Player Discussion Kirby Dach: Welcome to Montreal part 2

[Pompeius Magnus]

Yeah. He’s progressing nicely. Love what MSL has done with him.

Now if he could only be nicer to Slaf… : laugh:

It was slowly getting to that point, I think, had Slaf not gotten injured .

 

[Adam Michaels]

Michkov?

I don't see Habs take Michkov unless they end up drafting around 8th-9th and he drops. If they select in the Top-5, I don't see them taking Michkov. It'll be between Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson, Smith & probably Benson depending on which spot they land on.

 

[TomKosto]

Only problem is that, as a productive 2nd liner, fans will target him for being just that, like they did with Drouin when he was producing 50+ points on the season.

We gave a young top pairing D-man for an unidimentional offensive player who goes on streak of 50pts per season, times to times. It all depends what we give for Laf.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Michkov?

I know talent wise he should but ill be very surprised if he goes #2

 

[KevSkillz4]

He is my favorite forward. Seriously. Hawks are so stupid to trade a 21 years old (22 now) 6"4 forward with great hands, great passing ability and great protection of puck.

He is a PPG potential, no doubt in my mind!

 

[Tetragrammaton]

Anderson is worth a 1st +. No way is Laffs worth that now. Wait 'til it's time for re-signing him this summer. Then offer a 2nd + Mysak/Norlinder.

Anderson straight up is a very good move. Lafreniere had 19 goals in 79 games last season. He's only 21 years old.

Dubois - Dach - Caufield
Slafkovsky - Suzuki - Lafreniere

That's a great top 6.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

He is my favorite forward. Seriously. Hawks are so stupid to trade a 21 years old (22 now) 6"4 forward with great hands, great passing ability and great protection of puck.

He is a PPG potential, no doubt in my mind!

Agreed he has it all. I have him as our 2nd best forward after superstar Caufield. What were the Hawks thinking lol? What a steal! Incredible. Amazing job HuGo.

Caufield
Dach
Suzuki
Anderson
Slafkovsky

 

[sampollock]

Dach is showing lately why he was a top 3 pick. keep it going Kirby

 

[Captain97]

I agree but I think top 9 vs top 6. Top 6 if flawed cause you need 3 lines. The question I would ponder is if we add Dubois, do we move Dach to his wing and Dvorak at 3C for now while Beck develops. Or do we go with Suzuki, Dubois, Dach up the middle. Options are a good thing

I'd have Dubois and Dach share centre duties. Taking faceoffs on their strong sides whoever gets back first. It's pretty common now for good teams to have players who be both centre or wing in the wing. Makes a huge difference when injuries occur.

I'd keep Dvorak unless we can get a good deal for him. If we do then go sign/trade for a 3C who is a tad overpriced short term.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I don't see Habs take Michkov unless they end up drafting around 8th-9th and he drops. If they select in the Top-5, I don't see them taking Michkov. It'll be between Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson, Smith & probably Benson depending on which spot they land on.

The guy is good though… I don’t think he goes later than fourth.

 

[sandviper]

There's 1C upside.. If ROR can center a cup winning team, Dach certainly could.

Probably should clarify. I agree with you 100% the upside is there, as I think with Suzuki as well. Just neither are that now, which is expected given they're barely 22 years old.

I know people get all hung up that a #1C has to be some generational or franchise talent, which doesn't have to be the case at all.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I'd have Dubois and Dach share centre duties. Taking faceoffs on their strong sides whoever gets back first. It's pretty common now for good teams to have players who be both centre or wing in the wing. Makes a huge difference when injuries occur.

I'd keep Dvorak unless we can get a good deal for him. If we do then go sign/trade for a 3C who is a tad overpriced short term.

I'm down with that. I see it the same. Dach with Dubois where they share the center role fits with me. We end up with two good lines and we can focus on the 3rd line later. Hopefully Beck is a good one. I want 3 good lines, not just 2.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

The guy is good though… I don’t think he goes later than fourth.

does anyone know if he’s committed to the KHL or any other contract ties? if the team that picks him can get him to North America next year he’ll definitely go top 5.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Probably should clarify. I agree with you 100% the upside is there, as I think with Suzuki as well. Just neither are that now, which is expected given they're barely 22 years old.

I know people get all hung up that a #1C has to be some generational or franchise talent, which doesn't have to be the case at all.

Agree. If some Habs fans want generational and/or franchise talent, we might as well have done what the Hawks have done and traded everyone including Suzuki and Caufield and keep tanking for lottery picks with the hope you hit and win the lottery.

You can be a contender without a generational talent. We will need franchise talent though and not just one. If we build the core in a 5-7 year gap range (Suzuki/Dubois to whoever we draft in the next two drafts), we can stock pile assets who grow together and they may all be in their prime at the same time which is ideal. From what I see, I think that is Gorton/Hughes plan.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

He is my favorite forward. Seriously. Hawks are so stupid to trade a 21 years old (22 now) 6"4 forward with great hands, great passing ability and great protection of puck.

He is a PPG potential, no doubt in my mind!

He was lost in Chicago. Big injury and they brought him in too quickly. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. MSL (for the most part) has shown some skills in development and “repairing” players who were previously struggling. If we’d had Therrien as our coach for example, it wouldn’t have worked. But the culture is improving and that will help us with talent acquisition in the future.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Probably should clarify. I agree with you 100% the upside is there, as I think with Suzuki as well. Just neither are that now, which is expected given they're barely 22 years old.

I know people get all hung up that a #1C has to be some generational or franchise talent, which doesn't have to be the case at all.

I think Dach and Suzuki can easily reach their full potential at 24-25 years old, that's perfect because that easily 7-8 good season after 25 years old from them at 1C and 2C. Bergeron and Krejci are still really good even their age. So if at 24-25 years old, Dach and Suzuki reach their full potential, Habs are going to be a really good team for many years. They are going leaders with Caufield. Slafkovsky, Guhle, Xhekaj and more will complete perfectly both.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

does anyone know if he’s committed to the KHL or any other contract ties? if the team that picks him can get him to North America next year he’ll definitely go top 5.

Probably have to pay the Russian team he’s on. Otherwise it might be a few years. He’s a gamble but the upside is phenomenal.

 

[KevSkillz4]

He was lost in Chicago. Big injury and they brought him in too quickly. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. MSL (for the most part) has shown some skills in development and “repairing” players who were previously struggling. If we’d had Therrien as our coach for example, it wouldn’t have worked. But the culture is improving and that will help us with talent acquisition in the future.

Agree with all you said. That's a big consolation price if Habs don't have a top 5 pick this year. Hughes basically acquire his "Zibajenad". I'm 100% confident that Dach can reach that type of level. He is too talented to can't do that.

 

[417]

He was lost in Chicago. Big injury and they brought him in too quickly. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. MSL (for the most part) has shown some skills in development and “repairing” players who were previously struggling. If we’d had Therrien as our coach for example, it wouldn’t have worked. But the culture is improving and that will help us with talent acquisition in the future.

Sometimes you also just need...time.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Sometimes you also just need...time.

This too.

Go back to the beginning of this thread and read through. There were posters saying he sucks, denying that he was misused… a lot of the same guys who don’t understand development at all. If a player struggles “it’s on them” no matter what. A lot of people are so used to seeing bad development here they don’t understand that it doesn’t work that way in all other cities.

21 year old player and guys wrote him off… No patience whatsoever.

St Louis has demonstrated some skill in reclamation projects. We should use this to our advantage. It won’t always work… but at least it’s a feasible strategy under this coach. That hasn’t been the case here for years!

And to be clear, totally fine to be wrong on a player. Everyone gets it wrong sometimes. It’s the posters who’ve consistently ignored the impact of patience and development that I think need to re-examine how they view prospect assessment. Environment matters. Development matters. Patience matters.

 

[417]

This too.

Go back to the beginning of this thread and read through. There were posters saying he sucks, denying that he was misused… same guys who don’t understand development at all. If a player struggles “it’s on them” no matter what. A lot of people are so used to seeing bad development here they don’t understand that it doesn’t work that way in all other cities.

Oh I remember trust me lol. I participated in MANY of those conversations.

21 year old player and guys wrote him off… No patience whatsoever.

Common with fans/media unfortunately. We're spoiled as hockey fans watching guys like McDavid or Makar that it convinces folks that this is the norm.

They're not, they're the exception.

St Louis has demonstrated some skill in reclamation projects. We should use this to our advantage. It won’t always work… but at least it’s a feasible strategy under this coach. That hasn’t been the case here for years!

Agreed...so far, so good with Dach, but I kind of expected this.

Loved this trade the moment it was announced.

 

[Tyson]

Dach could become the #1 center on this team. While I like Suzuki I think Dach has more potential.

 

[donghabs98]

Yep. I’d trade Anderson for him. But no more than that. If the Rangers want a premium they can go fly a kite.

I actually think Anderson would be a piece they could move Laf for (although whether they can fit him long term under the cap is the question). Anderson seems like a Gallant type of player and would be more benefitical in a playoff run than barely playing Laf.

 

[donghabs98]

He was lost in Chicago. Big injury and they brought him in too quickly. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. MSL (for the most part) has shown some skills in development and “repairing” players who were previously struggling. If we’d had Therrien as our coach for example, it wouldn’t have worked. But the culture is improving and that will help us with talent acquisition in the future.

Another key thing too is that we have finally invested in player development. Having a guy that will work with players on specific aspects of their game like Adam Nicholas is huge.

 

[Captain97]

I'm down with that. I see it the same. Dach with Dubois where they share the center role fits with me. We end up with two good lines and we can focus on the 3rd line later. Hopefully Beck is a good one. I want 3 good lines, not just 2.

For me I see our eventual 3rd line as

Roy - Beck - Mesar/Heineman

To me this seems like a real possibility