Silayev, Lindstrom, Catton, Iginla, Parekh, Eiserman

[GrandmaCookie]

It all hinges on Chicago. Anaheim is going D.

And Columbus. The #4 pick will be nerve wrecking.

 

[The Last Red]

And Columbus. The #4 pick will be nerve wrecking.

Columbus is picking what's left of Demidov and/or Lindstrom so their pick iis not the determinitive one. Chicago is the wildcard here.

 

[GrandmaCookie]

Columbus is picking what's left of Demidov and/or Lindstrom so their pick iis not the determinitive one. Chicago is the wildcard here.

The pick Colombus will make will determinate which player we end up with. So I would say their pick is pretty determinitive too, unless you judge Demidov and Lindstrom to be the same quality of prospect.

 

[The Last Red]

The pick Colombus will make will determinate which player we end up with. So I would say their pick is pretty determinitive too, unless you judge Demidov and Lindstrom to be the same quality of prospect.

I'd be content with either one, even if Demidov is more talented. You need Lindstroms in your top 6 forward group to win Cups.

I'd also be fine with Buium IF there is a trade in place for a young top 6 F who's way better than Alex Newhook. But I'm highly skeptical that this can happen.

 

[montreal]

My top choice, and the player most unlikely to be available at 5 OA, is Buium. All you have to know is that he is a bigger and faster version of Hutson. If you believe that Hutson is Montreal's top prospect, what more do you want?

I haven't seen much of Buium but to me the question would be what would happen if you put Lane Hutson on DU's roster. I don't think Buium has the same kind of offensive game as Hutson, who imo there has just never been anyone like him.

Last year Hutson had no one. BU's 2nd leading scorer was Matt Brown. Hutson was 1 goal away from being able to say that no one on his team had more goals, or assists or points as an 18 year old Freshman that looks like he's 12. Personally I put more stock into a player that every night teams had the same game plan, stop Lane Hutson. Clearly not the case for Buium who was tied for 9th on his team in goals, 1st in assists and 2nd in points as DU had 11 skaters with 31 or more points.

 

[JRichard]

My top choice, and the player most unlikely to be available at 5 OA, is Buium. All you have to know is that he is a bigger and faster version of Hutson. If you believe that Hutson is Montreal's top prospect, what more do you want? With probably the weakest group of forwards in the league, the Canadiens were competitive in most games last year. That was as a result of having one of the league's most mobile group of defencemen. Can you imagine a blueline n two years built around Guhle, Hutson, Buium, Reinbacher, Harris, Struble and Xhekaj? We had a chance to draft Quinn Hughes in 2017 and foolishly took a pass. Hopefully, if given the opportunity, we won't make the same mistake on Friday.

# 2 is Iginla. One of the youngest players available in the draft, Iginla has the skating, skill, offensive vision/flair and a high compete level that this team needs. Iginla is a player who projects to be a highly impactful, productive top 6 forward for this team for the next decade.

#3 is Dickinson. A large, mobile defender, Dickinson is the type of player you win with. He has great ice presence, is physical and possess an excellent shot that can overpower most goaltenders. If he had elite straightforward speed, Dickinson would be a certain top 3 pick. But his skating is more than adequate and he will provide any team that drafts him with that most valuable commodity: leadership. Dickinson has future team captain written all over him.

Just my wish list.

Didnt Mtl finished 15th out of 16 teams in goals allowed?
Without injuries to goalies and dmen.

Most mobile…
Guhle, Harris, Matheson, Savard, Kovacevic, Struble, Arber, Barron.

We know what this group is capable of. Not a whole lot…

(Offense: 14th 1 goal for away from 13th.)

 

[The Last Red]

I haven't seen much of Buium but to me the question would be what would happen if you put Lane Hutson on DU's roster. I don't think Buium has the same kind of offensive game as Hutson, who imo there has just never been anyone like him.

Last year Hutson had no one. BU's 2nd leading scorer was Matt Brown. Hutson was 1 goal away from being able to say that no one on his team had more goals, or assists or points as an 18 year old Freshman that looks like he's 12. Personally I put more stock into a player that every night teams had the same game plan, stop Lane Hutson. Clearly not the case for Buium who was tied for 9th on his team in goals, 1st in assists and 2nd in points as DU had 11 skaters with 31 or more points.

I've seen quite a bit of Buium. He's phenomenal.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Didnt Mtl finished 15th out of 16 teams in goals allowed?
Without injuries to goalies and dmen.

Most mobile…
Guhle, Harris, Matheson, Savard, Kovacevic, Struble, Arber, Barron.

We know what this group is capable of. Not a whole lot…

(Offense: 14th 1 goal for away from 13th.)

Montreal’s defencemen scored a total of 48 goals last season which tied for 4th for most goals by a team’s defence in the league. When one considers the powerhouse of forwards they were forced to play with, that statistic is even more impressive .

 

[Habs]

I'm actually getting nervous, last year's draft pick makes me wonder what they are going to do and how angry I'm going to probably be. Should I just say farewell now before my eventual draft day ban?

 

[Habssince89]

My top choice, and the player most unlikely to be available at 5 OA, is Buium. All you have to know is that he is a bigger and faster version of Hutson. If you believe that Hutson is Montreal's top prospect, what more do you want? With probably the weakest group of forwards in the league, the Canadiens were competitive in most games last year. That was as a result of having one of the league's most mobile group of defencemen. Can you imagine a blueline n two years built around Guhle, Hutson, Buium, Reinbacher, Harris, Struble and Xhekaj? We had a chance to draft Quinn Hughes in 2017 and foolishly took a pass. Hopefully, if given the opportunity, we won't make the same mistake on Friday.
It is interesting to consider this angle. We have seen the Habs be led by the D in past years, and as you said the Habs stayed competitive because they have depth and talent on the blueline, whose youth and experience combination is great. They've been through a few seasons now and are still very young. That was part of the recipe that helped Suzuki and Caufield make such strides, though it was more the playoff experience. Anyway, I think your point is strong here, and in past years I'd be asking 'well who are the D passing to?' but we have the most legit first line we've had in a long time, and Hughes will certainly compensate a D at #5 with moves to acquire a forward via a higher pick than 26 OR through trades/FA.

# 2 is Iginla. One of the youngest players available in the draft, Iginla has the skating, skill, offensive vision/flair and a high compete level that this team needs. Iginla is a player who projects to be a highly impactful, productive top 6 forward for this team for the next decade.
One looks back on a draft and you hope you aren't the team walking away with the dud (See Kostitsyn, Andrei). Iginla is probably one of the safest picks IMO. Fans of the team who picks him will say in years that X, Y, Z could've been picked by us but we love Iggy jr. I made the comparison to Suzuki recently, and I stick by it. He's well rounded and smart so I think he'll have a high floor.

#3 is Dickinson. A large, mobile defender, Dickinson is the type of player you win with. He has great ice presence, is physical and possess an excellent shot that can overpower most goaltenders. If he had elite straightforward speed, Dickinson would be a certain top 3 pick. But his skating is more than adequate and he will provide any team that drafts him with that most valuable commodity: leadership. Dickinson has future team captain written all over him.
The way people talk about him is kind of how people talk about Toews/Weber/Chara in leadership aura. It is interesting to bring in a real stud who again has a high floor
Just my wish list.

 

[BJCOLLINS]

2018 was not a massive deviation, it was a slight deviation to address an area of need. Which is partially why I don't get why so many fans are fixated on Montreal drafting a forward no matter what.

I liked a number of players before KK. Brady was the obvious BPA.

The way I understand it is if the two BPA’s are a F & D we’ll take the F.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Levshunov will not be available at 5

Celebrini is already gone. We expect Demidov and Leschunov will be taken, Lindstrom taken if medical okay, Saliyev could be gone too. Maybe Dickinson could go at 3 or 4. Who's available are Buium, Parekh, Dickinson, Catton, Iginla, Sennecke, Eiserman and few others. 5 is a good spot to take any of these, Hugo have to pick the bpa.

 

[Scintillating10]

Dickinson sounds best to me after reading that. But any of the three be good player

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Thanks for your insightful response.

A fourth player that I would have no issues with at 5 OA is probably one of the most underrated players in this draft : Yakemchuk. He has the top straight forward speed of all defencemen in this draft, his hands rival that of Hutson’s and his shot is as powerful as Dickinson’s. He’s large and is physically aggressive. He lacks some defensive acumen and his edge / agility skating ability needs improvement. But as a package, Yakemchuk offers as much upside as any defenceman in this draft if you can accept the risks that he may never fully work out and smooth the warts in his game. People marvel at Parekh’s 31 goal season but seem overlook the much larger, stronger and faster Yakemchuk’s 30 goal season.

I would be shocked if Yakemchuk goes lower than 10 OA and would have no issue if we took him at 5 OA.

 

[Habs]

Thanks for your insightful response.

A fourth player that I would have no issues with at 5 OA is probably one of the most underrated players in this draft : Yakemchuk. He has the top straight forward speed of all defencemen in this draft, his hands rival that of Hutson’s and his shot is as powerful as Dickinson’s. He’s large and is physically aggressive. He lacks some defensive acumen and his edge / agility skating ability needs improvement. But as a package, Yakemchuk offers as much upside as any defenceman in this draft if you can accept the risks that he may never fully work out and smooth the warts in his game. People marvel at Parekh’s 31 goal season but seem overlook the much larger, stronger and faster Yakemchuk’s 30 goal season.

I would be shocked if Yakemchuk goes lower than 10 OA and would have no issue if we took him at 5 OA.

They call him Yakembust in the W

 

[ChesterNimitz]

They call him Yakembust in the W

It wasn't long ago that Slafkovsky was called Slafbustsky. Who cares what others think. Use your own eyes to make a critical assessment. Let's hope Hughes and Co. employ such an approach.

 

[Habs]

It wasn't long ago that Slafkovsky was called Slafbustsky. Who cares what others think. Use your own eyes to make a critical assessment. Let's hope Hughes and Co. employ such an approach.

He plays like Brisebois

 

[The Last Red]

Don’t be shocked if Buium is the first D taken.

 

[The Last Red]

By Anaheim.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

I liked a number of players before KK. Brady was the obvious BPA.

The way I understand it is if the two BPA’s are a F & D we’ll take the F.

Zadina was the concensus BPA at Montreal's spot.

 

[MrNasty]

Here are what I have for concensus rankings ahead of McKenzie's:

Round 1

1​	Celebrini, Macklin​
2​	Demidov, Ivan​
3​	Buim, Zeev​
4​	Levshunov, Artyom​
5​	Lindstrom, Cayden​
6​	Parekh, Zayne​
7​	Dickinson, Sam​
8​	Catton, Berkly​
9​	Iginla, Tij​
10​	Silayev, Anton​
11​	Helenius, Konsta​
12​	Eiserman, Cole​
13​	Yakemchuk, Carter​
14​	Sennecke, Beckett​
15​	Brandsegg-Nygard, Michael​
16​	Greentree, Liam​
17​	Connelly, Trevor​
18​	Jiricek, Adam​
19​	Hage, Michael​
20​	Chernyshov, Igor​
21​	Luchanko, Jett​
22​	Boisvert Sacha​
23​	Artamonov, Nikita​
24​	Solberg Stian​
25​	Basha, Andrew​
26​	Hemming, Emil​
27​	Beaudoin, Cole​
28​	Ritchie, Ryder​
29​	Parascak Terik​
30​	Freij, Alfons​
31​	Stiga Teddy​
32​	Surin, Yegor​

Round 2

33​	Emery, EJ​
34​	Badinka Dominik​
35​	Vanacker, Marek​
36​	Gridin Matvei​
37​	Pettersson, Lucas​
38​	Hutson, Cole​
39​	Elick, Charlie​
40​	Sahlin Wallenius, Leo​
41​	Eriksson, Linus​
42​	Kiviharju, Aron​
43​	Mews, Henry​
44​	Miettinen, Julius​
45​	Mustard John​
46​	Howe, Tanner​
47​	Letourneau Dean​
48​	Masse, Maxim​
49​	O’Reilly, Sam​
50​	Pulkkinen Jesse​
51​	Brunicke, Harrison​
52​	Muggli, Leon​
53​	Danford, Ben​
54​	Misa, Luke​
55​	Jecho, Adam​
56​	Kleber, Adam​
57​	Bednarik Kamil​
58​	Shuravin Matvei​
59​	Galvas, Tomas​
60​	Skahan Will​
61​	Ziemer, Brodie​
62​	Marques, Miguel​
63​	Vaisanen, Veeti​
64​	Poirier, Justin​

 

[salbutera]

By Anaheim.

A Southern Cali boy no less..

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Don’t be shocked if Buium is the first D taken.

I won’t be.

 

[Rapala]

Montreal’s defencemen scored a total of 48 goals last season which tied for 4th for most goals by a team’s defence in the league. When one considers the powerhouse of forwards they were forced to play with, that statistic is even more impressive .

Montreal's D also played with a perpetual green light all season long that won't be the norm when they decide to get serious about competing.
That has to be factored in going forward.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Montreal's D also played with a perpetual green light all season long that won't be the norm when they decide to get serious about competing.
That has to be factored in going forward.

They played more one goal games than any other team. They are already competing by any objective standard. There's no switch that you can flick that allows your defence to have the mobility to become an offensive threat. Ask the Oilers. Saddled with an overall immobile defence, they were forechecked to death by the Panthers. Their defence's inability to avoid the first forechecker and gain the time and space to either skate or pass the puck out of their defensive zone was one of the leading contributors to the Oilers' defeat.