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

[Habssince89]

Wright could end up being another Suzuki and that would be amazing. If Wright is a better playmaker than Suzuki, he might end up being the guy who becomes the duo with Caufield. It sucks it isn't a stronger draft year but Wright sizes up as a high-floor #1OA

 

[Riggins]

Jiricek not in this poll is a joke. 96,9% of the fanbase is set for a huge surprise comes draft day, It will be hilarous!

I see you've entered the delusion stage of coping

 

[The Great Weal]

I feel like Habs and maybe even the Rangers have tried to be the “smartest man in the room” approach too much. Make no mistake we will take Wright.

 

[Beaker]

Wright or Cooley - I’m happy with one or the other

 

[covfefe]

I voted for Wright because I think he’s got the strongest body of work to this point.

I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt on some of the red flags. But they're definitely present, and I hope he’s willing to put the work in to sort them out next season.

 

[dcyhabs]

Recipe for disaster with a team as bad as Montreal.

It would be way more excusable than putting KK in the lineup when they were trying to win. There’s at least the possibility that he’s just done with junior and he doesn’t have to learn defence. They’ll have MSL coaching and no pressure to win.

Still probably best to get him another year of junior. He might be a guy to send to Europe to play against adults.

 

[Andrei79]

Wright is such an easy pick here. The kid took a year off because of covid and still put up 94 points, people are worrying a bit more than they should. Let him make up for that year next year if he doesn't look good in his 9 games.

Ultimately I'll trust the management with whoever they pick and how they develop him.

He also put up up those numbers despite a slow start. Since January, his numbers are excellent and even moreso in the last month. Guy came off a year without hockey, though I wish he had played somewhere.

 

[The Great Weal]

He also put up up those numbers despite a slow start. Since January, his numbers are excellent and even moreso in the last month. Guy came off a year without hockey, though I wish he had played somewhere.

Is he your guy too?

 

[Andrei79]

Is he your guy too?

I don't have enough viewings on the players to have a guy. You need a number of them to see the red flags. What I do know is I've been very impressed by how mature his game is and by his hockey IQ.

 

[Toene]

Wright could end up being another Suzuki and that would be amazing. If Wright is a better playmaker than Suzuki, he might end up being the guy who becomes the duo with Caufield. It sucks it isn't a stronger draft year but Wright sizes up as a high-floor #1OA

Both Suzuki and Wright are double threats. We need a playmaker at the blue-line though otherwise this potentially great offense will not blossom to the level we wish it to.

 

[nhlfan9191]

People were worried about us not taking the best player available if we dropped to third and drafting solely on position. Winning the lottery makes it a pretty easy decision. Some of the players at the top of the draft have made case by closing the gap, but Wright is still the consensus top pick and I don’t see that changing. It’s just convenient he also fills that positional need we’ve had for 30 years.

 

[OnceWasNot]

Wright obviously.

 

[Kojo]

Roy-Wright. Oh my god I can't wait to see that.

 

[Hoochi Papa]

What's the bear case for Wright?

Nolan Patrick comparisons don't make sense because with Patrick biggest concern were his injuries and whether he was damaged goods like Patrik Stefan.

Had a slow start but scored around 1.74 P/PG last ~35 games. In his prospect topic many were disappointed of his effort in first round of the playoffs. Are you concerned?

Overall it feels that this narrative of weak draft is a bit exaggerated. As if they already know it's 2012 all over again.

 

[NeptunesTrident]

I'd like to see Wright get traded to a better team in the OHL to see if it was the Kingston coach/lack of talent.

 

[Licou]

Well the Wright thread on the main prospects board is pretty depressing.

Main reoccurring critic appears to be that while he has a lot of tools, he doesn't seem to have any urgency in his play and doesn't get implicated enough, at least for a project 1st overall.

Oh boy...

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Wright could end up being another Suzuki and that would be amazing. If Wright is a better playmaker than Suzuki, he might end up being the guy who becomes the duo with Caufield. It sucks it isn't a stronger draft year but Wright sizes up as a high-floor #1OA

Wright has a bigger ceiling than Suzuki does.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Roy-Wright. Oh my god I can't wait to see that.

Suzuki, Caufield, Wright, Roy, Farrell & Kidney... pretty good forward group that will all be on the roster together in a few years.

Add to that Ylonen, RHP & Poehling.

 

[KevSkillz4]

Wright has a bigger ceiling than Suzuki does.

Agree. Wright have better skating ability and he is going to score more goals than Suzuki too.

Both have pretty high hockey IQ with great passing ability but Wright have better skating and better scoring ability.

Wright, Suzuki and Caufield will be fun to watch for many years!!

Shane Wright is a pretty great two-way player but he got a elite shot. This guy he is going to score a lot in NHL. Not like Matthews, but we can certainly hope a 30-35 goal scorer per season. That's pretty good for a great two-way C.

Amazing day to be a Habs fan!!

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Well the Wright thread on the main prospects board is pretty depressing.

Main reoccurring critic appears to be that while he has a lot of tools, he doesn't seem to have any urgency in his play and doesn't get implicated enough, at least for a project 1st overall.

Oh boy...

He had a rough first half. Great 2nd half though. His coach in Kingston apparently has little experience and that probably hasn’t helped.

My feeling is that you’re talking about a player who’s been dominant his whole life. One of a handful who were granted exceptional status. We know he’s a strong two way player.

I tend to think he’s got franchise player talent and has had a bit of an off year for various reasons. His 2nd half gives me confidence that it’s a fluke. Overall he’s been awesome. I think it will continue.

Full disclosure- I don’t follow the minors. Never seen him play. Others here would have a better sense of him. I’m going by research that I’ve done on my own and it’s not overly extensive. So take my opinions for what they’re worth…

 

[The Great Weal]

I don't have enough viewings on the players to have a guy. You need a number of them to see the red flags. What I do know is I've been very impressed by how mature his game is and by his hockey IQ.

I still think he can be a superstar but the interview process will be crucial for him. He said he didn’t go to Europe because the OHL start date kept getting delayed and he didn’t want to go there for a bit of time only to come back. Also his foot injury didn’t help either. However if after a year it’s still affecting him deeply, you have to wonder if it will affect him in the future too.

 

[Licou]

He had a rough first half. Great 2nd half though. His coach in Kingston apparently has little experience and that probably hasn’t helped.

My feeling is that you’re talking about a player who’s been dominant his whole life. One of a handful who were granted exceptional status. We know he’s a strong two way player.

I tend to think he’s got franchise player talent and has had a bit of an off year for various reasons. His 2nd half gives me confidence that it’s a fluke. Overall he’s been awesome. I think it will continue.

Full disclosure- I don’t follow the minors. Never seen him play. Others here would have a better sense of him. I’m going by research that I’ve done on my own and it’s not overly extensive. So take my opinions for what they’re worth…

I was able to watch 2 periods of his game tonight.

He makes smarts plays. He doesn't seem to like carrying the puck.

He plays like a 3rd defenseman, it's weird. That could be the lack of team structure, or he is just covering for the team's awful D.. I don't know.

I will try and catch more games.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

If he does return to the OHL i hope he gets traded i really dont like hes team

 

[Adam Michaels]

He had a rough first half. Great 2nd half though. His coach in Kingston apparently has little experience and that probably hasn’t helped.

My feeling is that you’re talking about a player who’s been dominant his whole life. One of a handful who were granted exceptional status. We know he’s a strong two way player.

I tend to think he’s got franchise player talent and has had a bit of an off year for various reasons. His 2nd half gives me confidence that it’s a fluke. Overall he’s been awesome. I think it will continue.

Full disclosure- I don’t follow the minors. Never seen him play. Others here would have a better sense of him. I’m going by research that I’ve done on my own and it’s not overly extensive. So take my opinions for what they’re worth…

I also think it can't be ignored that he didn't play at all last year. That's a year of development that he missed out on.

Shane Wright is no Connor McDavid, but Connor was als granted exceptional status and they both put up 66 pts in their 15/16 year old seasons. McDavid did in in 63 games, Shane did it in 58. McDavid scored 25 goals that year, Shane score 39.

Shane is not generational like McDavid, but he is still an exceptional player.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I also think it can't be ignored that he didn't play at all last year. That's a year of development that he missed out on.

Shane Wright is no Connor McDavid, but Connor was als granted exceptional status and they both put up 66 pts in their 15/16 year old seasons. McDavid did in in 63 games, Shane did it in 58. McDavid scored 25 goals that year, Shane score 39.

Shane is not generational like McDavid, but he is still an exceptional player.

I don’t expect McDavid. But he clearly has the capability to be a franchise player. Will he achieve that? Don’t know. But at least the potential is there.