• Moderators, please send me a PM if you are unable to access mod permissions. Thanks, Habsy.

2023 Draft and UFA Thread

Rolex said:
Mike Johnson said it best today: Habs have picked four times in the top 5 in the past decade, and you don't even have 1 game-changer player to show for.
Click to expand...
We’re all painfully aware of that. But…

2012 was probably the worst draft in memory. We actually picked a guy with upside, and the best pick of the top 4. He never really developed, I can’t really blame the org.

2018 we fucked up drafting for need, but while Tkachuk and Hughes would have been better picks, are they really the game changers we need?

2022, another weak draft. No game changers available. Between Wright and Slafkovsky, I think we made the right pick.

2023, luck on our side, a game breaker was available, but with quite a bit of risks, we played it safe but on a potential top 2 RHD who might really well be our best pick of the 4.
 
The hardest part of being an NHL fan for me is the talent scarcity. If an NFL team had four top 5 picks in a decade, they could whiff on a few QBs, and still come away with an elite WR and Edge Rusher
 
CH1 said:
The hardest part of being an NHL fan for me is the talent scarcity. If an NFL team had four top 5 picks in a decade, they could whiff on a few QBs, and still come away with an elite WR and Edge Rusher
Click to expand...

We completely changed management and coaching staff....but still drafted for need.....i guess that's what you get when you still have the same scouting department (minus Timmins, but all the rest of the boys remained)
 
Rolex said:
We completely changed management and coaching staff....but still drafted for need.....i guess that's what you get when you still have the same scouting department (minus Timmins, but all the rest of the boys remained)
Click to expand...

The scouts evaluate based on skill and attributes prioritised by HuGo and MSL; it’s HuGo that decides the pick based on a bunch of criteria.
 
CH1 said:
The scouts evaluate based on skill and attributes prioritised by HuGo and MSL; it’s HuGo that decides the pick based on a bunch of criteria.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised that a successful ex-player's agent would pass on brut talent, and instead pick a dmen in the top 5.....a dmen that is great at everything, but not elite on the offensive side.

Michkov must have had serious behind the side red flags......Flyers would have picked Logan Mailloux, and nobody in Philly would have made a beef about it....but in MTL, it was a scandal......must be the reason we passed on Michkov
 
Michkov is a small/poor defensive winger and maybe (not that I agree) they figured you can’t have that if you already have Cole Caufield.

I wish Habsy’s contact could tell us if we would have grabbed Will Smith if available
 
CH1 said:
Michkov is a small/poor defensive winger and maybe (not that I agree) they figured you can’t have that if you already have Cole Caufield.

I wish Habsy’s contact could tell us if we would have grabbed Will Smith if available
Click to expand...
The centers were higher up than Reinbacher. It's a definite. Any one of the three after Bedard would have been selected.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CH1
CH1 said:
Michkov is a small/poor defensive winger and maybe (not that I agree) they figured you can’t have that if you already have Cole Caufield.

I wish Habsy’s contact could tell us if we would have grabbed Will Smith if available
Click to expand...

I think most people think so.....regarding picking Will Smith

If Bedard-Fantilli-Leo-Smith were available, Habs don't pick David R.
 
CH1 said:
Michkov is a small/poor defensive winger and maybe (not that I agree) they figured you can’t have that if you already have Cole Caufield.

I wish Habsy’s contact could tell us if we would have grabbed Will Smith if available
Click to expand...
His contact seems legit. Sorry, can’t disclose identity.
 
BTW, I like Hughes, but I also knew when he started that the easiest part of the gig were the first two years. He did well in hiring MSL but trading vets for futures is relatively easy work… It gets harder now
 
I rarely agree with Pronman but I think he nails it here

Montréal Canadiens: B

Montreal’s draft class is led by David Reinbacher, who is an excellent defense prospect and could be a top-pair defender of the future for the Habs. This grade would be a bit different if it incorporated the Newhook deal. That’s not my process; you can quibble with it if you want in the comments. But they didn’t pick after Reinbacher until 69, and other than Jacob Fowler I wasn’t that enamored by some of their Day 2 picks. Reinbacher is likely the only NHL player from this class, and I think he will be a very good one.
 
CH1 said:
I rarely agree with Pronman but I think he nails it here

Montréal Canadiens: B

Montreal’s draft class is led by David Reinbacher, who is an excellent defense prospect and could be a top-pair defender of the future for the Habs. This grade would be a bit different if it incorporated the Newhook deal. That’s not my process; you can quibble with it if you want in the comments. But they didn’t pick after Reinbacher until 69, and other than Jacob Fowler I wasn’t that enamored by some of their Day 2 picks. Reinbacher is likely the only NHL player from this class, and I think he will be a very good one.
Click to expand...
B seems too high of a grade.
 
Krustchev said:
B seems too high of a grade.
Click to expand...

Wheeler (also from the Athletic) was not as nice. He liked our first two picks (even if he preferred Michkov) but then was as flummoxed as the rest of us

>>the Habs’ selections of Florian Xhekaj (yes, Arber’s brother), 5-foot-11 double-overage Russian defenceman Bogdan Konyushkov, Sioux Falls overager Sam Harris and Swede Filip Eriksson, who wasn’t ranked by NHL Central Scouting and didn’t play much this year, did strike me as reaches. I’m quite familiar with the first three players and am sure they could have gotten Xhekaj later.

My favourite of their picks might have been Luke Mittelstadt in the seventh round, though. Mittelstadt wasn’t on my board this year but he was on my board two years ago and turned the coaching staff at the University of Minnesota into big believers with his play as a freshman this season. He’s got legit skill and smarts.
 
GrandWazoo said:
It’s the exact same scouting staff, we only switched Timmons for Bobrov, hardly an improvement.
Click to expand...
That scouting staff did find Ryan McD, Sergatron, Pk and a good number of other serviceable d. The new guy could be Timmins’ best work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top