Can you beat this prospects line-up?

[guitaraholic*]

Hello, I'm new here, but if you don't mind, I'm going to jump right in.

To the thread starter, I'm curious why you're so concerned about Montreal's prospect depth being the best in the league?

It's no secret that Montreal's prospect rating will drop significantly next year. But the good news is, that's not because several of their prospects became busts, it's because some of their top prospects joined the NHL. Komisarek and Ryder have graduated already and Hainsey and Hossa will get permanent roster spots next year. The Habs are no-longer a bottom-feeder team looking towards a future 5 years down the line. They're already a competitive team and they should only get better. How can this be a bad thing? There's no need to have the best prospect depth in the NHL when you've got a great group of young players already on your roster.

when was it guys like Hainsey and Hossa have proven themselves "great?" I happen to like some of Montreal's young players but they still have a ways to go to prove themselves truly effective at the NHL level.

 

[cj]

I wasn't really including Hainsey and Hossa in that evaluation. Great may have been the wrong word to use, but my point was Habs fans need not be worried about their team dropping in the prospects rankings because it's a result of their top prospects graduating to the NHL.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

Hmm I'll have a go for the Coyotes..

Roman Tomanek - Jakub Koreis - Blake Wheeler
Frank Lukes - Kiel McLeod - Martin Podlesak
Kevin Porter - Tyler Redenbach - Enver Lisin
Will Engasser - Erik Westrum - Dmitri Pestunov

Igor Knyazev - Keith Ballard
Joe Callahan - Logan Stephenson
Matt Jones - Beat Schiess-Forster

David Leneveu
Jeff Pietrasiak

Certainly weak down the left with a bunch of wild-cards. But pretty solid all the way in center, right wing, defense and a top notch goalie prospect.

Graduates really hurt with losing five 1st rounders - Kolanos, Taffe, Sjostrom, Rupp, Spiller (okay Spiller was 33rd so not a 1st but almost). They left behind prospects that are either very raw (Wheeler, Lisin, Tomanek) or talented but struggling to make progress (McLeod, Knyazev, Podlesak etc)

 

[Rowsdower]

1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Nashville
6. Columbus
7. Florida
8. Atlanta
9. Montreal
10. New Jersey
11. Buffalo
12. San Jose
13. NYR
14. LA
15. Ottawa

IMHO, those are pretty fair rankings. Montreal could go a few spots higher, but as stated before it is debatable. They have a nice set of prospects (not many are denying that) just not top 3 in the NHL.

 

[TomasPlekanec]

Have you checked ATL's and FLA's prospect group? They are not a lot better then MTL's ... In fact they arn't... I don't see how Philly or Nashville are a lot better then the Habs either in term of prospects. The major part of CBJ's prospect are in the NHL also.. I'd rank the Habs top 6 for sure. And if you take in consideration these kids will have veterans leadership to help their developement and a winning atmosphere in Hamilton and pretty soon in Montreal, they have a major advantage over PIT's and CHI's and WSH's .. because those 3 teams doesn't have veterans in their line-up and are pretty much guarenteed to finish in the bottom of the league again. Ok I agree Chicago as Brown Barnaby Arnason Bell and Daze, But if T-Bo gets injured again, they have no defense, it's the bottom of the league again for the Hawks...

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Have you checked ATL's and FLA's prospect group? They are not a lot better then MTL's ... In fact they arn't... I don't see how Philly or Nashville are a lot better then the Habs either in term of prospects. The major part of CBJ's prospect are in the NHL also.. I'd rank the Habs top 6 for sure. And if you take in consideration these kids will have veterans leadership to help their developement and a winning atmosphere in Hamilton and pretty soon in Montreal, they have a major advantage over PIT's and CHI's and WSH's .. because those 3 teams doesn't have veterans in their line-up and are pretty much guarenteed to finish in the bottom of the league again. Ok I agree Chicago as Brown Barnaby Arnason Bell and Daze, But if T-Bo gets injured again, they have no defense, it's the bottom of the league again for the Hawks...

The Baby Penguins made the Calder Cup finals. I think that qualifies as a winning atmosphere for prospects.

Mario Lemieux and Mark Recchi are pretty good veterans. Mark Recchi i believe has missed 21 games in his entire career. He'll have a good influence on youngsters. Who are these amazing veterans on the canadiens? Koivu's great, but after that?

 

[Hawkhead]

And with our recent edition of Cullimore.....

 

[Ajacied]

i'd rank it like this:

1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Nashville
6. Columbus
7. Florida
8. Atlanta
9. Montreal
10. New Jersey
11. Buffalo
12. San Jose
13. NYR
14. LA
15. Ottawa

Ottawa is a bit too high IMO. I think that they are top 20, but not top 15 anymore. Their depth is nothing to write home about and they have some prospects with questionmarks attached to them. Overall, a fairly accurate list.

 

[markov`]

Higgins, most likely a 3rd liner? That's gotta be a joke. How underrated he is.

 

[Oiltalk]

1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Nashville
6. Columbus
7. Florida
8. Atlanta
9. Montreal
10. New Jersey
11. Buffalo
12. San Jose
13. NYR
14. LA
15. Ottawa

Edmonton doesn't crack top 15?

 

[nomorekids]

Edmonton doesn't crack top 15?

i think spots 14-17 would be pretty interchangeable, and edmonton could probably be 15 instead of ottawa.

and yes, higgins projects to be a third liner. ask your more realistic counterparts.

sheesh, there's no use in trying to argue. everyone but the habs fans thinks this is a pretty accurate\fair list...but until i say Montreal > everyone else, you won't be happy. and for the record...no, your prospects aren't better than philadelphia or nashville's. as i mentioned in an earlier post, montreal shows about 2 sure fire prospects...both forwards..and tails off after that. nashville has about four of those on defense alone, and at least two high end forward prospects(Radulov, Shishkanov)..as well as two more prospects that will likely both make the NHL this year...in Segal and Pivko. Philadelphia's prospect base down the middle alone puts them ahead of montreal, as well. I realize some of you think that "HF" stands for "Habs' Future," but be realistic. Your prospects might be top ten, but there's no way they're top five.

 

[leafaholix*]

I wonder where the Stars new defense ranks among the organisations. I had it around 25 prior to the draft, but I'm liking what we have on the blueline right now.

The only guys that stand out on the Stars blue line are Fransson and Daley.

Fistric was taken way too high in the draft, I can't see him becoming as good as either Fransson or Trevor. Shawn Belle is a guy I really like... but apparentely according to those who catch him more often in the WHL, he has almost no hockey sense.

So I really don't know how to base my personal opinion on him. I really like him though, he's one of the best skaters I've seen. Dallas has probably 2 of the greatest skating defensemen I've seen in years.

 

[Rowsdower]

Have you checked ATL's and FLA's prospect group? They are not a lot better then MTL's ... In fact they arn't... I don't see how Philly or Nashville are a lot better then the Habs either in term of prospects. The major part of CBJ's prospect are in the NHL also..

Nobody is saying that the prospects on these teams are way better than Montreal's....he said after Washington, Pittsburgh and Chicago it is fairly close from about the 4-9 spots. I feel that the teams on that list and in those spots are very close, with not a great deal seperating them. Not a great deal better, but it can certainly be argued that they are slightly better.

And if you take in consideration these kids will have veterans leadership to help their developement and a winning atmosphere in Hamilton and pretty soon in Montreal, they have a major advantage over PIT's and CHI's and WSH's .. because those 3 teams doesn't have veterans in their line-up and are pretty much guarenteed to finish in the bottom of the league again. Ok I agree Chicago as Brown Barnaby Arnason Bell and Daze, But if T-Bo gets injured again, they have no defense, it's the bottom of the league again for the Hawks...

Chicago's signed Brown, Barnaby and Cullimore. The Penguins added Recchi, and have Lemieux, Tarnstrom and Eastwood. There is also a chance they will add someone else at some point. Not an overbearing amount, but enough vets for rebuilding teams IMO. I also believe that all three of those team's farm clubs made the playoffs, and the Baby Pens got to the finals....so you can Hamilton out of your arguement right there. And fwiw, the younger guys on the Pens got a taste of a winning environment late last season, and I think it did wonders. However, I have yet to see many of Montreal's prospects reaping the benefits of their 'major advantage' over those three teams as of now....save for Mike Ryder, most of the younger guys have been unable to stick with the big club and be productive (Hossa, Hainsey, Komisarek, etc). Not saying that they never will...I just don't think this 'huge advantage' is all that huge....

And as for the bold part, there are no guarentees in hockey.....though I will admit it is more likely than not.

 

[NewHabsEra*]

i think spots 14-17 would be pretty interchangeable, and edmonton could probably be 15 instead of ottawa.

and yes, higgins projects to be a third liner. ask your more realistic counterparts.

sheesh, there's no use in trying to argue. everyone but the habs fans thinks this is a pretty accurate\fair list...but until i say Montreal > everyone else, you won't be happy. and for the record...no, your prospects aren't better than philadelphia or nashville's. as i mentioned in an earlier post, montreal shows about 2 sure fire prospects...both forwards..and tails off after that. nashville has about four of those on defense alone, and at least two high end forward prospects(Radulov, Shishkanov)..as well as two more prospects that will likely both make the NHL this year...in Segal and Pivko. Philadelphia's prospect base down the middle alone puts them ahead of montreal, as well. I realize some of you think that "HF" stands for "Habs' Future," but be realistic. Your prospects might be top ten, but there's no way they're top five.

Is Balej a surefire for the Rangers in your opinion? Simple little question...

If you answered yes like almost everbody would do here, then you have to understand that there is a good reason why he was ranked about 6th-7th in our depth chart..

You even dont know what you are talking about when you say Montreal has only 2 surefire... I imagine your are talking about our 2 more skilled fowards in Kostitsyn and Perezhogin?

You have to know that Plekanec is a surefire, in fact this is our most ready foward prospect... This is an great 2-way player with incredible skating and stickhandling skills, since he only is 5"10, he is around 200 lbs, he is build as a tank and not effraid to go in the traffic, Plekanec has all what it takes to steal the second center spot to Ribeiro since he is faster, better shot, more effective along the board, plays with more grit, great playmaker skills... In fact Plekanec is in the S.Sullivan mold... You can bet anything you want with me that this kid will have a great carreer in the NHL!

Higgins... not a surefire Higgins? Then Upshall isnt! ..Higgins is the complete package, it makes 4 surefire my friend...

Then you have Hossa who will be a Habs next season, I believe in his skills and attitide and should be more confortable with more kids in the line-up...

You have Beauchemin, who is maybe not considered a prospect anymore but is for sure NHL caliber..

You have a guy like Chipchura who has the determination, size and skills to play in the NHL one day...

I'm really high on Lapierre as well...

To me we have 4 fowards who just cant miss the boat and plenty of other who have excellent chances to play in the NHL one days no matter where...

Saying we only have 2 surefire fowards show how little you know about our prospects..

No way teams like Flyers, Atlanta, Nashville are above Montreal.... Stop dreaming body!

 

[NewHabsEra*]

Flyers vs Mtl:

Carter <= Kostitsyn

Richards = Higgins

Sharp <<< Perezhogin

Ruzicka has been a third rounder in the 2003 draft (81th overall, this is Flyers' 5th best prospect... We have 3 other players selected above him in this year draft if you count Kostitsyn out... Urquhart (ranked 8th in our depth), Lapierre (9th) and OByrn (11th).. All 3 are developing very well...

Flyers's defense prospects are'nt better than ours, I would say worst since they traded Wowitka and in goal it looks pretty similar...

I dont think the Flyers are even close to the Habs!

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

I wonder where the Bruins would rank. Definatley not top 10, but they have a lot of good defensive and goaltending prospects, and they have some talent(no for sure star potential but Karsums and Hilbert are safe to be second-third liners)

 

[TRask]

Evseev-Boyes-Zinovjev
Samuellson-Krejci-Hilbert
Karsums-Stastny-Marjamaki
Bitz-Vernarsky-Utkin
exavel Frolov,Nate Thompson, Benoit mondou,Patrick Valcak,Kris Versteeg,Ashton Rome

Stuart-Jonsson
Jurcina-Alberts
Rediker-Hunwick

Toivonen
Siglet

 

[Hawkalyzer]

Has the Habs tanked any season the last couple of years!? No, compared to Washington, Pittsburgh and Chicago..

we've tanked? lets check the last 3 years

01-02: 1st round elimination in the playoffs
02-03: On pace for the playoffs until the whole Theo Fleury incident in Columbus
03-04: had a .500 team early in the year until Thibault went down with a groin injury, then the season went south

i wouldnt exactly call that tanking for prospect depth, but who knows

 

[nomorekids]

okay, okay. enough.

I hereby take back all comments I've made that are contrary to the idea that Montreal has the best prospects, the best future, the best present and the best past. Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad and even the Dhali Lama have all called me to let me know that they're Habs fans. Starting next year, the Habs will win the Cup every year for the next 50,a nd all the world will rejoice. Christopher Higgins will score 99 goals, shattering rookie records soundly.

Happy now?

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

okay, okay. enough.

I hereby take back all comments I've made that are contrary to the idea that Montreal has the best prospects, the best future, the best present and the best past. Jesus, Confucius, Muhammad and even the Dhali Lama have all called me to let me know that they're Habs fans. Starting next year, the Habs will win the Cup every year for the next 50,a nd all the world will rejoice. Christopher Higgins will score 99 goals, shattering rookie records soundly.

Happy now?

 

[clefty]

Flyers vs Mtl:

Carter <= Kostitsyn

Richards = Higgins

Sharp <<< Perezhogin

Ruzicka has been a third rounder in the 2003 draft (81th overall, this is Flyers' 5th best prospect... We have 3 other players selected above him in this year draft if you count Kostitsyn out... Urquhart (ranked 8th in our depth), Lapierre (9th) and OByrn (11th).. All 3 are developing very well...

Flyers's defense prospects are'nt better than ours, I would say worst since they traded Wowitka and in goal it looks pretty similar...

I dont think the Flyers are even close to the Habs!

First things first, draft position has nothing to do with it.

I'd take Carter over Kostitsyn, probably.

Mike Richards >>>>> Chris Higgins.

Perezhogin over Sharp is also debatable.

Goaltending is not a weak point within the Flyers, no way.
Antero Niittymäki > Yan Dannis. They also have Bernd Bruckler who's come along very well, and David Trembley is an interesting prospect. He's owned in the QMJHL over the past two seasons (with the best team infront of him, mind you) but he appears to be a big game goalie.

Defensively I do think the Flyers are pretty thin (I don't have a good feeling about Ruggeri). Picard seems okay, and Seidenberg could still become a solid NHL defenseman. But Montreal aren't so better off. In fact, I think they're even with a slight edge probably to the Flyers. Montreal has Komisarek who looks pretty good, then there's Hainsey (who I have major doubts over) then the cupboard is looking pretty bare after that.

My opinion: down the middle and in goal, the Flyers are ahead. Defense is close with a nod to Philly. On both wings, Montreal appear to have the better quality.

Me praising the Flyers....I need a shower.

 

[bizzz*]

You forgot to put into the mix of flyers prospects RJ Umberger though. He definitely has bigger potential than Sharp.

 

[Ryan O'Byrne]

This would be my montreal prospects line up.It looks balanced but could be better.I think It needs a couple Physical scoring forwards for the top 2 lines.



Marcel Hossa- Tomas Plekanec- Andrei Kostsitsyn

Michael Lambert - Cory Urquhart - Alex Perezhogin

Chris Higgins - Kyle Chipchura - J.T. Wyman

Gregory Stewart - Maxim Lapierre - Jonathan Ferland



D

Ron Hainsey - Oskari Korpikari

Konstantin Korneev - Ryan O'Byrne

Alexei Yemelin - Andrew Archer

Mark Flood


G

Yann Danis

Jaroslav Halak

 

[capman29]

Higgins - Plekanec - Kostitsyn

Hossa - Chipchura - Perezhogin

Lambert - Locke - Urquhart

Bonneau - Lapierre - Ferland

Hainsey O'Byrn

Korneev Archer

Korpikari Yemelin

Danis
Lindberg
Halak

Washingtons draft class of 2004 and the portland farm team just pick them and they beat these seven way to sundown .

 

[Kaiped Krusader]

Have the Thrashers given up on Santala? Or is he too old to be considered a prospect?

No. The team signed him to a new contract a few weeks ago. I believe it was one year plus an option. I think he was a bit of a disappointment though. He was expected to adjust to the North American game a little faster than he did. He is a little old to be a prospect at this point.