Who do you like more? Barron or Mailloux

[Matthew McConaughay]

The answer is Mailloux, but Barron turning things around is a great development. Our future D Core looks pretty set with those two, plus Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Harris, JK etc


Um, have you seen how dominant Mailloux has been this year? If he wasn’t playing well then I’d say this could be an argument.

Especially on the PP, he got a wicked Caufield like one-timer.

 

[GobigorGohome]

The answer is Mailloux, but Barron turning things around is a great development. Our future D Core looks pretty set with those two, plus Guhle, Hutson, Xhekaj, Harris, JK etc


Um, have you seen how dominant Mailloux has been this year? If he wasn’t playing well then I’d say this could be an argument.

Mailloux should have been on Team Canada but well you know why he was not invited .He was at the worst a 5-6 in that team .

 

[calder candidate]

Mailloux has the highest celling but Barron had the highest floor.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

Mailloux has the highest celling but Barron had the highest floor.

Barron also IMO has an easier path to reach his ceiling.

I voted Barron but there’s no doubt Mailloux’s upside is better.

 

[dcyhabs]

I like Barron more for the reasons I stated. Losing so much development time I don’t think will be good for Mailloux.

Also I have a set of nhl coins from the 90s with a bunch of star players, think it was from mcdonald’s or something, and for some reason there is a David Wilkie coin in there lmao

The habs thought they had great D prospects, Wilkie, Brown, write in all star game option Fitzpatrick. Rivet was an afterthought and the only one who panned out.

Wilkie was a great prospect until he destroyed his knee.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

The habs have one of the best and deepest prospect pools on defense, so the likelyhood of it becoming good is higher.

A top 6 of Guhle, Hutson, Mailloux, Barron, Xhekaj, Engstrom/Harris should be at worst an average group. At best, it could be great and one of the best in the nhl. It has eveything you would want in a d-corps: All are good to great skaters, all are capable of passing the puck well, all have offensive instincts, almost all are big dmen, several of them are physical, most of them should be at least decent at defending, and some of them have high end offensive skills.

deepest =\= best. We have many potential bottom-4 d-men, but outside of Guhle (who is still not a certainty to become an actual 1st pairing guy), there's isn't a lot of "certainty x high upside". Even Hutson has a lot of question marks and looks more to be a PP1 QB that you play on your 2nd pairing at best, rather than a full on top pairing guy at 5v5.

And regarding defending, there's like only two of them that should be at least semi-decent at that in Harris and Guhle (and maybe Engstrom but he's a very long shot). The others will need to improve significantly or change their game to even just be average. The myth that being physical means being decent at defending needs to die.

Only thing I'll say is we probably have the most entertaining set of prospects at D in the league, for sure.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

The habs thought they had great D prospects, Wilkie, Brown, write in all star game option Fitzpatrick. Rivet was an afterthought and the only one who panned out.

Wilkie was a great prospect until he destroyed his knee.

Wilkie and Brown were poor skaters when they were drafted and were just flat out bad picks.

 

[SlafySZN]

deepest =\= best. We have many potential bottom-4 d-men, but outside of Guhle (who is still not a certainty to become an actual 1st pairing guy), there's isn't a lot of "certainty x high upside". Even Hutson has a lot of question marks and looks more to be a PP1 QB that you play on your 2nd pairing at best, rather than a full on top pairing guy at 5v5.

And regarding defending, there's like only two of them that should be at least semi-decent at that in Harris and Guhle (and maybe Engstrom but he's a very long shot). The others will need to improve significantly or change their game to even just be average. The myth that being physical means being decent at defending needs to die.

Only thing I'll say is we probably have the most entertaining set of prospects at D in the league, for sure.

Not that much of a long shot, he's one of our best prospect

 

[KevSkillz4]

Both looks have high potential. I really like both. Mailloux more offensive, Barron more two-way potential. Mailloux have more potential to become a top pairing defenseman. Barron is going more #3 or #4. Should have both in that vote option!

 

[dcyhabs]

Wilkie and Brown were poor skaters when they were drafted and were just flat out bad picks.

I seem to remember skating as a strength for Wilikie until his knee injury. Brown had goon speed.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I seem to remember skating as a strength for Wilikie until his knee injury. Brown had goon speed.

No, he was always a poor skater who Habs fans overrated and made assumptions about based on junior stats. Scouting wasn't nearly as popular with the general fanbase nor were accurate reports readily available. He had a great shot and good vision but was a poor defender due to his heavy feet and awkward pivots.

 

[MisterY]

Hutson - Mailloux
Guhle - Barron
Xhekaj - Savard

In a couple seasons this is what one of the best defense cores in the league might look like.

What about Harris?

 

[Kojo]

What about Harris?

Harris could be a very good 7th on a contending team.

 

[Tetragrammaton]

What about Harris?

Traded away in a package for PLD hopefully or for another top 6 player. I don't see him here long term.

 

[GrandBison]

What about Harris?

There should be a poll about Harris and Xhekaj in long terms. I like Xhekaj, but I think people are undervaluing Harris big time. Also Xhekaj probably has a better trade value right now.

 

[McGuires Corndog]

There should be a poll about Harris and Xhekaj in long terms. I like Xhekaj, but I think people are undervaluing Harris big time. Also Xhekaj probably has a better trade value right now.

You need guys like Xhekaj . He’s a big reason this team has overachieved this year.

 

[Ezpz]

You need guys like Xhekaj . He’s a big reason this team has overachieved this year.

To be fair you need guys like him when establishing the culture. Unless his defensive play improves he's like having Ryan Reeves. He ended up losing us several games with poorly timed fights or defensive lapses. I think he has potential to be a good player though.

Harris is being massively undervalued by the people in this thread.

 

[GrandBison]

You need guys like Xhekaj . He’s a big reason this team has overachieved this year.

I like Xhekaj and what he brings. I just don't see how his style of play is sustainable long term and how he could combine being mean, avoid stupid penalties and refuse breaking momentum challenges on a winning team. I think Harris is under radars and he probably have less trade value for that simple reason, but his ceiling is comparable in terms of player value.

 

[Sherwoo9]

I

Barron also has zero defensive IQ, that might work if the offensive ceiling is high & paired with a very competent D partner.

IMO Mailloux’s ceiling is much much higher & he’s got a nasty edge to his game which Barron doesn’t

I see a lot of message praising Mailloux’s « ceiling » while exposing Barrons « weaknesses ». No comment on Mailloux’s defensive is IQ?

To me, Mailloux remains a 20years old big body playing a junior league with less than a full season experience. I’d stay away from projecting him on a first pairing until he actually plays some pro games.

Trust me I’d love that his development would continue and he became an impact player but I think he’s gonna need AHL seasoning and we’ll see from there. I just can’t comprehend seeing that much comments that seem to put him on the same level as a prospect than guys like Zellweger, Mateychuk or Korchinski.

 

[Pat Riot]

in 3 years our defensive squad could look like this

Guhle - Mailloux
Hutson - Barron
Xhekaj / Harris - Kovacevic

Mailloux higher ceiling but Barron is already producing in the show

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Mailloux has a far greater potential.

"Far"......come on.

Barron is a very good prospect and has always been held in higher regard than Mailloux from the time that they were Bantam age. You are overrating Mailloux's potential and underrating Barron's.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

in 3 years our defensive squad could look like this

Guhle - Mailloux
Hutson - Barron
Xhekaj / Harris - Kovacevic

Mailloux higher ceiling but Barron is already producing in the show

I have an extremely difficult time projecting Mailloux as a 1st pairing defender going against the top stars in the game every night. Xhekaj will also play higher in the lineup than Hutson imo as Lane looks very much like a 3rd pairing ES/ PP specialist.

This is not to say that Mailloux and Hutson can't be good defenders but just pointing out glaring flaws in their games that require a tremendous amount of improvement to play that high in an NHL lineup.

 

[Legend123]

Bcuz we are a rebuilding team, I'll go with patience and potential. So Mailloux

 

[Tetragrammaton]

"Far"......come on.

Barron is a very good prospect and has always been held in higher regard than Mailloux from the time that they were Bantam age. You are overrating Mailloux's potential and underrating Barron's.

Mailloux is doing things production wise in the CHL that haven't been seen in 25+ years. His mix of size/toughness/speed/skating/skill/shot is unmatched. At this point it's hard to overate Mailloux as his potential ceiling is sky high. He's a 19 year old phenom.

 

[Legend123]

I have an extremely difficult time projecting Mailloux as a 1st pairing defender going against the top stars in the game every night. Xhekaj will also play higher in the lineup than Hutson imo as Lane looks very much like a 3rd pairing ES/ PP specialist.

This is not to say that Mailloux and Hutson can't be good defenders but just pointing out glaring flaws in their games that require a tremendous amount of improvement to play that high in an NHL lineup.

And you sir look very much like you dont know what you are talking about