HF Habs: Your Thoughts on the 2022 Class

[Vachon23]

Rohrer vs Dumais....can't wait to see the end of this. But it's not looking good.

I think we will more regret Mesar vs Kulich/Luneau then this one

 

[Whitesnake]

I think we will more regret Mesar vs Kulich/Luneau then this one

That too.

 

[Rapala]

I'm very cautious when it comes to prognostication. They are all shiny packages until you open and find out what you've really have. We always want something based on advertisement and just like the most popular toys at Christmas they can break. For me rating prospect pools is an exercise in futility if you aren't basing it strictly on the players who have some tenure in a Pro league. The rest is pure speculation in many if not most cases. This class is no exception. IMO

 

[SamHabsFan]

I think we will more regret Mesar vs Kulich/Luneau then this one

yeah its not looking to hot right now but, Mesar and Beck had a great camp and pre season games, lets not loose faith over half a season of OK production in the OHL. its still very early

 

[26Mats]

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I finally voted, and voted very happy because of Lane Hutson.

And there are many other bright prospects in this class.

 

[Vachon23]

yeah its not looking to hot right now but, Mesar and Beck had a great camp and pre season games, lets not loose faith over half a season of OK production in the OHL. its still very early

Ooh I’m not worried with Beck and still think it’s good pick.

 

[NewEraGM]

If you can get 2-3 players out of a draft, it’s a success.
Beck, Slafkovsky and Hutson all looking like they will be nhl players.

A few wildcards on Mesar and Engstrom.

It was a good draft.

 

[LesHabitants]

Not sure Slaf was the right choice. We'll see in 4 years or so. Otherwise I'm quite pleased... but in 4 years or so we'll all have a better idea.

 

[SamHabsFan]

Ooh I’m not worried with Beck and still think it’s good pick.

with the emergence of Dach, we only need Beck to be a good 3C for the future, which is looking pretty good..I am more than good with the pick,,as for Mesar, he can surprise but he will probably get traded in the future, he is still an upgrade on the last late 1st round picks like poehling, mccarron, juulsen...way more talented

 

[Vachon23]

we can see that most bof Dumais points where against really weak teams

* Really don’t know why Halifax publish that..

 

[Whitesnake]

Thought on the entire class....

1 Juraj Slafkovsky : Listen...I like him. I really liked Wright for his 2-way and how safe he was, but hated his playoffs. I really LOVED Cooley's ceiling and still think he's the most talented player amongst those 3. I really love the size and how Slaf looked against men. So either 3...I would have found a way to like him...but to also have doubts about them. Frankly, a bad year to have the number 1 pick. But it's fine, we should be able to make something out of him.

26 Filip Mesar: Not a fan then. Clearly less a fan now. Kulich was there...And quite a few others. Yes, will always go with BPA...Mesar wasn't far from it. He's not a stretch by any means...but I don't see how Kulich wasn't a BPA ESPECIALLY if our management uses Slaf's exploits on the big stage to have a decisive opinion about him...why not do the same for Kulich then? I disagree with the pick big time. Time will tell. Hopefully we are not revisiting Scherbak and Pastrnak type of gap...

33 Owen Beck: A big fan then. I even talked about talking him at 26 at one point. Kid is a player. And will succeed in this league. Awesome pick.

62 Lane Hutson: What needs to be said here. EVEN if the guy NEVER becomes a NHL'er, at 62...this was THE pick to make...and CLEARLY it was much earlier than that. Pure BPA at its finest.

75 Vinzenz Rohrer: Type of meh pick for me. Another smallish player....small for small, go with BPA and pick Dumais. And work on his skating. I would have picked Dumais here. If not Dumais, was a Zhilkin fan or even a Hamara fan as well. Rohrer would not have been my pick. BUT...somehow,,,he's the type of guy that I see making me eat some crow in the future...

92 Adam Engstrom: Can't talk about somebody I didn't see that much. A out of left field Timmins type of picks...let's see if those scouts will have more success. So far so good though....nobody can say he's not showing a whole lot right now. So right now, based on results, you have to LOVE the pick.

127 Cedrick Guindon: Meh. And another smallish type of player. Though at 127, kinda makes sense in the BPA type of pick. Would he have been my pick? Nah. Was more a Spacek fan. Can't believe Spacek fell that much. Yet, it again shows how we don't appreciate the Q project as much as we should (yes, despite RHP, we still missed quite a few..)

130 Jared Davidson: Overager that never struck me as having a huge ceiling. Could help for Laval. Can only surprise me. See Hvidston (love very young players...give them more room to grow), Spacek and maybe even Barbashev as guys I would have chosen.

162 Emmett Croteau: Didn't know him much. Doing good this year though. It's never a wrong think to go goalies later on. See....Devon Levi...Would have I chosen him? Obviously not. I had Wagner, Petrovsky in mind. But not a bad pick.

194 Petteri Nurmi: Didn't know him much. Meh pick. Can't believe we didn't pick Jack Devine.

216 Miguel Tourigny: BPA even as overager. Fine pick. Not expecting a lot. But I liked the pick then. Though, again, at the time, was still hoping for Devine.

So in essence, it's a fine draft. Not our luck that 1st overall wasn't the type of 1st that could have changed that franchise. Not a fan of the Mesar pick. We made quite a few BPA picks that could pan out. I still think we could have done MUCH better from round 3 though. Though with maybe a really surprising pick in Engstrom. And MAYBE with a Rohrer that will surprise me.

 

[Whitesnake]

we can see that most bof Dumais points where against really weak teams

* Really don’t know why Halifax publish that..

Makes no sense. It's not that he didn't rack points against better teams. It's that he didn't play them. Dumais is PPG against every team except Québec and Rouyn. Top teams are Québec (0 in 2 games), Sherbrooke (3 points in 2 games), Gatineau (1 in 1 game) and Victo (5 pts in 2 games). Aso how come other players on his team didn't rack the points he did?

Anyway, I guess we will see in the playoffs what he does. Let's revisit that shall we?

 

[Rockomax]

we can see that most bof Dumais points where against really weak teams

* Really don’t know why Halifax publish that..

He picked up more points against teams that Halifax faced more often...

 

[Rockomax]

I finally voted, and voted very happy because of Lane Hutson.

And there are many other bright prospects in this class.

I was at the draft and was hoping they'd select Hutson at #26. Needless to say, I'm stoked that when they picked him at #62. However, I can't vote "very happy" with Slafkovsky and Mesar being the first 2 picks of the their draft. Hopefully I'm wrong though. Not saying that Slafkovsky will bust; but him being an eventual NHL player is not what you hope for a 1st OA. I'm still very much looking forward to see how he will fare next season, mind you.

 

[26Mats]

I was at the draft and was hoping they'd select Hutson at #26. Needless to say, I'm stoked that when they picked him at #62. However, I can't vote "very happy" with Slafkovsky and Mesar being the first 2 picks of the their draft. Hopefully I'm wrong though. Not saying that Slafkovsky will bust; but him being an eventual NHL player is not what you hope for a 1st OA. I'm still very much looking forward to see how he will fare next season, mind you.

Yeah maybe I was caught in a moment of over-exuberance when I voted very happy.

But I feel like Lane Hutson has a chance to have a PK Subban like impact on the team - take us to another level. It would take a lot to go right for that to happen. But if Hutson ends up being a top 5 talent in this draft and then one of Slaf, Beck or Engstrom make it, it's a good draft imo.

You really want to hit on your 1st round pick in any draft. Then if you don't, you want another player to make up for that. So if Slaf isn't a top talent from the draft but Hutson is, that would be a good draft in normal circumstances. But since we basically had two picks in each of the 1st three rounds, plus other extra later picks, it was basically two drafts in one. So gotta have at least Pane be a top 5 talent of the draft plus at least one other pick hit for me to be very happy with the draft. And I'm a quality over quantity guy.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I was at the draft and was hoping they'd select Hutson at #26. Needless to say, I'm stoked that when they picked him at #62. However, I can't vote "very happy" with Slafkovsky and Mesar being the first 2 picks of the their draft. Hopefully I'm wrong though. Not saying that Slafkovsky will bust; but him being an eventual NHL player is not what you hope for a 1st OA. I'm still very much looking forward to see how he will fare next season, mind you.

Slaf is a good pick until one of Nemec, Cooley, Wright, or Jiricek become much better than him. Only Slaf and Wright started in the NHL where Wright went back to the CHL and Slaf got injured. Nemec is in the AHL. Cooley is doing this thing in the NCAA and Jiricek over in Europe.

Slaf didn't get a chance to shine at the WJC like some of the others. We have to remember that all 5 of them were projected to be 2nd tier talent with a chance they could be top tier talent.

Mesar has been meh in the CHL but he was good at the WJC.

Beck and others after him have been great picks. It's early but it's good development overall.

 

[Ozmodiar]

If they were going to pass on Wright, I was hoping it would be for Nemec or Cooley.

High hopes for Mesar. Good skill set, good at finding space.

Beck - I was cautiously optimistic until I saw him live a few times, then optimistic, with caution kicked to the curb. 3rd line ceiling tho.

Hutson - wanted him where Beck was picked, and he’s only improved.

Engstrom - will be the draft steal. He’ll be a Hab.

 

[26Mats]

Slaf is a good pick until one of Nemec, Cooley, Wright, or Jiricek become much better than him. Only Slaf and Wright started in the NHL where Wright went back to the CHL and Slaf got injured. Nemec is in the AHL. Cooley is doing this thing in the NCAA and Jiricek over in Europe.

Slaf didn't get a chance to shine at the WJC like some of the others. We have to remember that all 5 of them were projected to be 2nd tier talent with a chance they could be top tier talent.

Mesar has been meh in the CHL but he was good at the WJC.

Beck and others after him have been great picks. It's early but it's good development overall.

If Slaf ends up a good player and one of the top 5 players in the draft, I'll be happy with the pick. I mean if Cooley ends up Patrick Kane I'll hope we never, ever talks about size and character pre draft and only look at the overall quality of the player.

If Lane Hutson ends up a top 5 player in the draft, and we do reasonably well elsewhere, but Slaf busts, I'll be happy with the draft.

 

[Mrb1p]

I do love how Dumais is slow and small but the same people turn around and praise Hutson...?

If you can get 2-3 players out of a draft, it’s a success.
Beck, Slafkovsky and Hutson all looking like they will be nhl players.

A few wildcards on Mesar and Engstrom.

It was a good draft.

With a first overall pick and two top 33 pick after you better hope for much more than NHL games.

 

[le_sean]

It's not like Wright can't go on to have a good to exceptional career. I think we can, however, put to bed the concern that we passed on an elite level prospect having a down year after the pandemic absences.

He’s just confirming yet again that he cannot drive a line let alone a team. He’ll be good if he has someone doing everything for him and can finish the plays and support defensively. But to be the guy is just not in his DNA. That would be a disaster in Montreal. At least in Seattle he can hang out in the background.

 

[1909]

Yeah, I definitely know that you are not one of the irrational haters and there is some legitimate reason for criticism as you clearly laid out. I still think he is the best hockey player by a significant margin from that draft but I am not at all confident that he will be able to align his skills with whatever is going on in his head.

I believe that we correctly passed on him as it certainly appears that the glare of the spotlight in Montreal may have overwhelmed him. I have met him and his parents when he was younger and watched him dominate long before the draft, hopefully the kid can put it all together. I had Nemec and Cooley ahead of Slaf as well so hopefully Slaf's gregarious nature can harmonize with the spotlight on the biggest stage because I firmly believe that HuGo selected Slaf over Wright almost entirely on this assumption.

Cooley will end up being the best of all. A kind of Point-Aho type of center. I think Slaf has lots of growing up to make. His maturity and hockey IQ don't match yet his physical shell. It is good that Hughes acquired Dach as his new big centre man.... Or Dubois down the road.

 

[Habs]

Cooley will end up being the best of all. A kind of Point-Aho type of center. I think Slaf has lots of growing up to make. His maturity and hockey IQ don't match yet his physical shell.

imagine if Cooley becomes the stud of that draft, and we also passed on Tkachuk , gave up Sergachev etc etc.. the team on mismanaged draft picks and prospects this org could build would be epic. Im my dream world Molson does NOT own this team and a real owner that cares about the on-ice product is here instead. I think GG cared more about the product then little Geoffy by a mile. Letting Bergevin destroy this franchise for that long is just an epic slap in the face to the fans, who apparently don't care either since they continue to show up and pay for this joke of a team

 

[1909]

imagine if Cooley becomes the stud of that draft, and we also passed on Tkachuk , gave up Sergachev etc etc.. the team on mismanaged draft picks and prospects this org could build would be epic. Im my dream world Molson does NOT own this team and a real owner that cares about the on-ice product is here instead. I think GG cared more about the product then little Geoffy by a mile. Letting Bergevin destroy this franchise for that long is just an epic slap in the face to the fans, who apparently don't care either since they continue to show up and pay for this joke of a team

It's pretty much bad since 1995.....

 

[Habs]

It's pretty much bad since 1995.....

never understood how ownership/management thought. You win a cup in 93 with a big, tough skilled team, but nothing outrageous in the skill department. Great goaltending, sure we had luck on the way etc.. but that was a playoff built team. You wouldn't want to much it up with the player Jaques could throw out there along the way.. nasty toughness if needed. So we take a winning formula, and abandon it for 35 years or so. 2021 comes along and voila.. big tough team in Montreal with sprinkled-in talent gets to the finals, so what do they do? Blow it up for more soft smurfy teams with zero team toughness. That blueline was a legit nightmare to go into the corners with, Webs, Ben, Edmundson etc.. some real size up front too

Anyways, the formula isn't a secret, Boston figured it out a long time ago, and the knobs in Montreal keep looking for some mystery formula that they used to employ in the 60's to early 90's, then abandoned for some godly unknown reason

 

[Goldenhands]

Yeah, I definitely know that you are not one of the irrational haters and there is some legitimate reason for criticism as you clearly laid out. I still think he is the best hockey player by a significant margin from that draft but I am not at all confident that he will be able to align his skills with whatever is going on in his head.

I believe that we correctly passed on him as it certainly appears that the glare of the spotlight in Montreal may have overwhelmed him. I have met him and his parents when he was younger and watched him dominate long before the draft, hopefully the kid can put it all together. I had Nemec and Cooley ahead of Slaf as well so hopefully Slaf's gregarious nature can harmonize with the spotlight on the biggest stage because I firmly believe that HuGo selected Slaf over Wright almost entirely on this assumption.

Funny that you are calling me an irrational hater when I clearly listed all the reasons, in a pretty rational way, why I dropped him in my ranking. You never could point out any of his weaknesses and cant even point out the reasons why you still think he is the best player in the draft at that point.

You never could refute, in a rational way, any of my concerns or criticisms of the player. But keep believing whatever you want.