HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[No More Subban]

No way I'm picking a defenseman this year. Adding another top 6 forward is more important, imo.

 

[AlexGretzchenvid]

you're gonna trade a guy who had 65 points on an "off year" and is probably gonna put up 40 goals a few times in his career for just a top 10 pick? what?

I asked if you would. Not that I would.

No way I'm picking a defenseman this year. Adding another top 6 forward is more important, imo.

Not if the D is projected to be a topD compared to a top6 F

if we could get TIJ and dickinson... lol. I will HAIL HUGO

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

Yeah I'd take Matthews over that bum Patrick Kane any day for the playoffs

How can I answer that?
I guess one image is worth a thousand words.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Thanks for your honesty. But I recommend watching the Buium video I linked when you have time. He definitely jumps out as LD Makar in my opinion. Almost like a better, grittier and more solid version of Lane Hutson

I really don't see the dynamic qualities with Buium. He strikes me as much more of a Fox than a Makar. Makar is basically Mackinnon on D with one of the best wristers in the league, and possibly the best lateral movement in the league. Buium is a good skater but not elite, he has a decent shot but not elite, but he's brilliant with his vision, passing, and ability to manipulate to open up lanes.

Parekh's skating isn't at Makar's level, but stylistically he's much closer to him than Buium is. I think between the two of them you're looking at Makar-lite vs Fox-lite.

Then Levshunov is more of a Sergachev type, maybe with a higher ceiling given his work ethic and focus. Dickinson reminds me a bit of Ekblad, both with the good and the bad. Silayev I think of as a more talented Oleksiak, though obviously with a player like him comparisons are a bit harder to draw. Yakemchuk is tough too, a bit of Werenski in his game, a bit of Faulk.

 

[Hacketts]

Sennecke or Iginla.

That's quite the debate between those two.

Interesting hearing that when Sennecke was younger he was a puck hound type player but this year he changed his game because of his growth spurt. You would think when he adjusts to his height, he could be something special. Feel he might have a better toolkit than Iginla.

 

[Gustave]

If the Habs draft a LD, what do you guys think they could extract for Matheson, Guhle, Huston, Xhekaj on the trade market

I’m concerned of the building blocks and the timing of it’s maturity more than others. At some point we’ll have to adress the forwards. We are a barren land in terms of talent in the prospect pool. Zilch nada in Laval. Beck (3-4 C) and Mesar (?????) next season in Laval. That’s it.

So… can any of those above bring a high end forward? Guhle can and Hutson too. But you’re spinning wheels if you once again recycle ex first picks in which you invested a lot of time to fit in your system, gave responsibilities and put in effort to be patient, only to go back to a LD that’s 18 and not ready to play for you in the next… 2-3 years maybe? I think it would be a setback to go that route. We have a D squad thats coming to a certain degree of maturity, while forwards can come in way faster in only one year to start and have an impact.

 

[MasterD]

I don't see an issue at LD either, but I see a bunch of second pairing dudes with maybe 2 that have top pairing potentital as a complimentary piece to a true #1D.

We have Hutson, Guhle, Mailloux (and some would say Reinbacher) as future potential #1s.

I'm really not worried about that.

 

[Habano]

Dude, are you kidding me? Buium is as much game breaker as Parekh. Against 20+ years old players too. Buium is as much a gamebreaker as Parekh is.

NGL Buium looks damn good

 

[McGees]

Buium is awesome and maybe my fave D from draft but don't think Hughes seriously considers a LD.
#MakarLite

 

[Rozz]

Now that we know where we are selecting, and we're starting to have an idea of which kids the Habs are zeroing in on... here's my updated "tiers" based on considering those variables...

1.Celebrini - obviously, not an option.

2.Demidov - I'm praying for a move up or something that lands us Demigod!(after reading the Chicago board they seem more open to it than i originall would have thought). God this kids gonna be the real deal!

****Catton is by far my 3rd choice ....but apparently they are not likely to select him****

So, with no Catton, and after being pretty set on a forward all year... the reality is, if Demidov and Lindstrom are gone by 5th, then I have to start getting used to the idea we might actually get one of them. So, for this next tier.... and after watching more video on the dmen... I'm pretty much equally excited for all in this tier.. all of them have reasons to get hyped about, and question marks to match... I prefer a forward still, but the 2 dman I have here are equally exciting and likely going to help us create a shit ton of offense from the back end.

3. Lindstrom
Iginla
Levshunov
Parekh

*** Buium / Dickinson - I'd probably put them above Parekh in this tier.. but, they're LD. The kids are legit... but not what Hughes is looking for though.***

4. sennecke - he appears to have good potential... but I'm not convinced hes the best picks at 5 ... but, I'm just going off stats, what I read here and in the ranking lists, and youtube highlight packages over the last couple weeks for this guy ... so I could be way off in my assessment.. as its half assed at best lol... which is why I am staying open minded and have him in my wish list still. am i crazy seeing some corey perry in his slippery style of worming his way around players and his stick handling style? maybe we can move up for him with our later pick... not sure I'd be thrilled with him at 5.

5. Helenius
Silayev--- these 2 do not really interest me. but If they are the pick ... I'll suck it up and trust in the process... even if it doesn't excite me at all at this point in time.

Eiserman- I still like him but kid is falling and it's gotta be for some reason... so I think it's more likely that we trade up into the teens to take him rather than him being an option at 5.

in the end I'm going to trust our scouts and cheer on who ever we draft. and i also hope we can manage to move up into the early teens to grab one of hhe fallers ... whatever we do.... just get us some awesome prospects who will help us score many more goals!

 

[NotProkofievian]

Right, but the difference between both players at that point is noticeable, we dont know if Catton has the body frame to add much more mass, on the other side, we know that Helenius at 17 yrs old can already compete one on one against growth men.

And he has the will to do it. He's a 17 year old mixing it up after the whistle with 30 year olds, no fear in him whatsoever. One of the most effective forecheckers in the draft. Let's see what he does in the WC.

 

[TopTenPlayz]

Now that we know where we are selecting, and we're starting to have an idea of which kids the Habs are zeroing in on... here's my updated "tiers" based on considering those variables...

1.Celebrini - obviously, not an option.

2.Demidov - I'm praying for a move up or something that lands us Demigod!(after reading the Chicago board they seem more open to it than i originall would have thought). God this kids gonna be the real deal!

****Catton is by far my 3rd choice ....but apparently they are not likely to select him****

So, with no Catton, and after being pretty set on a forward all year... the reality is, if Demidov and Lindstrom are gone by 5th, then I have to start getting used to the idea we might actually get one of them. So, for this next tier.... and after watching more video on the dmen... I'm pretty much equally excited for all in this tier.. all of them have reasons to get hyped about, and question marks to match... I prefer a forward still, but the 2 dman I have here are equally exciting and likely going to help us create a shit ton of offense from the back end.

3. Lindstrom
Iginla
Levshunov
Parekh

*** Buium / Dickinson - I'd probably put them above Parekh in this tier.. but, they're LD. The kids are legit... but not what Hughes is looking for though.***

4. sennecke - he appears to have good potential... but I'm not convinced hes the best picks at 5 ... but, I'm just going off stats, what I read here and in the ranking lists, and youtube highlight packages over the last couple weeks for this guy ... so I could be way off in my assessment.. as its half assed at best lol... which is why I am staying open minded and have him in my wish list still. am i crazy seeing some corey perry in his slippery style of worming his way around players and his stick handling style? maybe we can move up for him with our later pick... not sure I'd be thrilled with him at 5.

5. Helenius
Silayev--- these 2 do not really interest me. but If they are the pick ... I'll suck it up and trust in the process... even if it doesn't excite me at all at this point in time.

Eiserman- I still like him but kid is falling and it's gotta be for some reason... so I think it's more likely that we trade up into the teens to take him rather than him being an option at 5.

in the end I'm going to trust our scouts and cheer on who ever we draft. and i also hope we can manage to move up into the early teens to grab one of hhe fallers ... whatever we do.... just get us some awesome prospects who will help us score many more goals!

He should because I get feelings that this Buium kid will win the Norris multiple times down the road. The guy looks like he's toying with his opponents.

 

[Habssince89]

Taking a D would mean they would flip existing Dmen in our system for a forward, but our options either won't net us an equivalent forward that 5OA will give us OR have too much value to deal this early. The Habs are definitely taking a forward, or they hold an auction for 5OA if people will overpay for whatever D is available.

But as myself and others have said in these discussions, now that the top5 are set, we just need to use the process of elimination, and I think it's becoming the mainstream thought that both picks 1 and 2 are pretty projectable. Celebrini to SJ of course, but we know CHI will take either Demidov or a D. Anaheim seem to need a D more than forwards, and if Demidov is taken at 2 ANA could be in the great spot of whatever top D they want, however if Demidov is available for them, it could allow them to flip Zegras or just add a heap of talent. But the toughest one is CLB because they would love to gain a C with size in Lindstrom, but theres talk of a D (namely Silayev) to CLB, so I have no clue what to think.

My gut tells me CLB would take Lindstrom if Demidov and their top D of choice (whoever it actually is) are gone.

In the coming weeks, we'll start getting a bit more clarity, as we don't really need to care which Dmen are taken before our pick, and Celebrini/Demidov/Lindstrom seem like the top 3 forwards. Increased scrutiny and rankings will see which D have their stock rise/fall, and that might give us better clues as to who might be available for us, even if we're after a forward.

SJ-Celebrini
CHI-Demidov/Dman
ANA-Dman/Demidov
CLB-???
MTL-A superstar forward please

 

[calder candidate]

obviously I not hype about picking a LD but Buium killed it at the U20 and the NCAA as a draft eligible, how many US player get to play at the U20 at that age, how many have that kind of impact, how many draft eligible help lead there NCAA team to the national championship. You can project anyone to be an impact player but I kind feel like he already is… I see some ranking where he is out or barely in the top 10…

 

[waitin425]

I’m concerned of the building blocks and the timing of it’s maturity more than others. At some point we’ll have to adress the forwards. We are a barren land in terms of talent in the prospect pool. Zilch nada in Laval. Beck (3-4 C) and Mesar (?????) next season in Laval. That’s it.

So… can any of those above bring a high end forward? Guhle can and Hutson too. But you’re spinning wheels if you once again recycle ex first picks in which you invested a lot of time to fit in your system, gave responsibilities and put in effort to be patient, only to go back to a LD that’s 18 and not ready to play for you in the next… 2-3 years maybe? I think it would be a setback to go that route. We have a D squad thats coming to a certain degree of maturity, while forwards can come in way faster in only one year to start and have an impact.

Perfectly said.

The only D that should be traded are the ones that are being left behind by the development of others. That means, Harris, Barron, Struble, and possibly Engstrom.

Trading Guhle, Rein, Hutson, Mailloux and Xhekaj just restarts the clock. Those 5 are off limits for me. The 6th and 7th d man can be filled by whoever we don't trade. That means 2 from my list above can be trade bait, as they all project as NHLers.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I always was a big proponent of the Guhle for Zegras trade, but I think Anaheim wants a RHD.

I'm open to it. I do think we can still have a good group of D without Guhle. Not desperate to move him though. Difficult decision to make. They probably want Reinbacher but Ducks also own a pick in this top 5 so they are likely going after their RD.

It will be interesting to see what Hughes does. Does he trade for Zegras and if not, who does he try to trade for to insert a top 6F now.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Why didn't Ryder score very much this season? He looked like a killer at the u18s so let's hear the cope.

 

[Habs Icing]

Melnick asked him since he as Dickinson @ 5 and the Habs saying they want a forward @ 5 which forward he would take at 5 today. He said as of today he would take Iginla.

That makes absolutely no sense. But then this is McGuire.

He has Dickenson at 5 and Lindstrom at 6. Iginla is nowhere to be seen yet if he were the Habs he would pick Iginla. I know he has concerns about Lindstrom's health, but don't put him at 6.

 

[Doublechin]

No way I'm picking a defenseman this year. Adding another top 6 forward is more important, imo.

We said the same thing the KK year

No way we adding a winger like Tkachuk or a Dman like Hughes or Dobson, let's get out franchise center

 

[SlafySZN]

Why didn't Ryder score very much this season? He looked like a killer at the u18s so let's hear the cope.

The raiders aren’t a good team and was still 2nd in PPG on his team has he played the whole season, he got injured mid-year.

 

[Doublechin]

NGL Buium looks damn good

He's got franchise Dman written all over him

 

[Habs Icing]

you're gonna trade a guy who had 65 points on an "off year" and is probably gonna put up 40 goals a few times in his career for just a top 10 pick? what?

If you want this rebuild to last forever, you must trade away your almost completely developed players. At this draft table, I suggest we also trade Suzuki for a top 5 pick. Next year it's Slaf and Guhle. The year after Xkehej and Dach. You gotta keep the ball rolling. We need new shiny toys every year.

 

[BLONG7]

Do we know, which kids for the 1st round, have been interviewed by the Habs??
Do they even make that known?

 

[SlafySZN]

Do we know, which kids for the 1st round, have been interviewed by the Habs??
Do they even make that known?

I think someone on BMP said the habs interviewed Iginla 4 times this season. Lindstrom, Catton and Parekh. But pretty sure they talked to more.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Wheeler just did a mock draft based on what he's hearing so far.

1. Celebrini
2. Demidov (between Demidov and Levshunov)
3. Levshunov
4. Silayev (went Lindstrom in the mock but after talking to scouts, etc. he's hearing Silayev)
5. Lindstrom