HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[Catanddogguitarrr]

That's an enticing idea on paper, until you start trying to find that specific team that has a young established player they spent time developping and would now rather turn back the clock and take a chance on a younger less proven player in hopes of getting better value.

Very specific circumstances needed for that to happen, I feel the bar was set unrealistically high with the Dach trade on year 1, people expect that kind of high impact trade each year. (Newhook was similar but not as high value).

CHI was going full scorched earth mode back then even though they'd had a recent top 3 pick with some injury history which is why they were willing to let him go. I don't see another team with an equivalent incentive and asset, do you?

That debater was talking of Mason McTavish of Anaheim Ducks.
3rd overall in 2021. 88 pts in 153 games played and a -38. Not that impressive. A top scout should be needed to evaluate that player, he's playing for a bottom team. But he said it's just an example, there can be other players.
That debater is among the worst of the medias and he said very stupid things in the past. His initials are NF.

I'm not agree with him cuz this year there are very interresting players available at #5 and even interresting at #10 spot.

 

[TheBuriedHab]

Also, don't be shocked if Yakemchuk's name starts popping up for Chicago or Anaheim.

If you like Levshunov there is no reason why you wouldn't also be interested in Yakemchuk. Yakemchuk is a mean and tough SOB, someone I really see Verbeek liking, and Chicago has always really trusted their whl scouts with great success.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

That’s a very conservative estimate, especially if the Habs are picking a forward.

The quality of players available at such an early juncture would normally suggest a faster arrival at the NHL level. Two years or less would be my guess for someone like Lindstrom (should they be lucky to select him) who is already physically mature, for instance.

Yeah maybe too conservative. I should have said in 2 years and Slaf is a good example. If Slaf was picked 1rst in a bad year, what would be a 5th in a good year? Comparable?

Another point, sometimes high picks tends to developp slowly, like Lafreniere for example. Seems like just this PO this year he's showing he have matured. And folks on HFB kept bashing him for a while. I often write wait and see. I often write patience in some cases. Posters like Rehab doesn't listen to me, lol. Sorry Rehab, .

 

[Habs Icing]

I would gladly overpay Chicago to get the Russian kid. My proposal would something like this :

• 5th OV
• 1st 2024 WPG
• Joshua Roy
• One of Struble , Harris or Barron.

In the words of Bergevin, that's me trying to make a PlayStation trade .

This is a strange post. Rejean Houle quoting Bergevin.

The difference between Demidov & Lindstrom =/= 2nd - (5th + 27th + Roy + Struble/Harris/Barron)

 

[Hannibal]

If Chicago picks Lev, does CLB pick Demidov? I think so.

I think we have a legit chance of Lindstrom to us.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If Chicago picks Lev, does CLB pick Demidov? I think so.

I think we have a legit chance of Lindstrom to us.

It's looking good as of today for Lindstrom to be ours.

I'd hug your ass on draft night if it happens.

 

[Leto]

This is a strange post. Rejean Houle quoting Bergevin.

The difference between Demidov & Lindstrom =/= 2nd - (5th + 27th + Roy + Struble/Harris/Barron)

I was being facetious, it is not a serious proposal. The very notion of trading within the top 5 has not happened in recent memory. You would have to go back to 2008 when the Leafs traded to get the 5th OV. I am cool with whomever we get at the 5th spot, be it Lindstrom, Iginla or somebody else.​

 

[CaptnNemo]

It's looking good as of today for Lindstrom to be ours.

I'd hug your ass on draft night if it happens.

Whomever Columbus picks the other one will be ours win/win as far as I'm concern as I would be happy with any of the two.

 

[Mrb1p]

If Chicago picks Lev, does CLB pick Demidov? I think so.

I think we have a legit chance of Lindstrom to us.

Tough to say, but I think Anaheim picks Demidov.

 

[Hannibal]

My early top 5 mock draft:

Celebrini
Levshunov
Silayev
Demidov
Lindrstrom

Demidov + Fantilli duo could be deadly for CLB

 

[Runner77]

Listening to Preds scout Jean-Philippe Glaude who is an 11-year scout with the Preds, he states like many others have, that this draft, there is no consensus after the 1st pick (and sheds some light on Lindstrom and Iginla, among others).

Tij Iginla a tous les outils

Jean-Philippe Glaude discute des meilleurs espoirs en vue du prochain repêchage.

bpmsports.ca

Which makes Iginla a possibility, esp. if Demidov and Lindstrom are off the table at Pick 5.

Some attributes:

- serious, good work ethic
- explosive
- natural goal scorer
- good frame (6’, 186 lbs at age 17)
- disciplined
- has likely mental makeup to play in fishbowl market
- prepped by father in the off season, optimally trained, always looking to improve

I’ve seen him listed as a C/ LW. How comfortable is he as a C?

 

[SOLR]

It's looking good as of today for Lindstrom to be ours.

I'd hug your ass on draft night if it happens.

Not sure if I'm reading this right or its the Belgian beer reading.

 

[sheed36]

MBN with a goal at the worlds. Realistically, iginla and sennecke will be gone if we want to trade back up to the 12-15 range. MBN would be my personal target at that spot. Love his game

I just can't see the Habs wanting to drop from #5 all the way down to the 12-15th range. I could see them maybe moving down to 7th, or maybe even 8th as the furthest, if a team right behind them is desperate to move up to grab a Dickinson or Buium before a team right ahead of them can.

Although moving down 2-3 spots also runs the risk of another team possibly trading up and taking the player you wanted before you so that's also something else to consider before possibly deciding to move down or not.

I'd rather stay at 5 and just take the player you really want there and not risk moving down and potentially missing out on your player.

 

[vokiel]

I wonder who our Swedish scout will pound the table for this year. He's produced interesting picks 2 years in a row now.

Last swedish prospect to pan out for the Habs was who? Popovic?

 

[NotProkofievian]

Not sure if I'm reading this right or its the Belgian beer reading.

Porque no Los dos?

 

[SOLR]

Porque no Los dos?

By default right now. lol

 

[Runner77]

I just can't see the Habs wanting to drop from #5 all the way down to the 12-15th range. I could see them maybe moving down to 7th, or maybe even 8th as the furthest, if a team right behind them is desperate to move up to grab a Dickinson or Buium before a team right ahead of them can.

Although moving down 2-3 spots also runs the risk of another team possibly trading up and taking the player you wanted before you so that's also something else to consider before possibly deciding to move down or not.

I'd rather stay at 5 and just take the player you really want there and not risk moving down and potentially missing out on your player.

If Lindstrom and Demidov are off the table and the Habs were to move back, it better be worth it, otherwise they might lose out on Iginla.

 

[SOLR]

Last swedish prospect to pan out for the Habs was who? Popovic?

Naslund



Ooops I did it again, I played with your heart.

 

[skidcells]

I just can't see the Habs wanting to drop from #5 all the way down to the 12-15th range. I could see them maybe moving down to 7th, or maybe even 8th as the furthest, if a team right behind them is desperate to move up to grab a Dickinson or Buium before a team right ahead of them can.

Although moving down 2-3 spots also runs the risk of another team possibly trading up and taking the player you wanted before you so that's also something else to consider before possibly deciding to move down or not.

I'd rather stay at 5 and just take the player you really want there and not risk moving down and potentially missing out on your player.

Sorry I meant trade up** we are not trading down lol

 

[vokiel]

Naslund



Ooops I did it again, I played with your heart.

1979? I think Popovic is it..

Edit: or De La Rose... At which point, you say it didn't pan out lmao

 

[sheed36]

Listening to Preds scout Jean-Philippe Glaude who is an 11-year scout with the Preds, he states like many others have, that this draft, there is no consensus after the 1st pick (and sheds some light on Lindstrom and Iginla, among others).

Tij Iginla a tous les outils

Jean-Philippe Glaude discute des meilleurs espoirs en vue du prochain repêchage.

bpmsports.ca

Which makes Iginla a possibility, esp. if Demidov and Lindstrom are off the table at Pick 5.

Some attributes:

- serious, good work ethic
- explosive
- natural goal scorer
- good frame (6’, 186 lbs at age 17)
- disciplined
- has likely mental makeup to play in fishbowl market
- prepped by father in the off season, optimally trained, always looking to improve

I’ve seen him listed as a C/ LW. How comfortable is he as a C?

If both Demidov and Lindstrom are gone before 5 or it's deemed there may be some injury concerns with Lindstrom going forward (if he's still on the board @ 5) I'd just take Iginla at 5 and call it a day.

If Lindstrom as no injury concerns going forward though and is still there at 5 I'd likely take him. Like was mentioned in a post above, the Habs still have lots of work to do since there seems to be many scenarios which could play out during this draft and picking 5th OA.

 

[sheed36]

Sorry I meant trade up** we are not trading down lol

I'm the one who should be apologizing since I read your post incorrectly since you did say "trade back up to the 12-15 range" so my bad.

 

[Runner77]

If both Demidov and Lindstrom are gone before 5 or it's deemed there may be some injury concerns with Lindstrom going forward (if he's still on the board @ 5) I'd just take Iginla at 5 and call it a day.

If Lindstrom as no injury concerns going forward though and is still there at 5 I'd likely take him. Like was mentioned in a post above, the Habs still have lots of work to do since there seems to be many scenarios which could play out during this draft and picking 5th OA.

I too prefer Lindstrom, he’s a power forward who can score but he’s also a center, which fills a need.

 

[sheed36]

If Lindstrom and Demidov are off the table and the Habs were to move back, it better be worth it, otherwise they might lose out on Iginla.

Yup it better be worth it. Habs move back to 8th thinking they can still get Iginla there and Calgary then moves up to 7th and steals him right before the Habs. Yikes.

 

[McGees]

Listened to the latest Athletic Pod with Peters, Wheeler, and Pronman.

Chicago - a race between Demidov & Levshunov, some have through Silayev, or Lindstrom or Dickinson into that mix. But colleague close to them is Demidov/Levshunov. Pronman thinks when all said is done it's the defenseman, but if you don't think its close then you'll take Demidov.

1. More Wheeler is leaning more toward Demidov for them the more he's thought about it. Looking at NHL, the teams left are built through duos. So Bedard-Demidov can be that duo for them.
2. All of Chicago's defenseman are left shot on their team and in their system which is why Silayev isn't the option for them.
3. People around the league who would take Silayev at 2
4. Fascinated about what Montreal does at 5 - Hughes vocal at desire at 5. Their mock had Lindstrom at 5. Think Montreal have a lot of work to do.
5. Talked to scouts about Lindstrom, injury stuff is a concern, a lot talking about it, and that his medicals are important.
6. Potential for a trade down, with the value of the defenseman, that it could be a lucrative situation for them.
7. Thinks Anaheim's forward strength makes them unlikely to take a forward.
8. Luchanko, Iginla, Wetsch and Beaudoin have helped their stock at the U18.
9. Cole Hutson and EJ Emery on the USA side.
10. Teddy Stiga improved his stock, he was a driver, pulling everyone into the fight, making that first big play. Little smaller, above average skater and skill, craft and creativity.
11. Liam Greentree hurt his stock at the tournament. Comparison to Artur Kaliyev there. Not the best skaters, not the highest compete, score in junior, intelligent players. Wonder if Greentree goes into the late 1st round or early 2nd. Thinks of Quentin Musty as well.
12. Cole Eiserman also hurt his stock at the tournament. Got the goals he needed to get the NTDP goal scoring record. When talking to scouts, he didn't look himself. There's growing concerns about his overall hockey sense in terms of if he's not impacting the game, does he compound that with other mistakes. The one on one skills aren't there, having trouble beating defenses, getting his shot through, all comes back to his hockey sense. Thinks he will get picked by lottery teams but more the back end of it. Tij Iginla, Catton, Helenius have vaulted themselves a fair amount passed him.
13. Feels like Sennecke has joined that group as well ahead of Eiserman. Pronman very confident Sennecke will go ahead of Eiserman on draft day.
14. Cole Beaudoin - Pronman had him in 21/22 area, might move him up a spot or two. Going to become an emerging consensus, think he will go 18-25 range. His game is likeable, high work ethic, a little bit of offense, going to become a pro center. Similar players in this draft - Stian Solberg in Norway, making people like him as he's mobile, physical, high motor and going to world championships. Jett Luchanko, compete is really strong and could go mid first now and he feels very confident he's going top 20 in this years draft.
15. Scott expects 5/6 defenseman will go in the first 8-9 picks
16. Teams always push defenseman above the forwards.
17. Wingers who are 5'10-5'11 likely going to drop down a bit
18. Beckett Sennecke - Don't think he will go top 5 but he's certainly entered the top 10 conversation. Sennecke's rise isn't only because of his playoffs. His size, his shot, the way he's bringing his game in the playoffs is enticing teams. Pronman if he did a mock he wouldnt go top 5 but he would go top 10.
19. What's the gap between Lindstrom and Catton related to? With those two players, its the size that is a concern with Catton. Everything else in his game is really great. Iginla supposed to be the goal scorer but Catton had more goals than him. Catton does so much at a high level. Lindstrom is an elite athlete, he can fly, super physical. Scout: if you believe he has decent enough hockey sense, then he can be a star. If you don't think he's smart enough, then he's a 2nd liner or a fringey 1st liner. Pronman doesn't buy that they are significantly apart. Does think Lindstrom will go higher though.
20. Who is the analytics darling of the draft? There are 2-3 names that come to mind, Zayne Parekh. Two kids over in Europe - Demidov is one, his analytics are off the charts. Liiga has been watered down, Helenius as well but he gets bonus marks from any sort of model as it hasn't accounted for the quality drop. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard as well is high on the analytics, was viewed more as a support player but the analytics show that he could have more offensive ability than people think.
21. Chances of Demidov sliding to 5 to the Habs? It's not out of the question but it's unlikely. A lot of belief that he's a top 3 forward in the draft. Contract in Russia isn't long. If he signs an extension taht would make things scarier. Some interesting things that have learned from european scouts, that most of them feel the russian risk isn't as high with him especially with his representation with Gold Star. If Chicago takes Levshunov, then what does Anaheim do, does the run on defenseman start on 2/3/4? There's always a possibility but unlikely. Demidov hype train has fired back up after his playoffs. Pronman thinks there's opportunity for teams to talk their way out of him in 2/3/4
22. Who will go way higher than the public thought? Sennecke, Beaudoin, Luchanko, Sam O'Reilly, Letourneau.

They don’t seem to think much of Habs D prospects.