Prospect Info: Which prospect/draft position do you think are the most important to fill by priority?

[Sasha Orlov]

Still elite #1C

 

[montreal]

Still elite #1C

Suzuki vs Monty or Primeau is a no brainer

 

[Bacchus1]

#1 RD
#1C
#1 LD
#1 RW
#1 Goalie

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

We need to fill out the prospect pool with the most valuable assets available and the least valuable assets are goaltenders as their development is nearly impossible to predict and they take forever to develop.

Take the BPA skater at every pick unless a goaltender becomes the obvious pick or you just aren't high on many of skaters that are left. Disregard all goaltenders in the first round as it is just a dumb gamble to pass on 1st round talents at skater for goalies.

I suspect with all things being equal management would love to grab a stud RD and a skilled forward with size but we will have to see how the draft shakes out.

 

[nhlfan9191]

I voted #1D.

It's also not clear to me that the Habs have a #1C.

I think we do have that number one center in my opinion with Suzuki. He does a little bit of everything even if he’s not that 100 point guy and we’ve seen most of the contenders of the cap era either winning or competing with these types of guys in the top 6 down the middle. I’m more worried about the D right now. Guhle is really promising, but we really lack depth there right now, especially on the right side. Also for the first time in franchise history, we haven’t done a good job of keeping the goaltending pipeline stacked. There’s years of neglect when it comes to depth from the over reliance of Price and his early retirement really exposed that. Goaltenders seem to thrive with the atmosphere here, even if their shelf lives usually aren’t the longest so I’m definitely going for D when it comes to which is position is most important right now. I also don’t see HuGo having trouble finding the final pieces and filling out the forward depth once they have the cap space to do it. A lot of work to be done here.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Just to provide some positional value perspective I did a quick 5 year tally of drafted players by position and their relationship to standard roster formats of 12 F, 6D and 2G. It would stand to reason that if all positions were valued equally that drafting by teams with premium picks would reflect such a format (I went with top 60 as it made for an easier correlation to standard roster formats)

Year	Forwards Selected	Defence Selected	Goaltender Selected
2022	41	17	2
2021	37	21	2
2020	43	14	3
2019	35	21	4
2018	32	27	1
Total	188 (+8 vs SRC)	100 (+10 vs SRC)	12 (-18 vs SRC)
Standard Roster Construct	12	6	2
SRC Average Per 60 Players	36	18	6

SRC Expected per (5 years)

Forwards Selected 180

Defence Selected 90

Goaltenders Selected 30

Quite clearly current NHL GM's consider drafting goaltenders early to be sub optimal as relative to positional representation on NHL rosters, skaters are prioritized at a higher level than goaltenders with Dmen holding an edge over forwards for positional value and Goalies following as a distant 3rd. If you choose to categorize forwards and dmen as skaters then the numbers become even further lopsided in favour of a pro skater bias.

 

[MTL-rules]

1. Franchise forwards
2. No 1 goalie
3. Top 2 RHD

 

[SOLR]

Did you guys have a look at Buffalo's prospect pool?

We need a lot more picks.

 

[montreal]

Did you guys have a look at Buffalo's prospect pool?

We need a lot more picks.

They have had 4 top 2 picks, 10 top 10 picks in the last 10 years, would be f***ing sick to see the Habs have 4 top 2 picks, we have had 1 since 1981 and just 3 top 10 picks in the last 10 years.

 

[StCaufield]

We gave everything potential wise except a goalie. Our goalie prospects aren’t awful but it’s the weakest position prospect wise

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Goalie is by far the biggest issue unless you believe in Monty. With Primeau he showed so much in the NCAA and for the most part in the AHL but in the NHL it's been ugly although with goalies you never know as they are tough to get a good read on imo. Dobes I really like but until he turns pro and we see how that goes, there are just massive questions for the future.

If you are talking about the draft, you draft the best player no question.

Pretty much this.

It’d be great to land a strong goalie but we shouldn’t draft for position.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Just to provide some positional value perspective I did a quick 5 year tally of drafted players by position and their relationship to standard roster formats of 12 F, 6D and 2G. It would stand to reason that if all positions were valued equally that drafting by teams with premium picks would reflect such a format (I went with top 60 as it made for an easier correlation to standard roster formats)

Year	Forwards Selected	Defence Selected	Goaltender Selected
2022	41	17	2
2021	37	21	2
2020	43	14	3
2019	35	21	4
2018	32	27	1
Total	188 (+8 vs SRC)	100 (+10 vs SRC)	12 (-18 vs SRC)
Standard Roster Construct	12	6	2
SRC Average Per 60 Players	36	18	6

SRC Expected per (5 years)

Forwards Selected 180

Defence Selected 90

Goaltenders Selected 30

Quite clearly current NHL GM's consider drafting goaltenders early to be sub optimal as relative to positional representation on NHL rosters, skaters are prioritized at a higher level than goaltenders with Dmen holding an edge over forwards for positional value and Goalies following as a distant 3rd. If you choose to categorize forwards and dmen as skaters then the numbers become even further lopsided in favour of a pro skater bias.

Wrong way to look at things in my opinion. It’s not that goalies are worth less, it’s that there aren’t that many who separate themselves enough to warrant drafting high. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth as much if you draft one.

Keep position scarcity in mind. Each team is playing 12 forwards and six blueliners. There’s only one net…

If there’s a strong goalie who’s ranked highly, it’s fine to go there. Higher picked goalies do much better on the whole than lower picked ones. Yes, you can find superstar goalies later on but like any player it’s trying for the needle in the haystack. Drafting Price was among the best moves we made in the past 20 years and if some other prospect comes up and is ranked highly we shouldn’t shy away from it.

 

[NeptunesTrident]

#1-1st line Center
#2- Starting goalie
#3-#1 Right D
#4- RW

 

[jfm133]

BPA. It should be obvious to everyone. What matters is to hit, then you do a trade à la Romanov - Dach if you have too much good players. Reilly instead of Galchenyuk? Yes. Tkachuk or Hughes instead of KK? Yes. The key is to get a very good player in the top-15, then some good players.

 

[Mrb1p]

The Habs need a franchise forward. A top 5-10 guy.

Anything else is gravy until they get this.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Wrong way to look at things in my opinion. It’s not that goalies are worth less, it’s that there aren’t that many who separate themselves enough to warrant drafting high. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth as much if you draft one.

Keep position scarcity in mind. Each team is playing 12 forwards and six blueliners. There’s only one net…

If there’s a strong goalie who’s ranked highly, it’s fine to go there. Higher picked goalies do much better on the whole than lower picked ones. Yes, you can find superstar goalies later on but like any player it’s trying for the needle in the haystack. Drafting Price was among the best moves we made in the past 20 years and if some other prospect comes up and is ranked highly we shouldn’t shy away from it.

There are 2 goaltenders on every team and my table was a very telling example of the fact that goaltenders are the least valued commodity by NHL GM's. You can't say that a team only dresses 1 goaltender per game and use that as a fair representation in a 12-6-1 model and as an example of positional scarcity. The backup goaltender can play close to 50% of the games on some teams but most play closer to 20%-40& of the time which is more ice time than most forwards and dmen over the course of the season. To disqualify a player who plays 60 minute games but less than half of the games just doesn't make any sense especially when that player is often a player that the team spent a draft pick on as goalies take forever to become starters. Furthermore if you want to diminish the value of a backup goaltender by using a 12-6-1 model then you have to do the same for the skaters and use a 6-3-1 model if you are only going to count the most impactful players at every position. Just because goaltenders don't play every game you can't disqualify a backup goalie because it is not possible to play your starter 82 games or anywhere remotely close to that just like you can't play your skaters 60 minutes per game.....therefore a backup goaltender is absolutely an important commodity that is rightfully represented in the standard roster construction (12-6-2) that I was referring to.

If GM's valued goalies as much as skaters it would be reflected in the draft and the opposite has proven to be true at such a profound level that there is little discussion to be had. I did an earlier dive into the absurdity of wasting 1st round picks on goaltenders that weren't borderline generational talents as well. Targeting later 2nd rounders and goalies in the following rounds has undeniably proven to be a more efficient method of finding starting goaltenders over the last decade and has clearly been embraced by the scouting community at the NHL level.

 

[Team_Spirit]

A top 5-10 D men would help more than a top 5-10 forward.

Makar
Hedman
Pietrangelo
Carlsson
Letang
Keith
Doughty
Chara
Pronger
Lidstrom

Need a monster playing 30min per game tilting the ice our way every time he's out there.

Oilers won't win for that reason McDavid was otherworldly last playoffs and he could not get the Oilers to the Finals by himself.

 

[DAChampion]

Just to provide some positional value perspective I did a quick 5 year tally of drafted players by position and their relationship to standard roster formats of 12 F, 6D and 2G. It would stand to reason that if all positions were valued equally that drafting by teams with premium picks would reflect such a format (I went with top 60 as it made for an easier correlation to standard roster formats)

Year	Forwards Selected	Defence Selected	Goaltender Selected
2022	41	17	2
2021	37	21	2
2020	43	14	3
2019	35	21	4
2018	32	27	1
Total	188 (+8 vs SRC)	100 (+10 vs SRC)	12 (-18 vs SRC)
Standard Roster Construct	12	6	2
SRC Average Per 60 Players	36	18	6

SRC Expected per (5 years)

Forwards Selected 180

Defence Selected 90

Goaltenders Selected 30

Quite clearly current NHL GM's consider drafting goaltenders early to be sub optimal as relative to positional representation on NHL rosters, skaters are prioritized at a higher level than goaltenders with Dmen holding an edge over forwards for positional value and Goalies following as a distant 3rd. If you choose to categorize forwards and dmen as skaters then the numbers become even further lopsided in favour of a pro skater bias.

Thanks for tabulating this. I would not have expected the offset for dmen and forwards to be so similar.

I guess that dmen are more valuable, bit forwards are easier to evaluate.

 

[the]

As of right now this team needs a Andrei Markov.

 

[Mrb1p]

As of right now this team needs a Andrei Markov.

Needs a Connor Mcdavid much more than an Andrei Markov.

The only thing that it may need more is a Carey Price.

 

[jdc24]

Starting goalie

 

[Nevins]

You shouldn’t care about which order these positions are filled.
Are you going to pass on a #1RD because you don’t have a goalie yet? Those players are difficult enough to find that you should jump on the occasion when it presents itself.

My policy is to always pick the best player available because ultimately we can meet our needs by making trades. But the lack of quality right-handed defenseman and future #1 goalie is a real need.

 

[Nevins]

There's already Hutson, Mailloux, Barron, etc. Maybe you didn't understand, I think the only non BPA need is goalie; as for the rest, draft BPA.

Are we sure that Mailloux and Barron will play in the NHL? And that they will be #1 right-handed defenders? No and No...Hutson can play right but is this ideal ? In fact, the lack of depth on the right defense and the #1 goaltender are equally important needs.Maybe i understand much better…

1. RD puck mover QB for pp
2. 2C unless Dach develops
3. Starting Goalie
4. Winger

Bingo

 

[Nevins]

Just to provide some positional value perspective I did a quick 5 year tally of drafted players by position and their relationship to standard roster formats of 12 F, 6D and 2G. It would stand to reason that if all positions were valued equally that drafting by teams with premium picks would reflect such a format (I went with top 60 as it made for an easier correlation to standard roster formats)

Year	Forwards Selected	Defence Selected	Goaltender Selected
2022	41	17	2
2021	37	21	2
2020	43	14	3
2019	35	21	4
2018	32	27	1
Total	188 (+8 vs SRC)	100 (+10 vs SRC)	12 (-18 vs SRC)
Standard Roster Construct	12	6	2
SRC Average Per 60 Players	36	18	6

SRC Expected per (5 years)

Forwards Selected 180

Defence Selected 90

Goaltenders Selected 30

Quite clearly current NHL GM's consider drafting goaltenders early to be sub optimal as relative to positional representation on NHL rosters, skaters are prioritized at a higher level than goaltenders with Dmen holding an edge over forwards for positional value and Goalies following as a distant 3rd. If you choose to categorize forwards and dmen as skaters then the numbers become even further lopsided in favour of a pro skater bias.

Interesting. Thanks

 

[Nevins]

Did you guys have a look at Buffalo's prospect pool?

We need a lot more picks.

agree, I'm tired of having an ordinary team year after year. To win a Stanley Cup, it takes high quality prospects and for that, it takes high draft picks. Let's trade Monahan, Edmundston for the best possible picks.