Which player should the Mtl Canadiens pick with their 1 st choice?

[HomaridII]

I feel theres a few different people mentioning Tavares for a few different reasons

Tavares Quality #1C
Concerns around his skating
similar things with exceptional status and only ok performance in his final year.

I don't know if I agree but I don't think many think they play alike. I actually see a lot of suzuki when i've watched him

There are no concerns about his skating. In the prospects game his 30m time was 0.03 off Savoie who is considered the top skater in the draft and good enough for 4th amongst all the prospects. He is not an elite skate but he is above average. And that is the point with Wright, he is not elite in anything except his Hockey IQ and his leadership/character but above average on everything literally.

 

[sampollock]

could MTL trade up the draft , using the 29th pick +

 

[26Mats]

could MTL trade up the draft , using the 29th pick +

Yes, I expect Gorton to be trying to do so, depending on what's left onnthe board when the puck gets closer.

 

[sampollock]

Yes, I expect Gorton to be trying to do so, depending on what's left onnthe board when the puck gets closer.

ya me too

 

[OnceWasNot]

Yakupov clearly had the offensive skill of a #1 pick but his game was unstructured, bereft of defensive effort and by all reports he had no drive to improve his weaknesses. Wright is the opposite, playing a structured and defensively responsible game and by all reports has tried hard to make it as well-rounded as possible. Any comparison between these two is ludicrous IMO.

 

[Halakitlikethat]

I don’t follow prospects like a lot of you do on here . But with the draft in Montreal, and with the first overall pick, there is no chance they draft a forward who scored only 5 goals this season. Absolutely 0 chance .

 

[Saxon]

There are no concerns about his skating. In the prospects game his 30m time was 0.03 off Savoie who is considered the top skater in the draft and good enough for 4th amongst all the prospects. He is not an elite skate but he is above average. And that is the point with Wright, he is not elite in anything except his Hockey IQ and his leadership/character but above average on everything literally.

You should watch him shoot the puck...

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I agree about the media.

I had to laugh at the Boisvert podcast. He looks bitter that no NHL or Mlb teams offered him a position. The guy comes off as arrogant but desperate.

Geekie might turn out to be a great player but anyone who has him ranked 1st at this point in time, is just looking for an "I told you so" card to hold for the future in the unlikely event that they're right. I won't even get into Nicushkin over Mackinnon lol

This is exactly what is happening, same for the Cooley crowd even though I like Cooley alot, he is not in the same class as Wright.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

I don’t follow prospects like a lot of you do on here . But with the draft in Montreal, and with the first overall pick, there is no chance they draft a forward who scored only 5 goals this season. Absolutely 0 chance .

Are you referring to a particular forward?

 

[Gillings]

Shane Wright will be drafted by the Montreal Canadiens.

End/

 

[Vachon23]

Yakupov is a brutal comparison, he was the clear #1 but his development really went off the rails once he reached the NHL. I genuinely can't explain that.

To your point, yes #1 OA's can bust but Wright isn't a good comparable to Yakupov because he plays a 200ft game. I think Tavares is an elite possession guy but I wouldn't say he focuses on defensive play that much. Maybe the Bergeron comparisons are unfair (to Bergeron) but I don't think the Tavares comparison isn't accurate either.

I feel like most people mentioning Tavares is mostly based on effort and not playing style - although you said your comparison wasn't about Wright's effort level.

The biggest difference between Wright and Yakupov/Drouin is not the 200 ft game, it’s the IQ. The 2 first didn’t have any and the other it’s his main quality

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

The biggest difference between Wright and Yakupov/Drouin is not the 200 ft game, it’s the IQ. The 2 first didn’t have any and the other it’s his main quality

I think this is the main reason so many armchair scouts are down on Wright. It takes hockey IQ to truly recognize hockey IQ........they only see the shiny things that make it to the highlight reels.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I think this is the main reason so many armchair scouts are down on Wright. It takes hockey IQ to truly recognize hockey IQ........they only see the shiny things that make it to the highlight reels.

Or they're watching him put up a big fat 0 and give 0 f***s about it while his junior team loses in embarrassing fashion to North Bay.

Like you can still have Wright 1 and understand why people have reservations. Watching him tonight you wouldn't know he's a first rounder. It's been the case too often.

 

[Mandala]

Or they're watching him put up a big fat 0 and give 0 f***s about it while his junior team loses in embarrassing fashion to North Bay.

Like you can still have Wright 1 and understand why people have reservations. Watching him tonight you wouldn't know he's a first rounder. It's been the case too often.

Caufield looked awful half of the season. Unless a generational talent, environment matters. Consensus is Wright is not. Hopefuly playing for St-Louis can help him find another gear. At the very least, if we pick Wright, Frontenac does not seem the best place for 2022-2023.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Or they're watching him put up a big fat 0 and give 0 f***s about it while his junior team loses in embarrassing fashion to North Bay.

Like you can still have Wright 1 and understand why people have reservations. Watching him tonight you wouldn't know he's a first rounder. It's been the case too often.

Just another terrible hot take fuelled entirely by bias. I think all of us know which posters are going to be irrational and will pursue their pre lottery agendas.......so far it has been entirely predictable.

Maybe if he tries a lacrosse goal or continually fails to win 1 on 3's only to have a rare one succeed and go viral on youtube he will finally win over these keen hockey minds.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Caufield looked awful half of the season. Unless a generational talent, environment matters. Consensus is Wright is not. Hopefuly playing for St-Louis can help him find another gear. At the very least, if we pick Wright, Frontenac does not seem the best place for 2022-2023.

Caufield didn't look awful at any point in his draft year nor did he in the NCAA.

This is a full year of a draft year where Wright has not taken over a single game. The excuse is foot injury, then its committed to defense, then it's the quality of his team and a bad coach. Okay well your team needs you and none of that matters, it's the OHL you're supposes to be the best prospect of this age group, so will it. He's not.

How do you watch his playoffs and not have a concern? For a supposedly hyper competitive guy he doesn't seem to want to compete.

Just another terrible hot take fuelled entirely by bias. I think all of us know which posters are going to be irrational and will pursue their pre lottery agendas.......so far it has been entirely predictable.

Maybe if he tries a lacrosse goal or continually fails to win 1 on 3's only to have a rare one succeed and go viral on youtube he will finally win over these keen hockey minds.

Are you watching him play? Is it elite hockey IQ to float through an entire game and not once challenge the opponent?

Wright is shutting down himself by doing absolutely nothing.

 

[Licou]

Caufield didn't look awful at any point in his draft year nor did he in the NCAA.

This is a full year of a draft year where Wright has not taken over a single game. The excuse is foot injury, then its committed to defense, then it's the quality of his team and a bad coach. Okay well your team needs you and none of that matters, it's the OHL you're supposes to be the best prospect of this age group, so will it. He's not.

How do you watch his playoffs and not have a concern? For a supposedly hyper competitive guy he doesn't seem to want to compete.



Are you watching him play? Is it elite hockey IQ to float through an entire game and not once challenge the opponent?

Wright is shutting down himself by doing absolutely nothing.

I second that. I watched Kingston's last game and am watching this current one and it's beyond concerning.

He doesn't stand out from his team... and his team is hot garbage...

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Caufield didn't look awful at any point in his draft year nor did he in the NCAA.

This is a full year of a draft year where Wright has not taken over a single game. The excuse is foot injury, then its committed to defense, then it's the quality of his team and a bad coach. Okay well your team needs you and none of that matters, it's the OHL you're supposes to be the best prospect of this age group, so will it. He's not.

How do you watch his playoffs and not have a concern? For a supposedly hyper competitive guy he doesn't seem to want to compete.



Are you watching him play? Is it elite hockey IQ to float through an entire game and not once challenge the opponent?

Wright is shutting down himself by doing absolutely nothing.

He is playing exactly where a center should be.....especially when his linemates are turning the puck over and bumbling his passes.

He has shown in the past that he can successfully challenge defenders but is currently focused on preparing for the NHL. I am not entirely in disagreement with you when you want to see a little more risk taking but that will come when he is surrounded by competent linemates and is encouraged to do so by his HOF head coach.

 

[The Great Weal]

Wright isn’t making a case for himself. Wake the f*** up man.

 

[WeThreeKings]

He is playing exactly where a center should be.....especially when his linemates are turning the puck over and bumbling his passes.

He has shown in the past that he can successfully challenge defenders but is currently focused on preparing for the NHL. I am not entirely in disagreement with you when you want to see a little more risk taking but that will come when he is surrounded by competent linemates and is encouraged to do so by his HOF head coach.

I don't buy the preparing for the NHL excuse and if thats the case then I really dislike that. Everyone on that team has given their all to win, and now in crunch time, you have the ability to take over a game and just don't want to?

It's not a good look. It's not comforting at all and I haven't seen the Shane Wright that I should be seeing. How long do we hold on to what he was looking to be to what he's doing right now? We have to reconcile this somehow.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I don't buy the preparing for the NHL excuse and if thats the case then I really dislike that. Everyone on that team has given their all to win, and now in crunch time, you have the ability to take over a game and just don't want to?

It's not a good look. It's not comforting at all and I haven't seen the Shane Wright that I should be seeing. How long do we hold on to what he was looking to be to what he's doing right now? We have to reconcile this somehow.

You don't have to buy it but that doesn't change the fact that he is doing exactly that.

Either way, he is going to be a Hab so you may as well jump on board. I have watched him for a very long time, starting with his GTHL days with Don Mills. The kid has always been a winner, I am not worried about him. He is just perhaps a little to eager to prove that he is defensively responsible and is too eager to accept the F3. He will adjust as the IQ is so bloody obvious with his lane recognition, multi-layered passing strategies and understanding of how to shape the geometry of a play without having the puck. Combine this with the fact that he has the size, skating and puck skills to take advantage of his mind processing the game faster than anyone on the ice. He looks like a defensively responsible center version of Huberdeau with a better shot. It may not happen right away but he will eventually be a top 10 center in the NHL and maybe even more imo.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You don't have to buy it but that doesn't change the fact that he is doing exactly that.

Either way, he is going to be a Hab so you may as well jump on board. I have watched him for a very long time, starting with his GTHL days with Don Mills. The kid has always been a winner, I am not worried about him. He is just perhaps a little to eager to prove that he is defensively responsible and is too eager to accept the F3. He will adjust as the IQ is so bloody obvious with his lane recognition, multi-layered passing strategies and understanding of how to shape the geometry of a play without having the puck. Combine this with the fact that he has the size, skating and puck skills to take advantage of his mind processing the game faster than anyone on the ice. He looks like a defensively responsible center version of Huberdeau with a better shot. It may not happen right away but he will eventually be a top 10 center in the NHL and maybe even more imo.

I agree with you on what he does really well. I'm just looking for a bit more urgency and a little bit more desire to make an impact here and when it's not there, it's naturally going to cause reservation with such a monumental pick for the franchise.

 

[River Meadow]

So... Cooley it is?

 

[Kennerback]

I am off the Shane Wright bandwagon for now. He’s head and shoulders above everyone in skills but I don’t understand why there’s always 9 players on the ice that hustle more than him. He’s continually on 1st gear and shows no urgency in his game. Is it health, stamina, there needs to be a reason… I get Slafskovski so I’m with him in the meantime.

 

[River Meadow]

I am off the Shane Wright bandwagon for now. He’s head and shoulders above everyone in skills but I don’t understand why there’s always 9 players on the ice that hustle more than him. He’s continually on 1st gear and shows no urgency in his game. Is it health, stamina, there needs to be a reason… I get Slafskovski so I’m with him in the meantime.

Slaf is a pretty unique player...