Hutson, Slaf or Rainmaker?

[Kudo Shinichi]

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.

Hutson has the potential to be the next Makar/Fox/Hughes. All 3 would go top 3 in a re-draft. There's nothing troubling about it.

Slafkovsky and Reinbacher have much higher floors than Hutson while still having a high ceiling, which is why they got picked top 5 and Hutson was not.

 

[sansabri]

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.

why? covid made sure that draft would have the most 'steals' in later rounds. we got Engstrom late in the 3rd and some see top pair potential in him

 

[Hins77]

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.

It will more troubling when in 5 years. It gonna have more vote to Hutson than Slaf. Haha. I think that Hutson is the home run.

 

[montreal]

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.

that's only because of the lack of size. Caufield was seen as a top 5 talent going into the draft, Hutson you just don't see anyone like him in the NHL. Undersized and NOT a great skater while having the build of a 10 year old, it's not surprising to see why he fell so much.

I remember all the shit I got back when I starting ranking Subban as a 2nd round pick over McDonagh who was the 12th OA pick. It was a year after the draft and everyone kept telling me how could Subban be better when he was picked later. Prospects fall at the draft for various reasons, what matters is what they do after the draft.

 

[Gravity]

Hutson has the potential to be the next Makar/Fox/Hughes. All 3 would go top 3 in a re-draft. There's nothing troubling about it.

Slafkovsky and Reinbacher have much higher floors than Hutson while still having a high ceiling, which is why they got picked top 5 and Hutson was not.

Totally fair enough. Perhaps I'm just not as bullish on Slaf and Rein as I am on Hutson.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It will more troubling when in 5 years. It gonna have more vote to Hutson than Slaf. Haha. I think that Hutson is the home run.

It wasn’t troubling when Roy AND Richer turned out better than Svoboda. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter where you get the talent as long as you get it.

 

[Mrb1p]

I voted for Chadkovsky. I hope he crushes it when he figures out the North American game just for the laughs it would create here.

Wouldnt be any laughs, it would be awesome if he developped into a Rantanen and I dream of it daily.

 

[TT1]

I think Slaf is gonna become a workhorse top line power forward for us, that's valuable. If Hutson hits his peak tho the sky is the limit. Reinbacher is somewhere in the middle as a safe pick, risk/reward i go with Slaf.

 

[Paddyjack]

It wasn’t troubling when Roy AND Richer turned out better than Svoboda. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter where you get the talent as long as you get it.

To be fair, Svoboda had a fantastic career. I remember Jean Perron saying "Svoboda, it's like Vivaldi on the ice"

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

To be fair, Svoboda had a fantastic career. I remember Jean Perron saying "Svoboda, it's like Vivaldi on the ice"

Absolutely. That’s the great thing about getting later picks that pan out. Subban was taken well after McD and Max. With a top five the odds are pretty good you’ll at least get a good player. If your superstar comes with a late draft pick and your top five is merely ‘good’, it’s a great draft.

 

[OldCraig71]

Wouldnt be any laughs, it would be awesome if he developped into a Rantanen and I dream of it daily.

We all have different things we can laugh at.

 

[JianYang]

Oof, that's a tough one. Reinbacher is the safe choice, but on the odd chance that Hutson or slaf hit their ceiling, then the answer changes.

Never thought I'd see a Habs player with a worse nick name than Jiri Sekac's "cakes"...but this "Rainmaker" might beat that out lol

To answer the question.

I'll take the player with the highest upside.

Slafkovsky.

Rainmaker makes me instinctually think of basketball

 

[JianYang]

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.

Potential is one thing, but the question is who will have a more impactful career. Hutson tradeoff is that he comes with tremendous volatility. I think we can all agree that he comes with more volitility than Reinbacher.

It might be more contentious around here when comparing volatility with slaf, but to me, Hutson is the more volatile prospect.

 

[Gravity]

Potential is one thing, but the question is who will have a more impactful career. Hutson tradeoff is that he comes with tremendous volatility. I think we can all agree that he comes with more volitility than Reinbacher.

It might be more contentious around here when comparing volatility with slaf, but to me, Hutson is the more volatile prospect.

Fair but you don't draft high to play it safe. So Reinbacher being safer isn't a selling point for me.

 

[417]

Rainmaker makes me instinctually think of basketball

Shawn Kemp?

 

[JianYang]

Shawn Kemp?

Haha, the rainman. That was my second thought, but Rainmaker sounds like a nickname for a deadly 3 pt shooter.

I didn't understand kemp's nickname but it sounded cool. I guess maybe because he played in rainy Seattle?

 

[BehindTheTimes]

But that “problem” is greatly neutralized if you get a top five player in the 2nd round.

We had a great draft in 22 overall. Very possible we got the wrong guy at number one (and I agree we’re not properly developing him) but it was unfortunately a weird draft given the Covid situation.

Slaf is a project. They knew it when they drafted him. He might well not pan out but I hate the way people have already written him off.

We have no idea if we had a great 2022 draft. There’s only one elite talent in the group (Hutson) and he has question marks. I think he makes it and is a stud for a long time, but that’s not guaranteed, far from it, it’s way too early to say how good the 22 draft was.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

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.

I still think Wright will be the best in this draft.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I still think Wright will be the best in this draft.

Your loyalty is admirable.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I think our 1OA is the worst of the 3. Pretty sad imo.

 

[Garbageyuk]

Reinbacher. He has the highest floor imo - a top 4 defenseman somewhere between Patrice Brisebois and Jeff Petry. I know Brisebois has been the butt of many jokes among the fanbase over the years, and it would be a little disappointing if that’s all Reinbacher turned into, but Patrice was a top 4 D for over a decade, and had a long career as such. While disappointing, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

On the high end of his potential, he could become a guy like McDonagh, Pietrangelo, or Josi - a top, although maybe not truly elite 2-way D in the league. Obviously there’s some differences between these 3 guys, but I don’t think anyone would be disappointed if he turns out like any of them, and it’s a very realistic scenario that he does. They are/were all among the top two-way defensemen in the game.

Hutson, while very exciting and a unique prospect, has some very serious flaws in his game that may prevent him from making the NHL at all. I know that isn’t what people want to hear, and I don’t want that to be the case - I was a big proponent of drafting him leading up to last year’s draft, and was over the moon when they took him, but I have to be realistic and objective here.

The comparisons I see regularly - Krug, Q. Hughes, Makar - are misguided in the case of the first one, and downright ridiculous in regards to the latter two. He simply does not have the skating to ever be anywhere near Makar or Hughes in terms of impact, even if we ignore the fact that he is still significantly smaller than both. As for the Krug comparison, he would need to gain about 50 lbs of muscle before we can even entertain that discussion. Krug is a 5’9” ~200 lb tank. Hutson is a 148 lb twig. I think he does make the NHL because he’s talented enough to make it, but imo, it will be as a PP specialist type similar to a guy like Anthony DeAngelo, or (god forbid) M-A Bergeron. Imo he does not possess the tools to become a top two-way defenseman, and that’s without even bringing his size disadvantages into the equation.

Slafkovsky has very high potential, but im not sure how likely it is that he maxes it out. Imo, his potential ranges from a middle-six ~20-20 guy to a ~40g, 45a guy with plus physicality, grit, and toughness. His size, skating, and skill combination will make him a valuable player no matter where he ultimately ends up production-wise. Very exciting prospect.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I think our 1OA is the worst of the 3. Pretty sad imo.

Patience. The race has only begun.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

We have no idea if we had a great 2022 draft.

Hutson’s overperformed by a lot. Engstrom and Beck have overperformed. At this stage all 4 would be first rounders in a redraft.

So yeah, I’d say we have an idea that it was a pretty good draft.

There’s only one elite talent in the group (Hutson) and he has question marks. I think he makes it and is a stud for a long time, but that’s not guaranteed, far from it, it’s way too early to say how good the 22 draft was.

Slaf could be an elite talent as well. He’s got all the tools. Beck and Engstrom are looking good. Plus we traded for Dach. I think we’re going to look back on this as an important draft.

 

[Andrei79]

I still think Wright will be the best in this draft.

He certainly hasn't been on that trajectory.

 

[yianik]

What's with the Rainmaker nickname. Isn't that a corporate guy who brings in big paying clients because of his connections ? Its about as exciting as the Ottawa " Senators" as I always think of the old guys in the Senate.