Silayev, Lindstrom, Catton, Iginla, Parekh, Eiserman

[Rapala]

This is very telling.

Iginla is definitely a Habs type pick with the character.

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Don't f*** this up Hughes. Iginla is our man. He's got the heart of a champion.

 

[Xirik]

They all have flaws that could cause them to end up disappointments, that's the nature of drafting 17 year olds. And yes it's extremely important that we get this pick right, meaning we get a great player even if not the absolute best pick in a re-draft 5 years from now.

One of the things I find somewhat ironic with regards to Lindstrom is when games played is brought up as a concern. Like sure 32 regular season isn't ideal, but you never seem # of games played brought up for Demidov with 30 MHL regular season games + 1 VHL and 4 KHL games. And just like Lindstrom has no international games either to raise/lower their stock.

Health is obviously a concern, but none of us our doctors with access to his medical files. If the team doctors review his files and say there's no concern you have to trust them, if they say there are some concern you also have to trust them and go with someone else.

Also it's not like the injury Lindstrom has is some life altering injury, It will heal and he'll be back to his regular self.

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If Lindstrom is still there at 5th OV the Habs GM should point and laugh at the Columbus organization who picked someone else instead of making the easiest selection ever.

He's the 3rd best forward of the draft and has unique qualities of being extremely skilled while being a bigger player, Honestly I could see a couple GM's picking Lindstrom ahead of Demidov.

I really Don't get where the "Lindstrom has low IQ" rumors came from, Sure he's no playmaking wizard but his intelligence is definitely not a weakness. He's better then Iginla in every way including hockey IQ, There is no reason to pick Iginla over Lindstrom.

Yes The Lindros comparison is a bit insane especially this early in his career but if you work through the reasons why someone might say that it makes a lot of sense so lets get started.

Lindstrom is a very hard player to compare to a current NHLer and the the best CURRENT player that "plays" like Lindros makes people want to run away.

You know him especially well.

Josh Anderson
....
......
........
Got your screams out of the way? good.

Anderson is a good skater that can be a Bull that goes only one direction and that's straight south and would rather push through someone rather then go around. Now sadly after Anderson does this he lacks ever other skill to score a goal or make a play.

Now imagine if Anderson had great hands, Good playmaking skills, A great shot, the body and the will to punish their opponent, That player sounds pretty great to me and do you know what player instantly comes to mind when that package is all put together?

Lindros.

Will Lindstrom be as good as Lindros? probably not. But he definitely has the same skillset to become the same type of player Lindros was. Someone who can Break games in many different ways be shrugging off opponents and scoring a goal or destroying opponents on the boards, He is the player every team in the league wishes they had in the playoffs.


Why did I make this post? Because seeing all the negative talk about Lindstrom and the hyping of a player that does everything worse then him was driving me insane over the last couple days.

Now If Lindstrom is gone then go ahead and pick Iginla as he's a good choice then.

Other good choices would be

Levshunov- Player comparison = Buff chad/Alpha Werenski

Catton- Player comparison = Winger Girioux with a slight chance at Stutzle

Helenius- Player comparison = Chippier Suzuki to Hischier

Here ends my Rant/TED talk.

 

[MD thaivuN]

It's the Fantilli effect. He does a lot of things at a high level so teams are afraid his offensive upside is limited compared to a prospect that displays a couple of elite skills and bases their game around that.

Had Lindstrom completed his 50 goals -100 pts season, he'd be out of reach.

You could get a top 6 power forward that's gonna score a crap ton of goals.

but what if you could get a mystery box instead? IT COULD LITERALLY BE ANYTHING

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Yes Kovalev could have been greater but i still take him in a top 6 before a guy like Gallagher. I take Gallagher only if my top 5 is elite level and i need some sandpaper. The weird thing with Kovalev is his stats in playoffs are better than regular season. Both his ppg and gpg are beter in playoffs.

Gallagher’s an interesting case. I’d say he was a first liner in the context of what he did. He went to the net and created havoc. He and Max did well when together but both could’ve used a center. And both were scoring in the mid 2010s and scoring was way down. But he was definitely not your typical first line player.

Desharnais never should’ve been anywhere near the first line.

 

[dcyhabs]

Yeah, I love Xhekaj, but for Tkachuk, it's a no-brainer.

In stats and toughness, sure. In terms of making the team win long term it’s a hard no. He’s been good but Ottawa has stunk while he’s been there and he was vocal about making it tough for the team to sign him.

He’s a good player but he’s not going to do what it takes to win a cup.

I’d hesitate to sign Brady as a free agent and I’d never give up a big package for him.

 

[Deebs]

Gallagher’s an interesting case. I’d say he was a first liner in the context of what he did. He went to the net and created havoc. He and Max did well when together but both could’ve used a center. And both were scoring in the mid 2010s and scoring was way down. But he was definitely not your typical first line player.

Desharnais never should’ve been anywhere near the first line.

Lil'Des at the #1C spot was a great injustice to the team. He tried his best and I'll never fault him for any of it. It was a Hockey Ops error in a very big way.

In terms of Gally, he was a F'n warrior for years. Solid complimentary player and I loved what he did for the club.

 

[Skip Bayless]

You could get a top 6 power forward that's gonna score a crap ton of goals.

but what if you could get a mystery box instead? IT COULD LITERALLY BE ANYTHING

I am confident Hughes isn't going to overthink this if he's still on board when it's our turn to pick.

 

[dcyhabs]

Laying it all on the goalie was a disaster waiting to happen, and it did...............
The teams that are left right now in the playoffs, have speed, skill, and some size....it's what is needed.
Also needed are guys who will go through a wall for each other, which is something the Habs are trying to build with some culture and character types.
6 footers, with some weight, 190-210 lbs are great but they have to have speed and skill to make it all work.


Our drafting has been so poor, especially at drafting forwards....we need skill and some size at the forward position, and we need this quickly as we move forward with the rebuild. The expectations are about to get a slight change in course, from the media and fans.

HuGo is on it, but we need to show progression and movement soon.

We need it long term. The priority is to pick up players who will move the needle long term picking up a couple of good forwards might get the habs to the playoffs faster but it won’t help them win series. They need top players at pretty much all positions. If s top C id available, great, but if it’s a top pairing LD vs a second line winger I’m voting LD.

Making the team viable short term removes the high draft picks that will make the team good long term. If they have the framework picking up a couple of middle six forwards should be easy. If the habs are clearly a bubble team then good middle six forwards won’t sign.

 

[Pacciosoftie]

When I think of Iginla, I think of a slightly better 6 foot Gallagher with a little better skating. Warrior, competitor, etc but no elite traits but can pop in 25-30 goals here and there. Sure Gally was a great complimentary top 6 in his prime but at #5 would that be our best pick, especially over some others? I’m not sure if I’m crazy to compare him to gally but that’s just what I envision.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Don't f*** this up Hughes. Iginla is our man. He's got the heart of a champion.

Yup. From what I can see (and guess), I think he has the most gains in development for those D+1, D+2, D+3 years. Iggy has earned 5-10 ranking and in a re-draft later on, I bet you he is top 3 or top 5.

 

[Habs Halifax]

When I think of Iginla, I think of a slightly better 6 foot Gallagher with a little better skating. Warrior, competitor, etc but no elite traits but can pop in 25-30 goals here and there. Sure Gally was a great complimentary top 6 in his prime but at #5 would that be our best pick, especially over some others? I’m not sure if I’m crazy to compare him to gally but that’s just what I envision.

I don't think Gallagher is a good comparison other than the hard work ethic part. I think you got Iggy's game read wrong by a big margin. Gallagher is 5'-9" and 183 lbs. Iggy is already 6'-0" and 185 lbs at age 17. Iggy has better skating and better vision/play making. He was a center at one point.

I think Suzuki is a good comparison but with a better NHL shot at the same age. Hockey IQ is high with Iggy as it was/is with Suzuki.

 

[Naslund]

When I think of Iginla, I think of a slightly better 6 foot Gallagher with a little better skating. Warrior, competitor, etc but no elite traits but can pop in 25-30 goals here and there. Sure Gally was a great complimentary top 6 in his prime but at #5 would that be our best pick, especially over some others? I’m not sure if I’m crazy to compare him to gally but that’s just what I envision.

Better skater than Gally
Stronger than Gally
Taller than Gally
Shooting skills in a different universe than Gally
Competitive nature like Gally

If he's Gally, he's Gally 3.0.

 

[Habs Halifax]

This is very telling.

Iginla is definitely a Habs type pick with the character.

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From what I have dug into, this reflects how I see Tij Iginla as well. Call me crazy but I think there is a chance someone takes him before us. Small chance but it's there.

Iginla and Demidov are close for me. Then Lindstrom. Then Catton, Sennecke, Eiserman. I would love to be able to trade up with the Jets pick and snag Eiserman. I think many are sleeping on him.

Getting Iggy and Eiserman would make me very happy. Two quality pieces that compliments our forward core very well.

 

[CanadienShark]

The only sub-six feet tall top six forwards still playing are Trochek and Stankoven. That’s 2 of 24. Sure we’ve had a skill issue up front but teams today are not winning Cups with half of their top six forwards under six feet.

Incorrect. Pavelski is undoubtedly under 6. Duchene almost certainly. Seguin as well. I know they're listed on NHL.com higher, but those are inflated.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Incorrect. Pavelski is undoubtedly under 6. Duchene almost certainly. Seguin as well. I know they're listed on NHL.com higher, but those are inflated.

To unblock this "height" conversation, look at the difference in grit between these guys..

Johnston: 6'-1" and 185 lbs
Dadonov: 5'-11" and 189 lbs
Duchene: 5'-11" and 195 lbs
Pavelski: 5'-11" and 200 lbs

Height/Weight should be looked at. Not just height. Then look at how gritty they are. It's all about work ethic and if they have the height/weight to support that style of game.

Someone like Drouin is 6'-0" and 203 lbs but he just don't like the rough stuff.

 

[CanadienShark]

To unblock this "height" conversation, look at the difference in grit between these guys..

Johnston: 6'-1" and 185 lbs
Dadonov: 5'-11" and 189 lbs
Duchene: 5'-11" and 195 lbs
Pavelski: 5'-11" and 200 lbs

Height/Weight should be looked at. Not just height. Then look at how gritty they are. It's all about work ethic and if they have the height/weight to support that style of game.

Someone like Drouin is 6'-0" and 203 lbs but he just don't like the rough stuff.

Agreed. Height isn't the be all, end all. I'm just simply pointing out that people are basing arguments off false information.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Agreed. Height isn't the be all, end all. I'm just simply pointing out that people are basing arguments off false information.

Not saying you were doing it but man... when posters talk about height only, I cringe.

 

[A Loyal Dog]

I’m ready for Columbus to break our heart and draft Iginla.

I really want 1 if Demidov/Iginla, but Demidov might be a pipe dream.

 

[Tyson]

I keep hearing that Helenius is being very under rated by many. Could he go top5?

 

[morhilane]

I keep hearing that Helenius is being very under rated by many. Could he go top5?

There was a scout who had him 3rd when Bob Mackenzie did his NHL scouts survey that released a few weeks ago, most of them had him 7-10.

I don't think he goes top 5, it would basically require the Habs to take him, but the local pundits aren't even mentioning him.

 

[Xirik]

I keep hearing that Helenius is being very under rated by many. Could he go top5?

He's the 2nd best Center in a draft where there is a lack of them in the top 15, I doubt he would go in the top 5 though.

He'll probably start be considered at 7th and definitely gone by the 13th pick, Helenius is in the group of Chernyshov, MBN of being the closest to NHL ready after Celebrini.

He could be plugged into a 3rd line center role next season and do fairly well and probably top out as a Suzuki like center, That's a pretty good player but at 5th OV there are two maybe three franchise/Allstar/gamebreaking players potentially available.

 

[Habsfan18]

THN Draft Preview 2024 arrived in my mailbox this morning.

Top 10 with “best case” NHL comps:

1. Macklin Celebrini (Elias Petterson)
2. Ivan Demidov (Mitch Marner)
3. Anton Silayev (Victor Hedman)
4. Zeev Buium (Devon Toews)
5. Sam Dickinson (Mattias Ekholm)
6. Cayden Lindstrom (Mikko Rantanen)
7. Artyom Levshunov (Jacob Chychrun)
8. Zayne Parekh (Brent Burns)
9. Tij Iginla (Brandon Hagel)
10. Konsta Helenius (Brayden Point)

Catton (Aho) and Sennecke (Kadri) are 11 and 12, for those wondering.

Keep in mind that the NHL comps have ben pretty well meaningless, historically.

 

[Miller Time]

To unblock this "height" conversation, look at the difference in grit between these guys..

Johnston: 6'-1" and 185 lbs
Dadonov: 5'-11" and 189 lbs
Duchene: 5'-11" and 195 lbs
Pavelski: 5'-11" and 200 lbs

Height/Weight should be looked at. Not just height. Then look at how gritty they are. It's all about work ethic and if they have the height/weight to support that style of game.

Someone like Drouin is 6'-0" and 203 lbs but he just don't like the rough stuff.

Yup.

It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

The notion that we have to balance out the size mix of the group is far less important than having a good mix of compete style.

For all the talk about Chiarot & Edmundson & their role (+ Weber) in our cup run, neither have had much of a defining impact in their new homes. The "Clydesdales" wouldn't have looked nearly as good without Price playing HOF caliber behind them. (& Price's track record with a range of d groups in front of him pay to rest the chicken/egg argument).

 

[V13]

This is very telling.

Iginla is definitely a Habs type pick with the character.

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He's the son of one the best team leader and captain of the last 20 years . I have no doubt that Tij inherited some of those traits and will be a leader in and off the ice for whoever draft him.

We're assured to get one of Lindstrom , Demidov , Levshuvov or Iginla. Let's get one of those 4 and call it a day. I honestly don't think we can go wrong we any of those guys.

 

[Be a Hab]

Kent Hughes said if all things equal, hes going to pick a forward.

Im expecting we pick Iginla or Lindstrom.