doubt, say that one player is superior to another?

I wanted Wright as well, and was happy after all went down that he wasn't chosen by us. Whose to say that we both could have been right and he was the player we should have picked.

Jiricek, Nemec and Cooley have shown incredible potential so far, I will agree. But they've done it in inferior leagues.

Damn you're old lol I thought you were younger.

In all seriousness, I just think you should keep an open mind. Slaf is a project, there's no secret that he was drafted for his potential. Not for what he brings to the table right now.

 

[Naslundforever]

All three will be nice complements to the obvious name not on that list (see below). Fun question, though; 3 different positions, athletic builds and style. Voted Slaf because 1oa and I feel his athleticism will facilitate accelerated learning. Pretty even distribution so far I see.

John Parker-Jones - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of John Parker-Jones, 2000-04-07 Brantford, ON, CAN Canada. Most recently in the AHL with Ontario Reign. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[Jaynki]

Biggest upside imo is Lane Hutson as a megastar, offensive dynamo, PPG+ defenseman.

Reinbacher as a top pair RD is probably an untouchable and anchor pieces. Slaf as a 30G power forward, puck possession winger will also be an anchor on this team. But i don't think they have that megastar upside. (Unless Slaf goes full Draisaitl)

Obviously all of them have to reach their upside, but from a pure upside point of view, Lane Hutson imo. And thats not a knock on Reinbacher or Slafkovsky, simply a statement into how great Hutson potential is.

I don't care how small he is. He does thing with the puck that only a handful of elite NHLer can do. A 100 points NHL defenseman in his D+1 should look exactly line Lane looked in the NCAA this past season.

He has megastar upside.

 

[Paddyjack]

Jiricek, Nemec and Cooley have shown incredible potential so far, I will agree. But they've done it in inferior leagues.

Damn you're old lol I thought you were younger.

In all seriousness, I just think you should keep an open mind. Slaf is a project, there's no secret that he was drafted for his potential. Not for what he brings to the table right now.

I always get a chuckle when I hear about Jiricek and Nemec, great potential etc. Looking at the outrage on this board because we picked a D at 5OA this year over some skilled forward, can you imagine the uproar it would have been in they chose one of these two Ds at 1OA last year? Even if it turns out now that it could have been the better choice lol

I'm really looking forward to see Slaf in training camp, with one year of experience plus training in the summer, we will have a much better idea of his potential.

 

[Hins77]

3 really good player to become. Tough choice, but I value Reinbacher as the most valuable.
First of all, I predict Reinbacher as a first Dman, efficient on 3 zones. Those are just hard to find, and when you get them, you keep them. He could be a next Pietrangelo.
Lane Hutson will have a big impact too in the NHL, his floor his maybe Krug, his roof, is Adam Fox, I still prefer the Pietrangelo.
Slaf is gonna be a good one. I don’t thibk he is gonna reach Rantanen level in term of production. But those powerforward are also very rare.

 

[bopeep]

3 really good player to become. Tough choice, but I value Reinbacher as the most valuable.
First of all, I predict Reinbacher as a first Dman, efficient on 3 zones. Those are just hard to find, and when you get them, you keep them. He could be a next Pietrangelo.
Lane Hutson will have a big impact too in the NHL, his floor his maybe Krug, his roof, is Adam Fox, I still prefer the Pietrangelo.
Slaf is gonna be a good one. I don’t thibk he is gonna reach Rantanen level in term of production. But those powerforward are also very rare.

All three have legit shots, given certain things fall into place, of becoming really strong players in the NHL one day - each one possessing different strengths. Something that will capture my attention this season is that if he has as solid a year of progress / development as last year, Adam Engstrom could potentially make this conversation / poll about 4 players, not only 3.

 

[Hacketts]

Cooley was a small group, I should know as I was spearheading the cause on this forum and received little support.

And yet, you can't find a post of me since the Slafkovsky selection belittling Juraj or pining for Cooley. There's way too much time left and way too much development still to come before a real logical conclusion can come into place.

I'm not gonna support people rewriting history and acting like they know better. It has simply changed around here from being mad they didn't take -their- guy, to just being mad at the selection that wasn't their guy and acting like any other choice that has a smoother development cycle since the pick was the clear and obvious choice.

These people also bake in stupid fall backs like "I wanted Slaf to succeed" or "I was this first person pushing for Reinbacher on this board" while dragging the entire forum into the mud and crying about Cooley, Jiricek, Nemec and Michkov in every thread, even if it is about a f***ing NBA Basketball team in Montreal.

We were a small group, but a passionate one.

 

[KevSkillz4]

3 are looking very very good. They will complete perfectly Suzuki, Caufield, Dach and Guhle.

 

[salbutera]

My problem ? My choice was Wright and I can confidently say it was as wrong as Slaf, maybe even more. Completing a season or not doesn't change much development wise, age is not suspended because he doesn't play in the NHL. Im 30 years old, not 18 because I've never played pro hockey, lol. Jiricek, Nemec and Cooley have separated themselves from Slaf, Wright and Gauthier and Id say Gauthier has proved he could be every bit as good as Slaf and Wright.


I seriously doubt Hutson will be top 5, but even so, why couldn't we want more ? Why couldn't we aim for the actual best player for the 1OA ?

And why are we giving them so much credit for passing over a better player than Slaf twice if thats the stone were laying ? Slafs still got great upside and I still dream of him being Rantanen, but can someone tell me confidently he will be even close to that ?

It took over 14-years for Bergeron to be knighted the best player of 2003 draft cuvée followed by Pavelski, yet you already know BPA from 2022 draft?

 

[Hins77]

All three have legit shots, given certain things fall into place, of becoming really strong players in the NHL one day - each one possessing different strengths. Something that will capture my attention this season is that if he has as solid a year of progress / development as last year, Adam Engstrom could potentially make this conversation / poll about 4 players, not only 3.

Yeah.. I mean, this poll is like choosing between Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle.
This is tough choice, but Guys like Reinbacher are rare to find on Trade market, even more on UFA Market. We had Markov who played his career here. But since his departure. We miss that kind of dman imo. Weber was a good one sure, but we acquired him at 32 years old. I think Reinbacher could become our next markov and play here for 12 years and never looking back to find another first pairing dman.

 

[Wats]

I'd rank it:

1. Reinbacher (good mix of safe floor and good ceiling)
2. Hutson (highest upside, highest risk to not make NHL)
3. Slafkovsky (Higher floor than Hutson but not close to sure bet to be long time nhler. IMO ceiling also much lower than Hutson)

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

It took over 14-years for Bergeron to be knighted the best player of 2003 draft cuvée followed by Pavelski, yet you already know BPA from 2022 draft?

Which is totally different from you saying Wright will never be a 70 points center even before he even got drafted? Amirite?

 

[Beer and Chips]

Hutson is special, a water bug, so I expect to see him make some NHL players look silly but I also expect nights where he is scraped up so it is cloudy what he will be. It is also unclear what Slafkovsky and Popcorn will become. Too soon, it's just wishful thinking.

 

[Scriptor]

And so it was -- WRIGHT, A 70+ point player in Juniors!

 

[Xirik]

Slafkovsky will be the one with the best career in Montreal

Reinbacher will have the better career in the NHL after he is traded away after getting tired of people whining that he's not Mitchkov.

 

[Bee Holder]

Good job OP!

The vote distribution is actually very close between the 3 of them. in a 3-way vote, there's usually 1 dominant choice or 1 very low choice.

I changed my vote 3 times and ended up choosing Slaf but I can honestly see both the D-men prove me wrong!

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I always get a chuckle when I hear about Jiricek and Nemec, great potential etc. Looking at the outrage on this board because we picked a D at 5OA this year over some skilled forward, can you imagine the uproar it would have been in they chose one of these two Ds at 1OA last year? Even if it turns out now that it could have been the better choice lol

I'm really looking forward to see Slaf in training camp, with one year of experience plus training in the summer, we will have a much better idea of his potential.

I was totally fine with Nemec at #1.

Wright was my guy and that may not age well but by the time the draft rolled around I was openly saying that Nemec might possibly be the best pick.

 

[gifted88]

Reinbacher looks like an all situation minute munching Dman. Might not be the sexy pick to have the most impact, but seems like the safe bet.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

We were a small group, but a passionate one.

I too was a member of that small band of merry supporters, as Cooley fell within my rule of passing on his level of dynamic skating at your peril. Nevertheless, Slafkovsky brings an intriguing level of size, skill, skating and passion. In the end, I suspect the gap between Cooley and Slafkovsky may not be as wide as I initially feared. But look on the bright side, at least we didn’t draft Wright and for that ‘right’ decision and for Hughes’ wisdom in resisting the lure of the prevailing consensus, we should be thankful.

 

[Gravity]

I know he had an amazing D+1 but the fact that a late 2nd has higher potential than a 1st OV and 5th OV is very troubling.