Wright, Slafkovsky, Cooley : Time to make that final decision

[dinodebino]

So in essence, this vote is as close as what the Quebec election will be. Lol

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

The cap unfortunately exists. If suzuki ends up the 3rd C and is making 8M AAV then we're going nowhere in the playoffs. It's a good problem to have though I'll grant you that - we can trade our way out of it.

Or one of them slides to wing.

 

[Paul Dipietro]

For Wright to be more popular he'd have to be a dictator... But yeah, as lopsided as the vote is I'm glad that HFB's 2nd choice is Cooley

 

[ArtPeur]

Lets say the Habs have both Wright and Cooley ranked equally and would be fine with either of them and are having difficulty choosing between the 2.

The Coyotes call and say they really want Slafkovsky (not likely but lets go with it ) but the Coyotes know the Devils are gonna take him 2nd and want to move up to 1st from 3rd to get him.

Why wouldn't you move down to 3rd in that scenario? You pick up a late 1st and still get one of the players at the top of your list in Cooley or Wright at 3rd. You get a free asset and still get one of your guys.

... and then Arizona picks Wright after telling us they will choose Slaf.



... and then NJ surprises everyone and picks Cooley.



And then Montreal surprises everyone and picks Lekkerimaki

 

[Mister Hab]

Wright and Suzuki (and Dvorak/Evans/Poehling) will give us the best CENTER DEPTH we've been craving for since a long long looooooooooooooong long time!!!!!

Can't wait for July 7!!!!! Pumped UP!!
(no.1 pick and in Montreal...too good to be true, but true!!).

 

[NobleSix]

Wright.

 

[Omar]

Wright and Suzuki (and Dvorak/Evans/Poehling) will give us the best CENTER DEPTH we've been craving for since a long long looooooooooooooong long time!!!!!

Can't wait for July 7!!!!! Pumped UP!!
(no.1 pick and in Montreal...too good to be true, but true!!).

Except only one would provide offense. Wright doesn’t seem like that guy

i'd rather do 1OV + #26 for #3 + first 2023 (unprotected) ;-)

I feel there is a deal to be made with Arizona. I get the feeling that they’re desperate to maintain an image of relevancy

 

[The Last Red]

I'm voting for Wright because he seems like he's the most NHL ready of the players in the top 5 and he's gonna fill a need at center that we lacked for 25 f***ing years.

I'm tired of projects like Slafkosvky that might not pan out (ala Kotkaniemi)

Not saying I'd take him ahead of Wright (or even Cooley) but Slafkovsky is not a project like KK was. Not even close.

 

[Kimota]

Goddamit you guys with your constant dilemmas, quit playing with my head.

My Favorite might be Slaf I'm going with the safe choice, Wright it is. Cause I'm a coward.

 

[L4br3cqu3]

Except only one would provide offense. Wright doesn’t seem like that guy

Ridiculous take.

 

[ottawa]

If we can somehow switch with Arizona this year and next. We would end up with 1 of those 3 with the 3rd pick tgis year and a great chance for a top 3 next year.

People on here think they're smarter than GMs and then propose the dumbest shit I've ever read.

Why would Arizona trade the 3rd + for our 1st? They'll tell us to f*** off and take whatever center we want and take the remaining one.

 

[Kaladin]

People on here think they're smarter than GMs and then propose the dumbest shit I've ever read.

Why would Arizona trade the 3rd + for our 1st? They'll tell us to f*** off and take whatever center we want and take the remaining one.

This take implies that the gulf between Cooley and Wright isn't that big. Careful, most habs fans here will tell you Wright is levels above everyone else. Arizona should pay us through the teeth for the privilege of picking him.

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Anyone voting Slaf or Cooley is a big fat stinking dummy.

 

[SOLR]

Wright - 63-32-62-94 22 pims +23 (1.49 ppg)
Svechnikov - 44-40-32-72 67 pims +26 (1.64 ppg)

Wright had the advantage of growing up in North America, Svechnikov spent 1 year in the OHL after coming over from Russia and almost scored a goal per game.

I don't know which one is better as I don't think I ever saw Svechnikov in the OHL and I've seen very little of Wright this year but clearly Svechnikov was the better goal scorer in their draft year and he outproduced him by a decent clip in terms of ppg.

Svechnikov was superior to Wright in the OHL. Wright is simply not in Svechnikov's tier of prospect - this is what we have in 2022. I'll keep on saying it, the best choice this year is not the player that will move the needle next year (because the 2022 best prospects are not top tier), he's the player that will make us the better team in 4-5 years - the highest probability player for that is Nemec imo.

 

[26Mats]

Wright and Suzuki (and Dvorak/Evans/Poehling) will give us the best CENTER DEPTH we've been craving for since a long long looooooooooooooong long time!!!!!

Can't wait for July 7!!!!! Pumped UP!!
(no.1 pick and in Montreal...too good to be true, but true!!).

I'm also looking forward to july 7th. But kind of more interested who we'll get at 26 (or move up to get with that pick) given I expect Wright at number 1.

Svechnikov was superior to Wright in the OHL. Wright is simply not in Svechnikov's tier of prospect - this is what we have in 2022. I'll keep on saying it, the best choice this year is not the player that will move the needle next year (because the 2022 best prospects are not top tier), he's the player that will make us the better team in 4-5 years - the highest probability player for that is Nemec imo.

Not saying you are, but we can't just go on stats.

In Patrice Bergeron's draft year. he was barely 1.00 pts/game - in the Q.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Read this article on Joshua Roy and immediately thought of the comments we've heard on Wright.

How Joshua Roy Turned His Development Around

By: Nick Lariviere / thesickpodcast.com

thesickpodcast.com

Roy was on a bad club and had questions about his work ethic and he dropped in the draft. He gets a change of scenery and absolutely destroys the league.

Can't help but wonder if something similar was happening with Wright in Kingston.

 

[SOLR]

I'm also looking forward to july 7th. But kind of more interested who we'll get at 26 (or move up to get with that pick) given I expect Wright at number 1.

I fully expect draft day trades as well - but not sure we will move up vs. get another 1st (or both). This is a deep draft in the first round. Best scenario is we do both. Get another 25-32 pick, move up the 26th to 20-21- thus picking 1st - 20 - 28 - 33, 4 times in the top pool of players. We might be lucky to get Howard with the 20th, the best winger out of the top 10 unless Lambert falls. Yurov and Miro will go top 15.

 

[Shad]

Wright AINEC

It may turn out he's not the best in the draft but he's the safest with as much upside as anyone.

 

[SOLR]

I'm also looking forward to july 7th. But kind of more interested who we'll get at 26 (or move up to get with that pick) given I expect Wright at number 1.



Not saying you are, but we can't just go on stats.

In Patrice Bergeron's draft year. he was barely 1.00 pts/game - in the Q.

I watched 10+ of those Svechnikov games and over 60 Wright game - Svechnikov was an offensive machine Wright will never replicate. Svechnikov is doing it in the NHL already at a good clip.

I'm not low on Wright, he's still in my top 5, but expectations of what he will be in the NHL are way too high IMO. Expect Krejci: A good hockey player, a valuable one, but not a concession-changing one. This is not anti-Wright, I think the whole 2022 class is like that.

Savoie = Panarin = not concession changing but rare game-breaker this year, often injured.
Nemec = Mini Lidstrom = potentially concession changing in 5 years <=== best choice for the habs imo
Slafkovski = Mini Rick Nash = not concession changing but a nice presence to have, productive
Cooley = mini Patrick Kane = not concession changing, but a smart player that can lead the 2nd line.
Wright = Krejci = consistent 2nd line center, not concession changing. <== 3rd/4th best choice.
Jiricek = good 2nd pairing D, not concession changing
Lekki = Power play shooter, not concession changing
Nazar = Good 2nd line winger, potentially concession-changing if he turns into a Landeskog type. <=== 2nd best choice for the habs - to play with Suz-Caufield? Completing that line might have tremendous value.
Gauthier = a man vs. boys even in the NHL <=== 3rd/4th best choice for the habs?

 

[26Mats]

I watched 10+ of those Svechnikov games and over 60 Wright game - Svechnikov was an offensive machine Wright will never replicate. Svechnikov is doing it in the NHL already at a good clip.

I'm not low on Wright, he's still in my top 5, but expectations of what he will be in the NHL are way too high IMO. Expect Krejci: A good hockey player, a valuable one, but not a concession-changing one. This is not anti-Wright, I think the whole 2022 class is like that.

Savoie = Panarin = not concession changing but rare game-breaker this year, often injured.
Nemec = Mini Lindstrom = potentially concession changing in 5 years <=== best choice for the habs imo
Slafkovski = Mini Rick Nash = not concession changing but a nice presence to have, productive
Cooley = mini Patrick Kane = not concession changing, but a smart player that can lead the 2nd line.
Wright = Krejci = consistent 2nd line center, not concession changing. <== 3rd/4th best choice.
Jiricek = good 2nd pairing D, not concession changing
Lekki = Power play shooter, not concession changing
Nazar = Good 2nd line winger, potentially concession-changing if he turns into a Landeskog type. <=== 2nd best choice for the habs - to play with Suz-Caufield? Completing that line might have tremendous value.
Gauthier = a man vs. boys even in the NHL <=== 3rd/4th best choice for the habs?

yeah, with seeing what Fox and Makar are doing, a real mobile dman can change the game.

Definitely worth a deep dive into Nemec.

I can't claim any expertise on any of these players myself. Strange that the media and scouting sites would be so unanimous on Wright and he not be who Hughes come up with after all their research.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I watched 10+ of those Svechnikov games and over 60 Wright game - Svechnikov was an offensive machine Wright will never replicate. Svechnikov is doing it in the NHL already at a good clip.

I'm not low on Wright, he's still in my top 5, but expectations of what he will be in the NHL are way too high IMO. Expect Krejci: A good hockey player, a valuable one, but not a concession-changing one. This is not anti-Wright, I think the whole 2022 class is like that.

Savoie = Panarin = not concession changing but rare game-breaker this year, often injured.
Nemec = Mini Lindstrom = potentially concession changing in 5 years <=== best choice for the habs imo
Slafkovski = Mini Rick Nash = not concession changing but a nice presence to have, productive
Cooley = mini Patrick Kane = not concession changing, but a smart player that can lead the 2nd line.
Wright = Krejci = consistent 2nd line center, not concession changing. <== 3rd/4th best choice.
Jiricek = good 2nd pairing D, not concession changing
Lekki = Power play shooter, not concession changing
Nazar = Good 2nd line winger, potentially concession-changing if he turns into a Landeskog type. <=== 2nd best choice for the habs - to play with Suz-Caufield? Completing that line might have tremendous value.
Gauthier = a man vs. boys even in the NHL <=== 3rd/4th best choice for the habs?

A good, realistic assessment of this draft class which really lacks that one franchise changing player and where a team drafting in the 6 to 12 range may secure a player that proves to be more impactful in the long term than one drafted in the top 5. While such an occurrence may happen every year, it would appear that such occurrence has a higher probability with this draft class. So this may be a year that you should be guided by selecting a player with the highest projected floor rather than one with the highest projected ceiling.

 

[River Meadow]

Slaf is so intriguing as a prospect.

I would not be mad if we drafted him tbh.

 

[SOLR]

A good, realistic assessment of this draft class which really lacks that one franchise changing player and where a team drafting in the 6 to 12 range may secure a player that proves to be more impactful in the long term than one drafted in the top 5. While such an occurrence may happen every year, it would appear that such occurrence has a higher probability with this draft class. So this may be a year that you should be guided by selecting a player with the highest projected floor rather than one with the highest projected ceiling.

Or draft for the highest mean between the floor and ceiling (Nemec / Cooley).

 

[River Meadow]

Slaf could play on a line with Caufield and provide size, protection and physicality on his line.

Anderson will not always be there and we should probably trade him sooner rather than later for futures as his value is high.

 

[Whalers Fan]

The cap unfortunately exists. If suzuki ends up the 3rd C and is making 8M AAV then we're going nowhere in the playoffs. It's a good problem to have though I'll grant you that - we can trade our way out of it.

Why even worry about that? Several people on this board keep plugging Bedard into future Habs lineups, yet the chances of the Canadiens getting the #1OA pick again next year are not very good. Top 5, yes, but #1 is unlikely.