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

[DAChampion]

Whatever they do, they need to force Wright out of Kingston.

Why?

 

[Licou]

Why?

The team coaching / structure is an absolute mess.

Wright seems to be playing 3 rd defenseman, it's mind boggling.

 

[Saxon]

The team coaching / structure is an absolute mess.

Wright seems to be playing 3 rd defenseman, it's mind boggling.

Am I wrong on thinking this may actually demonstrate that his offense will scale up well to the NHL. A lot of offensive junior prospects seem to be able to cheat for much of their offense and sometimes struggle at the next level when that isn't an option. Wright is usually starting his offense from an overly defensive position and still is very productive. Maybe I'm over thinking it?

 

[Licou]

Am I wrong on thinking this may actually demonstrate that his offense will scale up well to the NHL. A lot of offensive junior prospects seem to be able to cheat for much of their offense and sometimes struggle at the next level when that isn't an option. Wright is usually starting his offense from an overly defensive position and still is very productive. Maybe I'm over thinking it?

That's not an unreasonable way to see it for sure.

All things considered, Wright is the pick. We'll see how it pans how.

I actually don't see Wright as the safe pick. I see him as the highest upside. If we get "plateau" Wright, in the absolute worst case we may even get a dud. But if we get the Wright that burned the OHL as a 15 years old, we actually have an elite, tall center with very high compete level on our hands.

Anyway, I am probably overthinking it too

Edit: But then I read posts like these and I am "terrified":
F Shane Wright - Kingston Frontenacs, OHL (2022 Draft) Part 2

 

[Captain Mountain]

Hockey is not soccer.

Kids who dominated at such a young age in the OHL have almost all been stars, first liners and first pairers.

There are only two previous forwards who were granted exceptional status in the OHL. Tavares and McDavid. Even if Wright becomes a lesser version of what Tavares was/is, the Habs should be giddy about the prospect of having him and Suzuki down the middle for the next 7/8 seasons at least.

Wright's DY has been disappointing and its fair to question his upside, but its important to remember the context. His DY-2 was McDavid level good and there were legitimate questions as to if he could be a superstar. Lost of posters on here were getting hyped for him around the 2020 draft. That's the level of excitement he had around him.

He's not a home run pick like Bedard will probably be next year, but I've watched some Kingston tape and its pretty obvious that they're a poorly coached team. Wright looks like he has elite hockey sense and enough tools to use it. That's significant. Its fair to wonder if he has more to show in the OHL that being on a better run team would show. Tracking shows that he's both creating chances for himself and others at a very high level. Cooley might be a better playmaker, but Wright may have a better shot, more size and a more complete game.

 

[Guy Larose]

Wright for me...as for Cooley I'd be afraid with the whole College rules of eventually not playing for us if that's what he wishes.

 

[donghabs98]

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 think that has to be kept in mind too. Missing a year of development when he did is a major hit at his point in his career. Losing out of a playoff run in 2020 and a whole season in 2021 is a lot of lost development time.

 

[26Mats]

Hockey is not soccer.

Kids who dominated at such a young age in the OHL have almost all been stars, first liners and first pairers.

Almost all (Sean Day).

At any rate, I'm not an expert on Wright, so I don't want to debate too deeply. I'll step back and be patient - because I just don't have the time scout myself, unfortunately.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Wright for me...as for Cooley I'd be afraid with the whole College rules of eventually not playing for us if that's what he wishes.

I don't think that's much of a risk for a prospect of Cooley's caliber. Its not in his best interest to stay in College for 4 years, it would probably cost him a significant amount of money in earning potential.

 

[ahmedou]

 

[Saxon]

Almost all (Sean Day).

At any rate, I'm not an expert on Wright, so I don't want to debate too deeply. I'll step back and be patient - because I just don't have the time scout myself, unfortunately.

I certainly wouldn't say Day dominated the OHL at that age.

 

[BarracudaMtl]

This guy scared me little bit

 

[WeThreeKings]

This guy scared me little bit

This guy has Geekie at 1.

 

[BLONG7]

I think the secrete is to manage each player differently based on their potential and not to be obsessive with any one particular area.

You can see MSL talk about not dwelling on a system and when a player makes a mistake. But then you see him lately talk about a system. He's balancing things which I like and it's simple... he's smart and can adapt on the fly.

Kevin Bieksa said something last night about this... You don't target players confidence, skill, or potential but if they are not working hard, you can attack their energy and worth ethic. Therrien, Julien, Ducharme, and so many other coaches get obsessive with systems and it trumps everything. That's the issue.

Saw that from Bieksa too.................did not like the player in Bieksa, but he brings a ton of information from a players perspective that is very interesting. The guy seems like a much better and likeable guy off the ice, than on............he is a smart guy.
MSL should be the players coach he is, and we should hire an X's and O's guy as an associate coach.

 

[Hins77]

I just can’t imagine, at the Bell center, july 7th, the crowd is crazy. Everybody is yelling : shane wright! Shane wright! Shane wright! And finnally, the Montreal organization is going on the stage and pronounce the selection of : we are proud to select Slafkovsky. The Bell Center is gonna explode of booooo all night long loll

 

[BLONG7]

Wright for me...as for Cooley I'd be afraid with the whole College rules of eventually not playing for us if that's what he wishes.

Is Cooley staying in the NCAA for the next 2-3 years?

 

[BarracudaMtl]

I just can’t imagine, at the Bell center, july 7th, the crowd is crazy. Everybody is yelling : shane wright! Shane wright! Shane wright! And finnally, the Montreal organization is going on the stage and pronounce the selection of : we are proud to select Slafkovsky. The Bell Center is gonna explode of booooo all night long loll

 

[WickedPegJets]

Why Nemec twice lol

Is it true that you can’t pick at No. 1 twice within 5 drafts? By picking No. 1 in 2022 and presumably Shane Wright, we can’t pick No. 1 Connor Bedard in 2023?

 

[salbutera]

This guy scared me little bit

It’s a fact Wright is not an elite C - doesn’t mean he won’t be a good NHL player, but he’s not a sure fire 70+ point C

This is the dilemma for HuGo (assuming they don’t deal the pick). Wright is the safe pick, but Cooley has higher upside - very fast, more WOW factor to his game, but can that translate after 2-3 years of NCAA development?

 

[KevSkillz4]

This guy scared me little bit

This guy is a french version of Craig Button... yeah some years... he nailed it like he got Makar 1st in 2017, Forsberg 1st 2012, but he got Nichuskin ahead of MacKinnon. He have been high on Tyson Jost too...

But this year... Geekie at 1, it's a pure joke. Geekie never put 39 goals at 15 years old, Geekie never put 14 points in 5 games in WJC-18 (under 18), Geekie is maybe a good C, have good potential... but ahead of Wright, Cooley, Slafkovsky, Nemec or Jiricek... really?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Saw that from Bieksa too.................did not like the player in Bieksa, but he brings a ton of information from a players perspective that is very interesting. The guy seems like a much better and likeable guy off the ice, than on............he is a smart guy.
MSL should be the players coach he is, and we should hire an X's and O's guy as an associate coach.

Same here. Didn't really care for Bieksa as a player but as a member of the media providing his insight, he knows hockey or the management part. He's the fist one to bring up the "Trident" factor in the play in playoffs too. Habs added Eddy to that mix and that top 4D was a force in front of Price.

 

[Michelangelo]

Is it true that you can’t pick at No. 1 twice within 5 drafts? By picking No. 1 in 2022 and presumably Shane Wright, we can’t pick No. 1 Connor Bedard in 2023?

No, the rule is that you can't move up due to lottery wins more than twice in 5 years.
- We technically didn't move up so it doesn't count
- Even if we did move up to #1, we would still have the possibility of winning next year for Connor Bedard

Source: Which Recent NHL Draft Lottery Outcomes Led to the New Rule Changes?

"No single team will be able to advance in the Draft order by reason of winning a Lottery Draw more than two (2) times in any five (5) year period."

It’s important to note that the “two in five years” rule only applies to moving up in the lottery. A last-overall team doesn’t “move up” to pick first, so you can win the lottery with a 31st-place finish unlimited times. Same goes for a 30th-place team winning the No. 2 pick in the lottery.

 

[BLONG7]

Is it true that you can’t pick at No. 1 twice within 5 drafts? By picking No. 1 in 2022 and presumably Shane Wright, we can’t pick No. 1 Connor Bedard in 2023?

Think we can win the lottery again within 5 years..............new rule says only win the lottery twice during a 5 year span...

 

[Tonneau]

Is it true that you can’t pick at No. 1 twice within 5 drafts? By picking No. 1 in 2022 and presumably Shane Wright, we can’t pick No. 1 Connor Bedard in 2023?

A team can't move up by winning the lottery more than twice in a five year span.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Almost all (Sean Day).

At any rate, I'm not an expert on Wright, so I don't want to debate too deeply. I'll step back and be patient - because I just don't have the time scout myself, unfortunately.

How is Sean Day a comparison when he had a mere 16 pts in 60 games as a rookie in the OHL at 15/16 y/old, when Wright had 66pts in 58 games at the same age?

Is it true that you can’t pick at No. 1 twice within 5 drafts? By picking No. 1 in 2022 and presumably Shane Wright, we can’t pick No. 1 Connor Bedard in 2023?

No more than twice in 5 years you can win the lottery. There's a debate as to whether moving up or not with a lottery win counts as the same.