Taking a look back at over 30 years worth of Habs prospect top 10 lists

[le_sean]

Some sad eras on there. Lots of hype for guys like Chipchura. “Next captain”. We were a so sure and were rated best in the league prospect-wise.

 

[dcyhabs]

Justin Barron was listed as the top prospect on the Avs list (51st league wide) so he would have been the Habs 2nd ranked prospect. It is odd they published the magazine before the trade deadline (i.e. Morgan Barron still appeared on the Rangers list).

The 1986 Cup team was largely built through the draft, with a nice infusion of talent from the proceeding drafts. Prior to that season the team had been on the decline. The cap and number of teams have made it more challenging now but the draft is still where the Cup is won in my opinion.

Yes, in '85 a bunch of guys from previous drafts came up together, they already had a bunch of vets, and they had just realized how bad the post-Dryden goaltending was after Steve Penney matched their previous guys before fading back into obscurity when Roy came in. Funny, I remembered it as Penney coming in and outplaying previous guys, but his stats were pretty similar while the D would have improved.
Totally forgot Robinson got 82 points that year...

 

[Chili]

Yes, in '85 a bunch of guys from previous drafts came up together, they already had a bunch of vets, and they had just realized how bad the post-Dryden goaltending was after Steve Penney matched their previous guys before fading back into obscurity when Roy came in. Funny, I remembered it as Penney coming in and outplaying previous guys, but his stats were pretty similar while the D would have improved. Totally forgot Robinson got 82 points that year...

Believe the main reason for the rise of Steve Penney (and fall when JP moved on) had alot to do with his coach. Don't know if Patrick Roy ever worked with Jacques Plante but he was a special player from very early on. Seems rare that a goaltender is so mature that young (like Tom Barrasso or Roberto Luongo). I remember Patrick played on a real bad team in Granby, must have helped his development facing alot of rubber.

 

[1909]

Ouside his mid-80's drafts and the draft of Koivu in the 90's, Serge Savard was really bad at drafting good first rounders. Ryan over Iginla was uber bad !

 

[Habsfan18]

Ouside his mid-80's drafts and the draft of Koivu in the 90's, Serge Savard was really bad at drafting good first rounders. Ryan over Iginla was uber bad !

I can’t help but think about this story every time Terry Ryan’s name is brought up:

"I was in the elevator on the way to my seat with my dad and a couple of more, and Doug Robinson, who was the head scout for Montreal. Montreal was one of the only teams that didn't interview me at all. Nothing. So, I didn't really expect to talk to them. San Jose was picking twelfth and they told me they were picking me," Ryan remembers. "So, anyway, in the elevator, the draft was just starting and I was actually late to my seat. Doug Robinson said "Congrats on a good year. Western Hockey League power forward. I like to see that." I said, "Thanks Mr.Robinson. I think a lot of your organization." And on the way off the elevator he said, "Congrats on a good Memorial Cup." And I said, "Jeez, I didn't play in the Memorial Cup." So, I went a little closer to try and get a read on him, and I said, "Okay, Mr.Robinson, I'll see you." And he said, "Okay, thanks Shane." So, fifteen minutes before they drafted me, the Canadiens thought I was Shane Doan, by appearance."

 

[EXPOS123]

Having Aaron Palushaj, Joonas Nattinen, Andreas Engqvist in your top 10 all but confirms your drafting/prospect pool is garbage.,

 

[Scintillating10]

Issue is out. Habs are ranked 23rd in league. We got a C Grade.

Stu Cowan wrote ours up. He has Roy at 10. Kind of surprising considering the year he is having. He has both Smilanic and Heineman ahead of Roy

 

[David Suzuki]

Stu Cowan wrote ours up.

Lol he's a journalist not a hockey person seems a bit odd.

 

[Habsfan18]

Issue is out. Habs are ranked 23rd in league. We got a C Grade.

Stu Cowan wrote ours up. He has Roy at 10. Kind of surprising considering the year he is having. He has both Smilanic and Heineman ahead of Roy

Stu Cowan simply wrote the short Habs-related writeup. He had nothing to do with the actual prospect rankings.

 

[Notabaguette]

How did Garon crack the list in SEVEN consecutive years?

He was a great AHL goalie, they never had the space with Hackett and Theodore.

I loved him for Citadelles and Bulldogs, I think Ty Conklin beat him as the starter on their run and he never was good again.

Played in NHL though

 

[Cournoyer12]

There’s many reasons why we have managed to gain a stranglehold on mediocrity, but reviewing the list of our prospects over the past 30 years is a pretty good starting point on the road to that illumination.

Just above the Mendoza line Eh!