Post-Game Talk: Requiem for the 2023 NHL Draft

[Runner77]

The cruelty shown to Reinbacher is a f***ing disgrace.

I honestly haven’t seen it, nor heard it from the different call-in shows I’ve listened to.

If you can direct me to links where these lunatics are plying their trade, I’d like to witness it for myself. Sadly, there is always a fringe element of mentally unstable types but that remains an outlier as a general rule and should never define a whole fan base. However, they should definitely be called out.

 

[Rapala]

"we were not taking him no matter what" yea and that's wrong. Why should we let these fools get away with that?

One of the first questions that should have been asked is was it a Corporate decision or was it a Hockey Ops decision.
There was a reason we were getting reports that any team taking Michkov early on would need the top brass to agree to it.
That sure as heck sounds Corporate to me. If it was a political decision I wouldn't be the one who could say they are wrong for taking that stance.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Dude, all you've been doing the last 3 days is being over dramatic about Michkov. Seriously!

And? I was enthusiastic about picking the best forward (IMO) we would have since Guy Lafleur.

To try to turn that into me or others being "cruel" to Reinbacher is nonsense.

"Either you go along with the program, or you're being cruel." Is that the dichotomy we're being trapped in here?

I haven't said a single bad word about Reinbacher.

 

[Bacchus1]

"Russian" is not a race, its a nationality. But yeah, you might suffer from russo-phobia.

There is only one race of humans. Different skin tones does not make a new species. Russian is a geopolitical identity not even based on ethnicity. If someone doesn’t like Russians then they are discriminatory against Russians.

 

[26Mats]

I don't think they passed on Michkov due to Molson. They simply think Reinbacher is the better pick for the team.

People keep throwing the word generational around with Michkov, like we gave up the Russian Crosby, or something. We didn't.

He's good, and I supported his drafting, but the whining about passing him over is just embarrassing. The cruelty shown to Reinbacher is a f***ing disgrace. I don't mean to apply these last 2 comments to you. They're just general comments about the situation.

Hearing Bobrov and Martin Lapointe speak about the draft, and the fact that they drafted 3 Russians, yes we see it wasn't the Russian factor and it wasn't drafting for need.

The scouts genuinely think Reinbacher will help us win a cup more than Michkov. They think Reinbacher will be better for the team culture and better in the playoffs, no matter who puts up bigger numbers in the regular season.

 

[Gravity]

Canadiens draft thoughts: The Reinbacher fallout, a quiet free agency and the run on goalies

How fan reaction to the David Reinbacher pick is being received, some updates on offseason plans and more in this Canadiens draft notebook.

theathletic.com

Interesting comments about the reaction fans had on social media. Seems to have really surprised management

Neither does messing up the draft Kent. Both things hurt.

 

[Rapala]

If you know someones gonna murder your mom months in advance, do you just accept the fact and move on from your mom?

What does this even mean? Are you seriously equating not selecting a specific player with someones Mom getting murdered.

 

[River Meadow]

Oh snap

 

[BenchBrawl]

Joe Sakic was not as good as Mario Lemieux, and I would be out of my f***ing mind if the brass picked Sakic over Lemieux.

Is that being cruel to Sakic?

 

[Runner77]

Canadiens draft thoughts: The Reinbacher fallout, a quiet free agency and the run on goalies

How fan reaction to the David Reinbacher pick is being received, some updates on offseason plans and more in this Canadiens draft notebook.

theathletic.com

Interesting comments about the reaction fans had on social media. Seems to have really surprised management

Thanks but that link is useless, it’s an article behind a paywall. I won’t be subscribing to The Athletic after they purged so many sportswriters lately.

 

[26Mats]

And? I was enthusiastic about picking the best forward (IMO) we would have since Guy Lafleur.

To try to turn that into me or others being "cruel" to Reinbacher is nonsense.

"Either you go along with the program, or you're being cruel." Is that the dichotomy we're being trapped in here?

I haven't said a single bad word about Reinbacher.

As a fellow fan who wanted Michkov, I have been glad to hear that they selected Reinbacher because they think he gives us a better chance to win cups, to win playoff games, regardless of what numbers each puts up in the regular season.

It wasn't due to need. It wasn't due to the Russian factor. It was due to them thinking Reinbacher is BPA, for the purpose of winning cups.

 

[RationalExpectations]

I like the Reinbacher pick and had him at 5 before Smith after Michkov in my mock.

That being said two scenarii I could see us regretting would have been :
- Take Michkov : if there is no behavioural red flags, Michkov likely becomes the better player and maybe generational but right now feels like unidimensional
- Take Askarov + 15 +24 and select Sandin Pelikka if it was really an offer on the table and Askarov becomes next Price while Sandin Pelikka is the next Karlsson

We are not in the room during interviews, so maybe ASP and Michkov did not interview so well. Interviews can t be ignored (the Yakupov story from Burke is quite telling on the matter)

What I regret is that in both drafts HuGo was in, no center was really in contention at the time they picked (I am not sure about Wright and Cooley s potential as 1OA), but MTL got lucky to have a Reinbacher after passing over Nemec Jiricek

 

[NotProkofievian]

It really does seem like our scouts don't give 2 shits about production. Incidentally, the players with the most impressive statistical profiles are both defensemen: Reinbacher and Konyushkov.

It was a bit the same thing last year. The most impressive statistical profile from last year was Hutson. Beck, Guindon, Vinzenz, and even Slaf had very blah production.

As Beck has shown, you can win the game of picking against stats sometimes. But if you always pick against them, you're basically not going to have any super offensive threats in your prospect pool.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Though if this were true I would think Hughes would say it but what if Michkov in the interview was like "I want to play in big market American city" and after hearing that they figured if they drafted him he might potentially just stay in the KHL?

my evidence? He went to New York before the draft, the most American city.

Anyways that's my theory.

Well, he was on his way to Nashville for the draft, and New York is the main entry way for Internationals coming to the U.S. so that really doesn't mean anything.

According to Friedman he did stop in Philadelphia to meet the Flyers brass. Coyotes leaked that they got the impression Michkov didn't want to play for them, while Simashev & But did, so who knows how the meeting went with Montreal.



Montreal met with him Monday in Nashville. Michkov by then had had a tour of the Flyers facilities, met some Flyers, etc, etc.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Well, he was on his way to Nashville for the draft, and New York is the main entry way for Internationals coming to the U.S. so that really doesn't mean anything.

According to Friedman he did stop in Philadelphia to meet the Flyers brass. Coyotes leaked that they got the impression Michkov didn't want to play for them, while Simashev & But did, so who knows how the meeting went with Montreal.



Montreal met with him Monday in Nashville. Michkov by then had had a tour of the Flyers facilities, met some Flyers, etc, etc.

So Brière went the extra mile and was extremely smart about it, to make Michkov feel wanted by his team, which may have led to him preferring the Flyers (or not). Still, you got to respect the effort by Brière. It's a business but everyone is human, so just knowing the facility and the people face to face already, can move the needle.

Eras can be defined by little things like this.

 

[Runner77]

Habs using burner accounts? Is this real?

 

[Mrb1p]

What does this even mean? Are you seriously equating not selecting a specific player with someones Mom getting murdered.

Its an analogy. The decision is not right from the start, no amount of "preparation" can make it right.

We drafted a Russian in this draft. They didn’t pass on Michkov because he was Russian. They passed on him because he’s tiny, they would’ve had no control over his development over the next 3 years minimum, and there were questions about his character.

I didnt say they did.

They dont have control over the NCAA goaltender they drafted with their 69th pick either.

 

[BenchBrawl]

If I owned the Canadiens, I would probably have some people checking on all social medias to get the pulse on the streets. Purely a gut-feeling that it could be useful intel at some juncture, and very cheap to implement. Not surprising if they do it.

That said, as a final word on the cruelty to Reinbacher, I'm sensitive to him not feeling welcomed because fans are outraged they passed on Michkov, even if the hatred is not directed towards Reinbacher. There's a balance there I concede, but I think it will calm down. It's only been 24 hrs. People will welcome Reinbacher with open arms as soon as training camp IMO. I know I will.

 

[Andrei79]

Bobrov, who's father is employed by SKA, seemed to imply quite a bit in that interview. From unknowns about "others" to how Reinbacher would fit team culture. Will be very interesting to see how everything will deploy over the next few years.

In any case, while I was reviewing tape in recent days, I decided to go for Michkov as my pick (started off with Will Smith, but didn't think he would be available and mentioned I thought management would choose between Reinbacher and Leonard). The reason was how he understands what works offensively to produce at an elite level. I'm not sure about the size concerns, nor the skating, as his edges were so high level (significantly better than Benson, another small forward with good edges). I can't say anything about his character though, but it seems Wright has shown red flags since the draft and Michkov himself has many uncertainties that can qualify as red flags. That Bobrov seems to imply this is interesting, but could be a misinterpretation from my part.

That said, they did take some big gambles with both Newhooks and passing over Michkov. I don't think Reinbacher is much of a gamble though. I posted my feelings previously on him and it was interesting to see Hughes describe him similar to how I viewed him. He's a very, very good player. Dallas passed on Pettersson and Makar and honestly at the level Heiskanen plays at, it doesn't really matter.

Fwiw, here are my thoughts in Reinbacher from early June :

I would be surprised if teams dont have Reinbacher very high. He's impressive. He's smart on both ends, he's already worked on many pro details in his game (his escapes, for example, but those details are numerous), he can rush the puck, he has good vision offensively and he's got a hard shot that gets through. Add that he can already pin pro players effectively while having a lot of room to bulk up... I think he's not going to wait long come draft day

Another thing I'll add is I didn't see the contradictions people are mentioning. Hughed said they lacked live viewings for Michkovs. They didn't lack live viewings for Reinbacher. Hughes did. The scouting staff didn't. Watching the whole conference, it didn't seem like they went for need, but moreso that RHDs hold more value, which is close to a fact.

As far as the rest of the draft, meh. And, I'm still wondering how they'll bolster the offense. A goalie is not an impossible asset to find. But, where will the MacKinnon or Eichel come from ? They need more darts on the board still and I'm not sure the team will be bad enough next year.

 

[Rapala]

Its an analogy. The decision is not right from the start, no amount of "preparation" can make it right.

Why did not just write this to begin with and come across as somewhat intelligent.
Your analogy besides sucking was in very poor taste.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I honestly haven’t seen it, nor heard it from the different call-in shows I’ve listened to.

If you can direct me to links where these lunatics are plying their trade, I’d like to witness it for myself. Sadly, there is always a fringe element of mentally unstable types but that remains an outlier as a general rule and should never define a whole fan base. However, they should definitely be called out.

Check Reinbacher's personal social media.

 

[Runner77]

Check Reinbacher's personal social media.

Instagram?

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Habs using burner accounts? Is this real?

No idea who this guy is, but he seems shocked that people might disagree with his point of view. Lol

 

[Toene]

So Brière went the extra mile and was extremely smart about it, to make Michkov feel wanted by his team, which may have led to him preferring the Flyers (or not). Still, you got to respect the effort by Brière. It's a business but everyone is human, so just knowing the facility and the people face to face already, can move the needle.

Eras can be defined by little things like this.

Pollock just won a gazillion cups in the 70s, and he still acquired draft capital in 1980 in case Gretzky would be available (it was the year he was eligible in the NHL draft). He was never satisfied, even after a dynasty.

Edit : t'was 1979, but my point remains. The standards have been lowered more and more since Serge Savard left as a GM.

Edit2 : it was 1980, as reported in this article Imaginez W. Gretzky en bleu-blanc-rouge

 

[nhlfan9191]

Its an analogy. The decision is not right from the start, no amount of "preparation" can make it right.


I didnt say they did.

They dont have control over the NCAA goaltender they drafted with their 69th pick either.

The KHL is basically a dark hole and from what I’ve read there isn’t much communication at all between them and the NHL. I don’t think NHL teams trust them to develop players. Even Reinbacher for example, we were able to get valid insight into who he was as a player from the team he played and there’s no doubts the NHL is his final goal. The KHL views themselves as a competing league and they only have their best interest in mind. I think that’s the biggest flag that scared teams off from him. I think Michkov’s ceiling is higher then everyone in this draft not named Bedard by far, but that didn’t stop 3 teams ahead of us from passing on him as well. Michkov can say all the right things in interviews to the public, but there’s clearly something there that scared people off.