GDT: NHL 24 Draft Combine June 3-8 NOT the trade, roster or KK thread

[badfish]

For me, the bounty thing for Villeneuve doesn't bother me at all. I feel like he has a bit of Tom Wilson in him, he will play right up to the edge. I also think there's untapped offensive potential there. He spent a lot of the first half of the season playing down in the lineup. Sudbury had a deep forward group this year, the first line was the high pedigree guys like Dvorsky/Goyette/Musty. The second line had a bunch of 19/20 year olds. Villeneuve was on the 3rd to start the season but worked his way up through the year and in the second half played more on the 2nd line/got reps with the 1st line offensive guys.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Gorton, Hughes and Lapointe at dinner wtih Lindstrom.
Lindstrom working on his skating with a specialist this summer.
Had dinner twice with scouts from Montreal during the year.

Obvious their interest in him is high.

 

[sheed36]

My fear is passing up on a legitimate BPA to draft for need...

I hear ya. Just the Habs luck that the top of this draft as some great LHD prospects available where they're picking @ 5 and the Habs are deep there and not looking to draft a LHD.

I just hope at this point they get this pick right because they really can't afford to miss on this 5th overall pick.

 

[Tyson]

Gorton, Hughes and Lapointe at dinner wtih Lindstrom.
Lindstrom working on his skating with a specialist this summer.
Had dinner twice with scouts from Montreal during the year.

Obvious their interest in him is high.

He seems like a great kid.

 

[Habs Icing]

Not taking him then

Seeing Gorton's physique maybe this is his way of getting the Habs to pay for his dinners.

 

[YukonCornelius 5thOA]

For me, the bounty thing for Villeneuve doesn't bother me at all. I feel like he has a bit of Tom Wilson in him, he will play right up to the edge. I also think there's untapped offensive potential there. He spent a lot of the first half of the season playing down in the lineup. Sudbury had a deep forward group this year, the first line was the high pedigree guys like Dvorsky/Goyette/Musty. The second line had a bunch of 19/20 year olds. Villeneuve was on the 3rd to start the season but worked his way up through the year and in the second half played more on the 2nd line/got reps with the 1st line offensive guys.

That’s cause you’re a bad fish!

 

[Cubebrick]

I wonder who the first real surprise will be in the draft. I thought it might be Solberg but he seems guaranteed to go in the teens now. Maybe Beaudoin going top 20?

My guesses would be Yakemchuk going top 5/6/7/ rather than early teens where he's often listed, or Hage/Luchanko going early teens. Agree on Solberg, and Beaudoin isn't a bad bet for top 20 either although maybe his offensive upside holds him back a little bit.

I second the Yakemchuk and Luchanko picks.

While there are question marks in Yakemchuk's game, there's still a lot to like. Big, mean and very talented with high end top speed (very average first steps though). His game has plenty of room to grow. I can see scouts falling in love with his profile. I think he can go as early as 3.

Luchanko may be seen as a boring player (not to me, personally) but he's a coach's dream since he's a can-do-it-all type of C despite being on the smaller side. His game checks a lot of boxes and his tools and toolbox translates to the pros very well. Him going top 15 would not surprise me at all.

 

[Tyson]

I hear ya. Just the Habs luck that the top of this draft as some great LHD prospects available where they're picking @ 5 and the Habs are deep there and not looking to draft a LHD.

I just hope at this point they get this pick right because they really can't afford to miss on this 5th overall pick.

I remember being shocked when they drafted Carey Price at #5 when they had Jose Theodore who was still in his prime...

 

[Habs Icing]

Dinner with Lindstrom Tuesday. Dickinson dinner Thursday.

They also invited Helenius to dinner but when they gave him the menu and asked him what he wanted to eat, he didn’t respond.

The joke went over my head

 

[Runner77]

That's what they should be doing. Refreshing

Refreshing is exactly what @Habs exclaims, after he doctors other people’s tackle boxes.

But yeah, there is no substitute for this kind of readily available intel, straight from the horse’s mouth. As others have posited, you never know if or when one of these interviewees ends up a Hab down the line.

 

[hardcorehabs]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

 

[Tyson]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

Based on their internal meetings etc. You are right that they are interchangeable

 

[Schooner Guy]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

And every team will have a different order.

 

[Runner77]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

That’s what the pundits are saying but we don’t know the read Habs scouting has on the first rounders.

Where the Habs see tiers and separation are data points that are not available to us, obviously. Maybe some orgs will have looser rankings for those 4-12 picks.

If some teams have little or no separation in their rankings within that range of picks, that could present a huge drafting opportunity were the Habs be able to move up.

 

[le_sean]

No dinner for Sennecke. Welcome to Montreal!

 

[WeThreeKings]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1799143563747311935

Pretty tepid here from Sennecke.. but met with CBJ who has 4 and Utah who has 6.. so teams around us are having dinner with him.

 

[sheed36]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

Maybe it's just that everyone doesn't have the same opinion as you that 4ish - 12ish is as interchangeable as you feel they are.

 

[Hannibal]

Gorton, Hughes and Lapointe at dinner wtih Lindstrom.
Lindstrom working on his skating with a specialist this summer.
Had dinner twice with scouts from Montreal during the year.

Obvious their interest in him is high.

Hell yea!!!! Please be our pick!!

 

[JoelWarlord]

God I can't believe there's still 3 more weeks until the draft.

 

[Balthazar]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1799143563747311935

Pretty tepid here from Sennecke.. but met with CBJ who has 4 and Utah who has 6.. so teams around us are having dinner with him.

The only bad news here is CBJ is having dinners with forwards.

 

[WeThreeKings]

The only bad news here is CBJ is having dinners with forwards.

We had dinner with a defenseman and we aren't super likely to go there, too.

 

[Canadienna]

The BPA things bugs me when the group from 4ish - 12ish is very interchangeable.

How can you claim someone really is BPA.

People will say "there is no universal BPA" and "No one knows what the Habs draft list looks like" - but it would seem quite coincidental if we draft a player at our weakest organizational position two years straight at 5 overall.

Isn't it their job to distinguish traits and characteristics among that group of players to have a better than random chance of picking the best one?

If someone wants to argue that we should consider positional need over looking at the player in isolation, I can understand that - but the argument that it's all a crapshoot in this range of players so might as well draft for position, I don't.

 

[Tyson]

Nathan Villanueve with the 2nd first round pick?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Nathan Villanueve with the 2nd first round pick?

Wayyyyyy too early

 

[Runner77]

Dinners are a fool’s errand. As if teams are going to reveal their drafting strategies based on whoever chooses to go for free steak.