LW Maxime Comtois (2017, 50th, ANA)

[MMC]

I have a feeling he will be Las Vegas's first draft pick.

 

[Chez Weber]

Usually he posts them in the threads pretty quickly after creating them, but KillEmAll83 has made one on Comtois.



After seeing him a couple times on TV, watching this and conferring with people who have scouted him, I'd say he reminds me a fair bit of Matt Tkachuk skillset wise or as said by someone else Ryan Smyth. Not the greatest skater, but can use his size to drive the net, make the smart but simple pass, score in close on rebounds and has good hand eye to deflect pucks (and no fear standing there). Should be an interesting guy to watch. If Leafs fall out of Liljegren range, and there are no good RHD in that spot I could see Comtois being an intriguing option.

He'll be intriguing for sure. I look forward to following him throughout the season.

Habs are going to be all over this guy

I rather have a good season and wait until he's 27

 

[Eye of Ra]

Will he make the World Juniors team?

 

[wings5]

Needs to wake up, currently being outperformed in the Q by some 99 Russian prospects ( Chekhovich, Kozlov,Mikhnin, Alexyev, Koltygin) who were largely unknown outside of Russia before the season.

 

[93LEAFS]

Will he make the World Juniors team?

Slightly older question, even at the start of the season I would of said he's a long-shot, with how he has started the year I don't even think he's in contention for an invite.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Will he make the World Juniors team?

I don't anticipate he will.

 

[Zaddy]

Seems off to a slowish start, only 7 points in 11 games. Disappointing for a projected top5 pick. Anyone watched him play recently?

 

[landy92mack29]

Seems off to a slowish start, only 7 points in 11 games. Disappointing for a projected top5 pick. Anyone watched him play recently?

Watched him Wednesday vs Charlottetown and he was great. Only had 1G on the score sheet but was creating plenty of chances and is already very good defensively. I've watched him 3 times so far this year and he's been the best Tigres player easily in all 3. He doesn't have Laberge who took a cheap shot and he hasn't been able to put up big stat padding numbers in a game which most of the top guys do. He's still playing like a top 5 pick and has points in 7 of the 11 games but just needs better puck luck.

 

[Chuck Downie]

Hopefully the return of Laberge helps his production. 16 pts in 26 games, looks like he may fall out of the first.

 

[MonyontheMoney]

While he probably is falling due to his lack of production, it's probably a stretch to say it looks like he'd fall out of the 1st.

 

[TimeZone]

Very disappointing numbers for a guy many had in the top 10, even top 5 to start the Season.

 

[Daximus]

On pace for 40 points over a full 68 game season. With Laberge out he has had some issues producing. Was he maybe a product of Laberge?

 

[Zaddy]

On pace for 40 points over a full 68 game season. With Laberge out he has had some issues producing. Was he maybe a product of Laberge?

Doubt it. He was great at the Hlinka to start the season, probably the best player on Team Canada. No idea why he is struggling now, haven't watched his team this year. Must be something else going on.

 

[Daximus]

Doubt it. He was great at the Hlinka to start the season, probably the best player on Team Canada. No idea why he is struggling now, haven't watched his team this year. Must be something else going on.

Well it's not like Team Canada wasn't full of good players either.
He might be one of those guys that needs a solid driver of play to elevate his game. Nothing wrong with being a complimentary player.

 

[landy92mack29]

Well it's not like Team Canada wasn't full of good players either.
He might be one of those guys that needs a solid driver of play to elevate his game. Nothing wrong with being a complimentary player.

He does and that's why I've compared him to Landeskog. He has some games where he creates but he needs that guy to feed off of to put up the numbers. He missed Laberge big time but he's also taking on a heavy defensive load compared to other high end draft eligible guys. He'll be a 50-60 point PWF who plays on the PP and PK in the NHL and brings tons of value to whatever team drafts him. He's still a top 5 talent and why people should watch the games instead of box score scouting. I wont be surprised if he falls out of the top 5 though as teams draft weird

 

[Zaddy]

Well it's not like Team Canada wasn't full of good players either.
He might be one of those guys that needs a solid driver of play to elevate his game. Nothing wrong with being a complimentary player.

I think there's a difference between being a complementary player and strictly a product of someone though, and either way I feel like Comtois can definitely drive the play too even though that isn't likely to be his role in the NHL. I'm still high on this kid despite his modest production.

 

[hab 4ever]

10 points and 24 shots in his last 7 games. Looks like he is back on top of his game and his team is finally healthy.

Unclear if he can get back to being considered a top-5 pick with a very strong second half but definitely still top-15 material IMO.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

has there ever been a player with such a strong -1 draft year and such a poor draft year. Esposito is the only one I can think of.

 

[Jonas1235]

Rangers will select him

 

[lawrence]

there is one team that has him rated 5th overall under 2 way forwards. I see him going in the mid to late teens because kid is capable of playing a solid 2 way game.

 

[93LEAFS]

has there ever been a player with such a strong -1 draft year and such a poor draft year. Esposito is the only one I can think of.

Meet Blake Clarke.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=145441

There are a bunch of others. Comtois is not great, but it happens. Esposito was a case of feeding off of Radulov.

 

[Passchendaele]

I wouldn't pick him in the first two rounds as of today.. way too much of a crapshoot.

 

[Magua]

I don't think Comtois is a crap shoot at all really, not that I'd reach on him beyond the later 1st (and GMs love safe size, so one might). He just kind of is what he is. I still think he has a high NHL floor, and *shoulder shrug* NHL ceiling. I believe he's been about a point/per game over his last 30 games fwiw. He started off so poorly scoring-wise; his position and role has been switched frequently this year; and his oft linemate Laberge is having his own nightmare season, after both were 1-2 on Victoriaville in scoring last year. But he's never been a player that has to pile up points to make his impact felt. He's just a good hockey player, in the truest sense.

I don't think he's remarkable at anything in particular, except perhaps his hockey IQ, but I also don't think he has a ton of weaknesses either. I know his skating gets knocked for example, but even that is ok IMO and seems improvable and mostly just his first couple steps. Hands aren't great, but they're fine. I just haven't really had a subpar viewing of him when I've seen him -- he's consistent and very much you get what you expect. When I've seen him at center, I thought he did quite admirably there, though I don't know if I'd project him as one, but he's just versatile like that. He seems like the kind of guy that could be a middle 6 "glue" forward, at all-strengths, doing a lot of the 200 ft grinding dirty work, or even play up and down if needed. If a realistic high bar for him is to be a versatile 20/20 guy, that still has a lot of value.

 

[Zaddy]

I'd still take Comtois comfortably in the 1st round, perhaps as high as #14. I think he is being a little underrated in the rankings and by various people. The numbers aren't as good as you'd want them to be but he has a good track record and started off the season strong with in the Hlinka Memorial.

He doesn't really have many weaknesses in his game. Last year that was his skating, but from what I've seen (in a small sample size mind you) it looks much improved this year and probably good enough to survive in the NHL. If he can improve it even further he could become a very dangerous player. He is already a solid player all over the ice, so if he can improve that skating even more it'll complement his game very nicely and his impact will increase a lot.

Just a smart and sound player in all aspects. Strong hockey IQ, can shoot, can pass, plays all situations, even played some center this year. Even with his worse-than-expected draft season I'm a big fan of this kid.

I don't think Comtois is a crap shoot at all really, not that I'd reach on him beyond the later 1st (and GMs love safe size, so one might). He just kind of is what he is. I still think he has a high NHL floor, and *shoulder shrug* NHL ceiling. I believe he's been about a point/per game over his last 30 games fwiw. He started off so poorly scoring-wise; his position and role has been switched frequently this year; and his oft linemate Laberge is having his own nightmare season, after both were 1-2 on Victoriaville in scoring last year. But he's never been a player that has to pile up points to make his impact felt. He's just a good hockey player, in the truest sense.

I don't think he's remarkable at anything in particular, except perhaps his hockey IQ, but I also don't think he has a ton of weaknesses either. I know his skating gets knocked for example, but even that is ok IMO and seems improvable and mostly just his first couple steps. Hands aren't great, but they're fine. I just haven't really had a subpar viewing of him when I've seen him -- he's consistent and very much you get what you expect. When I've seen him at center, I thought he did quite admirably there, though I don't know if I'd project him as one, but he's just versatile like that. He seems like the kind of guy that could be a middle 6 "glue" forward, at all-strengths, doing a lot of the 200 ft grinding dirty work, or even play up and down if needed. If a realistic high bar for him is to be a versatile 20/20 guy, that still has a lot of value.

Great post. 100% agree on your projection. I see him as just a solid all-around 2nd liner who gets 40-50 points a year with maybe a career high of 60 points. As you say, a "glue" guy and just a straight up good hockey player. I think that has value, especially among NHL GMs.

 

[ginner classic]

Similar skills as Alex Burrows. I could see him getting back on track next year. Seems like a player to me.