Prospect Info: Riley Kidney, LHC, Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL ), 63rd overall

[Prairie Habs]

Maybe HuGo should hire a face trainer........I think "Face" should be added as a vital scouting category somewhere between skating and shooting.

 

[jfm133]

If a player has the beard of a grown man at 17-18, be sure he is very close to his physical maturity. You can make silly jokes all you want, Kidney is clearly far from being a grown man. He reminds me a lot of Jake Evans in that sense.

 

[26Mats]

If a player has the beard of a grown man at 17-18, be sure he is very close to his physical maturity. You can make silly jokes all you want, Kidney is clearly far from being a grown man. He reminds me a lot of Jake Evans in that sense.

Even if there isn't a perfect correlation between facial hair and physical maturity, there certainly can be a relationship.

 

[tooji]

Kidney doesn’t skate like Evans though

one of evans biggest knocks before making the team was his skating. Now it’s one of his strengths

 

[admiralcadillac]

one of evans biggest knocks before making the team was his skating. Now it’s one of his strengths

I do remember that, hoping Kidney can make the same adjustments

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

one of evans biggest knocks before making the team was his skating. Now it’s one of his strengths

This has already been entirely disproven. Evans was always a good skater he simply didn't use it in college. Like all prospects he worked on it and improved but it was never actually a weakness. Julien spoke about this last season mentioning that it was more of an aggressive forechecking style that was now showcasing the speed that was already there. Evans played as a constant F3 at Notre Dame and rarely attempted to push the play.

Kidney still has work to do as far as I can tell but he also likes to distribute from the top so it is possible that he is also rarely going full out.

 

[Scintillating10]

This has already been entirely disproven. Evans was always a good skater he simply didn't use it in college. Like all prospects he worked on it and improved but it was never actually a weakness. Julien spoke about this last season mentioning that it was more of an aggressive forechecking style that was now showcasing the speed that was already there. Evans played as a constant F3 at Notre Dame and rarely attempted to push the play.

Kidney still has work to do as far as I can tell but he also likes to distribute from the top so it is possible that he is also rarely going full out.

Wonder if we sign Kidney this off season?

 

[Adam Michaels]

Wonder if we sign Kidney this off season?

I'm expecting him to be the next prospect signed to an ELC.

Initially, I felt Stapley would be the next one signed. But as it's been reported, Habs won't sign him. And the fact he isn't signed yet makes you feel like the reports were right.

And because of that, I think Kidney will be the next one signed.

 

[Scintillating10]

I'm expecting him to be the next prospect signed to an ELC.

Initially, I felt Stapley would be the next one signed. But as it's been reported, Habs won't sign him. And the fact he isn't signed yet makes you feel like the reports were right.

And because of that, I think Kidney will be the next one signed.

Yeah, can only sign so many. Think Farrell and Kidney similar players?

 

[Naslundforever]

Even if there isn't a perfect correlation between facial hair and physical maturity, there certainly can be a relationship.

And like Suzuki said on lgbt awareness night, all relationship are welcomed at the rink, including between bearded men.

 

[danyhabsfan]

For Acadie-Bathurst

Kidney 19 years old 93 pts in 61 games
Lapierre (1st rounder) 20 years old 51 pts in 38 games

 

[26Mats]

For Acadie-Bathurst

Kidney 19 years old 93 pts in 61 games
Lapierre (1st rounder) 20 years old 51 pts in 38 games

Maybe Kidney will be at the world juniors next year.

 

[bopeep]

Maybe Kidney will be at the world juniors next year.

Centering a line with Josh Roy on his wing

 

[Sam de Mtl]

For Acadie-Bathurst

Kidney 19 years old 93 pts in 61 games
Lapierre (1st rounder) 20 years old 51 pts in 38 games

I feel like Lapierre is a seriously overrated prospect. Similarly to Angelo Esposito a while back, people thought he fell, but he actually got picked higher than he should have because his stock had actually fallen for a reason. Like Esposito, he had a good look early. Esposito then followed to never make a career. We will see with Lapierre.

 

[danyhabsfan]

I feel like Lapierre is a seriously overrated prospect. Similarly to Angelo Esposito a while back, people thought he fell, but he actually got picked higher than he should have because his stock had actually fallen for a reason. Like Esposito, he had a good look early. Esposito then followed to never make a career. We will see with Lapierre.

Esposito tore his ACL twice.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

You could definitely make an argument now for giving him his ELC early like they did with Roy . 100 points in his D + 1 season, the kid deserves a little reward IMO. The progression from last season to now has been real impressive, it's the type of things you want to recognize.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You could definitely make an argument now for giving him his ELC early like they did with Roy . 100 points in his D + 1 season, the kid deserves a little reward IMO. The progression from last season to now has been real impressive, it's the type of things you want to recognize.

Absolutely - the two of them are also prime examples of the Habs refreshed development program.

Can they help the two improve their skating and help Kidney get the strength he needs to survive the next level?

Kidney has everything he needs skill and brain wise to be a top 9 C in the NHL. Physical elements will be the determining factor for him.

 

[JeffreyLFC]

This is veering off topic, but any drafting strategy that is only concerned about top picks is going to fail at building a contender. You need to find ways for those non-1st round picks to develop into NHL players.

Now I think there's probably a case to be made that what you look for in a player changes based on where they are ranked. So I could probably get behind something like don't use 1st round picks on poor skaters, but in the later rounds that rule no longer applies.

Tampa Bay is the best example of that.
Yes they got Stamkos/Hedman with top picks but they got money in other rounds that made them win the cup like Kucherov, Point, Palat, Killorn, Cirelli.

It will be hard to replicate that but getting valuable players from round 2-7 would definately shorten the rebuild timeframe and help us become a sustainable contender.

 

[26Mats]

Tampa Bay is the best example of that.
Yes they got Stamkos/Hedman with top picks but they got money in other rounds that made them win the cup like Kucherov, Point, Palat, Killorn, Cirelli.

It will be hard to replicate that but getting valuable players from round 2-7 would definately shorten the rebuild timeframe and help us become a sustainable contender.

Don't forget, Tampa finished bottom ten in the league 5 times in a 6 year period.

They drafted 1, 2, 6, 27, 10, 3 in that period.

Is that a fast rebuild if we finish bottom ten in 5 of the next 6 years, including bottom three in 3 of them?

 

[JeffreyLFC]

Don't forget, Tampa finished bottom ten in the league 5 times in a 6 year period.

They drafted 1, 2, 6, 27, 10, 3 in that period.

Is that a fast rebuild if we finish bottom ten in 5 of the next 6 years, including bottom three in 3 of them?

Who claimed a fast rebuild?!
It's about building a powerhouse not a playoff bubble team.

Maximizing our player development and getting top talents that is the key.

Tampa Bay had their struggle but they managed to draft and develop well their players.

 

[26Mats]

Who claimed a fast rebuild?!
It's about building a powerhouse not a playoff bubble team.

Maximizing our player development and getting top talents that is the key.

Tampa Bay had their struggle but they managed to draft and develop well their players.

Posters ALL the time think we can do a quick turnaround.

In your post you mentioned Tampa drafting well outside the 1st round sped up the rebuild. So, I was pointing out that they still finished bottom ten 5 out of 6 years. This was not quick turnaround like some posters are hoping for.

If we "speed it up" like Tamp did, it's 6 years until we're not drafting top 3. I often have conversations about how I'm willing to retain on Price and Petry to get good futures for them. And 90% of posters say no way, we're going to contend in 3-4 years. LMAO at that.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Posters ALL the time think we can do a quick turnaround.

In your post you mentioned Tampa drafting well outside the 1st round sped up the rebuild. So, I was pointing out that they still finished bottom ten 5 out of 6 years. This was not quick turnaround like some posters are hoping for.

If we "speed it up" like Tamp did, it's 6 years until we're not drafting top 3. I often have conversations about how I'm willing to retain on Price and Petry to get good futures for them. And 90% of posters say no way, we're going to contend in 3-4 years. LMAO at that.

Price is going to retire within 12 months IMO, due to not playing to an acceptable level (to him).

Petry is a good player, 17 points in his last 25 games. Has his legs back. Even a $1.25M retention should make him very attractive at $5M for 3 more years.,

 

[26Mats]

Price is going to retire within 12 months IMO, due to not playing to an acceptable level (to him).

Petry is a good player, 17 points in his last 25 games. Has his legs back. Even a $1.25M retention should make him very attractive at $5M for 3 more years.,

Yes, Price's ability to fetch a return depends on whether or not he can gain his health back. I wouldn't expect him to be traded until earliest some point innthe middle of next season, IF he can get healthy. But of course it's a big IF that he can get healthy, and it's definitely not lookong good.

I just remember Markov having all those knee injuries and then being able to come back. But yes, it's more difficult for a goalie to do so.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Posters ALL the time think we can do a quick turnaround.

In your post you mentioned Tampa drafting well outside the 1st round sped up the rebuild. So, I was pointing out that they still finished bottom ten 5 out of 6 years. This was not quick turnaround like some posters are hoping for.

If we "speed it up" like Tamp did, it's 6 years until we're not drafting top 3. I often have conversations about how I'm willing to retain on Price and Petry to get good futures for them. And 90% of posters say no way, we're going to contend in 3-4 years. LMAO at that.

You nailed it.

We’re going to be bad for Atleast another 2 years, possibly contend for playoffs in 3. Will take another 2-3 years to establish ourselves as contenders.

Of course, this is all doing it “the right way”. If management fumbles and starts picking up bandaids (I’m looking at you pro signing Letang people), then we might make the playoffs sooner but likely won’t ever content. Same old plan, different GM.

 

[26Mats]

You nailed it.

We’re going to be bad for Atleast another 2 years, possibly contend for playoffs in 3. Will take another 2-3 years to establish ourselves as contenders.

Of course, this is all doing it “the right way”. If management fumbles and starts picking up bandaids (I’m looking at you pro signing Letang people), then we might make the playoffs sooner but likely won’t ever content. Same old plan, different GM.

Thankfully, I don't think swapping in Letang for Petry will make a huge difference... if in the highly unlikely event Letang chooses to leave Pittsburgh for the worst team in the NHL.