Silayev, Lindstrom, Catton, Iginla, Parekh, Eiserman

[Junohockeyfan]

If Celebrini, Demidov, and Lindstrom are not available, I would be about equally happy with any of the other forwards

I feel the same way. If those three are off the board, then whoever they pick is find with me. Even if its a dman. The quality of the dmen in this draft are higher than the forwards after Demidov and Lindstrom IMO.

 

[26Mats]

They both will available at 5. With Lindstrom back injury. It might scare some team from drafting him in the top 4. Demidov also got injured again. Slight chance of him being available at 5.

I was saying we have more of a chance of drafting 6th or 7th than top 5.

 

[SlafySZN]

I was saying we have more of a chance of drafting 6th or 7th than top 5.

24.5% for the 5th overall, 44% for the 6th overall and 14.2% for 7th. So 7 is the less likely of the 3.

And 8.5 for the 1st overall, 8.6 for the 2nd pick.

 

[26Mats]

24.5% for the 5th overall, 44% for the 6th overall and 14.2% for 7th. So 7 is the less likely of the 3.

And 8.5 for the 1st overall, 8.6 for the 2nd pick.

I'm saying we have a 58% chance of not drafting top 5 (i.e. of drafting 6th or 7th), versus a 42% chance of drafting top 5 (i.e. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd).

 

[themilosh]

Boring?

The epic meltdowns all summer long, and 2-3 years of incessant crying we'd see on this board would be very much worthy lol

Gotta agree with you there.. according to the French media, we could be winning a stanley next year with Wright and Michkov (arriving). Imagine being so lucky as to draft Levshunov at #5 instead of Catton, the meltdown and rebuild would be glorious.

 

[HabbyGuy]

If the order draft order stays according to the regular season standings, and one of Columbus or the Yotes take Saliyev, who do you take if Celebrini, Demidov, and Lindstrom are off the board?

levshunov? Catton? Iginla? Eiserman?

I've been ping ponging back and forth in my mind between Iginla and Catton for a couple months. In this scenario, I'm thinking I'd ultimately choose Catton.

 

[calder candidate]

If the order draft order stays according to the regular season standings, and one of Columbus or the Yotes take Saliyev, who do you take if Celebrini, Demidov, and Lindstrom are off the board?

levshunov? Catton? Iginla? Eiserman?

Catton, even if he wasn’t BPA I feel like that gap will be very small and he has elite upside so it would be ok going for need.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Every 18 year old kid puts on a ton of weight between 18 and 21. 20lbs is not at all unreasonable, especially if you are a late bloomer. Kids that hit puberty late almost always put on a lot in that age range.

Nah, I disagree. There are a few that put on weight but a lot of them don't. The Suzuki situation is more rare than typical. Not many work as hard as Suzuki did. These are exceptions to the rule, not the rule applied to all prospects equally. Development don't work that way.

I have seen many draft picks around 160 lbs and it takes them years to get to 180. For guys like Eiserman and Iggy, they both are two of the younger guys in this draft and also are already at 185 lbs. That indicates to me they are already committed to adding muscle or have filled in a bit to their frame at an earlier age.

The hope that the player gets stronger and adds weight is wishful thinking. It's not like they stay the same but many have very modest weight/strength added from age 18-23. I prefer to target the guys who already has shown ability to fill in and have weight/strength at an earlier age.

I'm pretty sure actual NHL scouts target these type too.

 

[HabbyGuy]

Nah, I disagree. There are a few that put on weight but a lot of them don't. The Suzuki situation is more rare than typical. Not many work as hard as Suzuki did. These are exceptions to the rule, not the rule applied to all prospects equally. Development don't work that way.

I have seen many draft picks around 160 lbs and it takes them years to get to 180. For guys like Eiserman and Iggy, they both are two of the younger guys in this draft and also are already at 185 lbs. That indicates to me they are already committed to adding muscle or have filled in a bit to their frame at an earlier age.

The hope that the player gets stronger and adds weight is wishful thinking. It's not like they stay the same but many have very modest weight/strength added from age 18-23. I prefer to target the guys who already has shown ability to fill in and have weight/strength at an earlier age.

I'm pretty sure actual NHL scouts target these type too.

Catton by his own admission says he's 175 lbs right now.

https://www.tvasports.ca/2024/05/03...poir-qui-se-voit-deja-avec-dach-et-slafkovsky

One of the only question marks on his CV concerns his size: he measures, according to the various statistical platforms, 5 feet 11 inches and weighs 163 pounds.

“Their figures are no longer up to date [laughs]!” Catton quickly says.

“I weigh 175 pounds now, not 163!”

“It's certain that I still need to gain a little strength, but honestly, my style of play adapts well to all situations. I've never been hit hard before. My intelligence of the game compensates for the few pounds that I concede to my opponents. I have qualities in me that they don’t necessarily have,” says the skater.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Every 18 year old kid puts on a ton of weight between 18 and 21. 20lbs is not at all unreasonable, especially if you are a late bloomer. Kids that hit puberty late almost always put on a lot in that age range.

The original point is spinning now. I prefer to draft players who have already shown ability to have that weight/physical strength and not draft a light guy with the hopes he gets stronger. Weight is also a factor of height and lean muscle. If you have been paying attention, the top scouts and teams that do well... do target guys who are more physically strong. And no, I'm not talking about the McCarron obsession type drafting where there is no skill.

If you draft someone who is under 6'-0" and very light, you better make sure the skating/skill/IQ is very high. Habs have two of them... Caufield and Hutson. If we are building a contender, we need to inject more guys with size/skating/goal scoring power.

Where do you think someone like Catton rounds out at? Doubt he reaches Marner status. What do you think?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Catton, even if he wasn’t BPA I feel like that gap will be very small and he has elite upside so it would be ok going for need.

I have no idea why Eiserman is falling on lots of lists. This kid has a great shot and likes to shoot like Ovi. His goal scoring resume is just like Caufield and he's got size to this frame. Very curious to see where Bob M has him in his end of season rankings. I believe he had him 4th in the mid season. Said it before and will say it again, I trust Bob more than other peoples list.

Eiserman potential slip reminds me of F Forsberg from the 2012 draft. Drafted 11th but should have been drafted top 5. Bandwagon devalue trends from scouts in his draft year but had high pedigree heading into this draft year. Remember, he was Celebrini's only threat to dethrone him from 1st OA heading into this season. And to some degree, reminds me of B Tkachuk devalue.

People need to be reminded of the big 3 heading into this draft year. Celebrini, Eiserman, Demidov. I think these 3 are still the big 3 and none of them have had bad seasons. I always look at reports preseason, mid season, and end of season. My overall ratings factor in many angles. Going for the hot commodity on the up/down rollercoaster can be a trap sometimes. It was with KK and I hope it is not the case with Reinbacher.

Eiserman is my target. Then Iggy. Iggy would be classified as the hot trending commodity but Eiserman had higher pedigree for a longer span.

Macklin Celebrini leads 'Big Three' atop Bob McKenzie's TSN pre-season NHL draft ranking | TSN

Nine out of 10 NHL scouts surveyed to determine TSN’s Pre-Season Top 16 Rankings slotted the 17-year-old Boston University freshman from Vancouver at the top of their respective lists.

www.tsn.ca

 

[SlyIslands]

I'm saying we have a 58% chance of not drafting top 5 (i.e. of drafting 6th or 7th), versus a 42% chance of drafting top 5 (i.e. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd).

You could also say that we have 17,4% chances of drafting top 3 versus 14,2% of drafting 7th.

 

[Omar]

I feel the same way. If those three are off the board, then whoever they pick is find with me. Even if its a dman. The quality of the dmen in this draft are higher than the forwards after Demidov and Lindstrom IMO.

Which is why it was stupid to pick a defenseman around forwards in last year’s draft

 

[WeThreeKings]

Which is why it was stupid to pick a defenseman around forwards in last year’s draft

No, it wasn't. There's not a single right shot defenseman in this class who projects anywhere near Reinbachers defensive game. While the forward we would have taken is Leonard and he's never played away from the same super charged line since he was like 16. There's tons of arguments for the available forwards this year to be better than Leonard. There's no argument for a right Shot defenseman with the same defensive profile.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Zegras today at age 23 (6'-0" and 185 lbs) is what you hope Catton can be at age 23.

Players like Eiserman or Iggy will be closer to 200 lbs as 6'-0" players by the time they are 23.

There is your difference.

 

[26Mats]

You could also say that we have 17,4% chances of drafting top 3 versus 14,2% of drafting 7th.

Yes I could. But both of those are unlikely.

I just find it strange that fans are talking about who we should pick at 5, as if that is where we're most likely to pick. Even stranger is our own GM said in an interview, assuming the draft rankings stay the same as the standings, we're going to get a good player at 5. Hello Kent, we're more likely to draft 6th or 7th than we are top 5. Not sure why he'd evoke drafting 5th. He might as well have said, assuming we draft top 3, we're likely to get a good player.

 

[CHwest]

The original point is spinning now. I prefer to draft players who have already shown ability to have that weight/physical strength and not draft a light guy with the hopes he gets stronger. Weight is also a factor of height and lean muscle. If you have been paying attention, the top scouts and teams that do well... do target guys who are more physically strong. And no, I'm not talking about the McCarron obsession type drafting where there is no skill.

If you draft someone who is under 6'-0" and very light, you better make sure the skating/skill/IQ is very high. Habs have two of them... Caufield and Hutson. If we are building a contender, we need to inject more guys with size/skating/goal scoring power.

Where do you think someone like Catton rounds out at? Doubt he reaches Marner status. What do you think?

Skill first, Catton is 5"11" and by the looks of his face a late bloomer. I have not seen his bone structure so cannot guess how heavy he will get but would say that 185 is certainly not out of the question. I was a late bloomer as were my two boys all of us topped out at roughly 6'1". I was 165 for a lot of my working life as I was very slight in the bone dept as well as working hard physical jobs. My oldest was quit slight at 18 as well (165) but he was he was heavier boned. He weighed 215 at 24. The youngest was very slight (155 at 18 6'1") but had a large bone structure. I always told him he would end up being the biggest, well he never did get there, he is 180 at 30 but freakishly strong. He can drop down and pump out a 100 pushups in short order just for giggles. So the gist of that is that we have no way of knowing where he will top out at for weight, but if he is strong I am not that worried about it. Look at Mcdavid, he looks rather thin as well, but the way he can hold off checkers I think he is freakishly strong as well.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Which is why it was stupid to pick a defenseman around forwards in last year’s draft

Only stupid if Reinbacher is not a top pairing quality. If he ends up just top 4D, stupid yes.

Skill first, Catton is 5"11" and by the looks of his face a late bloomer. I have not seen his bone structure so cannot guess how heavy he will get but would say that 185 is certainly not out of the question. I was a late bloomer as were my two boys all of us topped out at roughly 6'1". I was 165 for a lot of my working life as I was very slight in the bone dept as well as working hard physical jobs. My oldest was quit slight at 18 as well (165) but he was he was heavier boned. He weighed 215 at 24. The youngest was very slight (155 at 18 6'1") but had a large bone structure. I always told him he would end up being the biggest, well he never did get there, he is 180 at 30 but freakishly strong. He can drop down and pump out a 100 pushups in short order just for giggles. So the gist of that is that we have no way of knowing where he will top out at for weight, but if he is strong I am not that worried about it. Look at Mcdavid, he looks rather thin as well, but the way he can hold off checkers I think he is freakishly strong as well.

Zegras today (6'-0", 185 lbs) is what you hope Catton can be at age 23.

Guys like Eiserman or Iggy will be close to 200 lbs at age 23 IMO. They are already at 185 today and two of the younger guys in the draft. See what I am doing? Targeting guys who are already strong and have good size/goal scoring resumes.

If we take Catton, we better hope he has P Kane type talent.

 

[26Mats]

Parekh would actually be a perfect fit as Matheson's eventual replacement.

Guhle - Parekh
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux

I like the idea of having an offensive dynamo on each of the top 2 pairs that can push the play offensively. And having Guhle and Reinbacher as defensive rocks helps hold down the defensive side. Although we probably want someone with more size on the top pair. though the Avs do well with Makar and Girard in their top 4.

https://www.tvasports.ca/2024/05/03/dans-la-mire-du-ch--je-suis-le-meilleur-defenseur-offensif-de-ce-repechage

 

[Junohockeyfan]

Which is why it was stupid to pick a defenseman around forwards in last year’s draft

I thought so as well. You only pick for need if the BPA’s are equal or near equal.

Michkov and Reins were not equal.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I thought so as well. You only pick for need if the BPA’s are equal or near equal.

Michkov and Reins were not equal.

Yeah they thought Reinbacher was the rarer and more valuable piece to a contender.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Who do you prefer between Lindstrom, Iginla and Catton? I really believe they are drafting the best forward instead of best player which could be a Dman.

The way I see the draft going, I don't think we will have a chance to draft Lindstrom, so the choice, unless we move up, would be between Iginla and Catton.

In this writer's opinion the top 4 picks will be: Celebrini, Lindstrom, Buium and then Dickinson. That Celebrini will be going 1 OA is now pre-ordained. I see Lindstrom, despite the injury concerns, going second. When the former NY Football Giants GM, George Young was asked what his draft philosophy was , he responded: "I like big men who can run". I firmly believe that a similar approach aptly applies to hockey: I like big players who can skate. I can't see too many teams, if given the opportunity, passing on this very large player who possesses excellent skating and hockey skills.

As for Buium, people are still kicking themselves for not taking Quinn Hughes in the 2018 draft. You pass on the type of skating ability that Buium brings at your team's peril. Dickinson's play so far in the OHL playoffs shows that he offers a plug and play NHL defenceman for the next decade. He's big, mobile, physical, has a great shot and is a team leader. He has captain written all over him and if he leads London to a Memorial Cup win, I could see a team taking him at 2 OA.

Then, if I'm correct in my assessment of the draft, it will come down to a choice between Iginla and Catton. Both will be impact players in the NHL. One, Ignila is a better goal scorer and and plays a more physical game. Catton is a better play maker and probably has better offensive vision. To me, between the two, I go with the scorer, who is also one of the yougest draft eligible players in the draft. But it's so close, I could change my mind tomorrow.

Bottom line, unless Hughes makes a colossal overreach, we're getting an elite prospect at 5 OA who will be a principal driver of our seemingly endless re-build.

As I have said, this is a great draft to be sitting between 2 OA and 7 OA. Everyone drafting in those positions will (should) be getting a core player.

 

[417]

I think this organization is targeting Lindstrom if he's available at their spot.

And being far from a draft connoisseur, that's who I would go for.

 

[Habs]

I think this organization is targeting Lindstrom if he's available at their spot.

And being far from a draft connoisseur, that's who I would go for.

For sure, then Iggy. Wonder if Demidov drops with that nasty knee issue

 

[Ozmodiar]

Interesting stat: Catton led the WHL with 7 short handed goals.

This tells us at least 2 things about the player.