Speculation: Who do the Habs Pick, at the 2018 Draft??

[Ozmodiar]

It's Boqvist or Wahlstrom for me.. but I'm expecting Dobson or Tkasuck

Boston and Montreal are 300 miles apart. Trevor Timmins leaves Montreal on a train travelling 60mph. Brady Tkachuk leaves Boston on a train travelling 70mph. Where are they when WTK loses his sh!t?

 

[habsgirl5000]

moot choices.....cause we won't get the 4th pick

 

[WeThreeKings]

moot choices.....cause we won't get the 4th pick

We know your choice is Ryan McLeod anyway.

 

[blarneylad]

Weber and Petry should have nothing to do with the decision on who to pick 4th overall.

By the time a 4th pick dman is ready to be eat minutes, which could be 3-5 years, it will be time for one if not both of Petry and Weber to move on.

 

[Rafafouille]

What's wrong with Evan Bouchard? Big defenseman at 6'2, close to 100points on a knights team where his next teamate has 54pts. Is there anything I'm not getting? Seems like a slam dunk top 5 pick.

 

[The Great Weal]

What's wrong with Evan Bouchard? Big defenseman at 6'2, close to 100points on a knights team where his next teamate has 54pts. Is there anything I'm not getting? Seems like a slam dunk top 5 pick.

He is pure caca defensively and in skating ability.

 

[blarneylad]

Tkachuk is just a can't miss big body need to me. He has the nice hands of an elite point producer.

He could be a skilled version of Lucic, or like a Wheeler/Lucic hybrid. Not sure how one can pass on that unless the habs have a shot at Svechnikov or Zadina.

 

[CoupeStanley]

Not sure how one can pass on that unless the habs have a shot at Svechnikov or Zadina.

Because Walhstrom has the goal scoring instinct of a Rocket Richard contender and he can do that from the right side.

There's gonna be some great pick in our range.

 

[HabsTown]

Thanks for sharing your list.

Since you've had the advantage of watching them, what tilts the balance for Boqvist over Hughes for you? Also, you have Boqvist quite highly rated, since you have him as an alternate at the no. 3 spot.

First of all, let’s say I’m not a pro but somewhat knowledgeable so please don’t take my opinion as gospel

Also, can’t go wrong with both IMO.

Let’s say I view Boqvist as Seth Jones & Hugues as Werenski (less cerebral than Werenski but with a bit higher offensive ceiling)

I think in year 1/2 of their respective NHL career, Hughes will have a bigger impact but slowly but surely, Boqvist will round up as the better/more complete player), similiar to Jones’ development curve.

Not saying Hughes won’t improve but I truly think he’s closer to being a finished product than Boqvist and if I hesitate between the 2 while I think one is not even close to his potential and the other is more ‘what you see is what you get’’, I pick the former.

My prediction is Boqvist becomes a 50-60pts all around D 1st pairing material & Hughes becomes a 50 pts borderline 1st pairing/excellent 2nd pairing D with elite PMD abilities

 

[blarneylad]

Because Walhstrom has the goal scoring instinct of a Rocket Richard contender and he can do that from the right side.

There's gonna be some great pick in our range.

I by no means have enough exposure to these kids so I for sure value all of your opinions over my own. I hope whoever they get can step in and start making an impact quickly!

 

[1909]

Yes, but which position??
To hear Bergevin waffle over what the greater need is - center or defense - makes me think he doesn't know which position to lean towards. Combine that with MB's history of miscasting players, he could have Tkachuk and/or Wahlstrom pegged as centers, so if he picks one, we won't know if they were picked as BPA or to fill a need.

Where is Timmins ? He is the one picking players. And if he is so frustrated drafting the Leblancs and McCarrons, and losing the mCdonaghs and Sergachevs, how come he never resigned as a Habs employee? Is he just staying for the money ? Or is he thinking he cannnot have another NHL job ?

 

[le_sean]

What's wrong with Evan Bouchard? Big defenseman at 6'2, close to 100points on a knights team where his next teamate has 54pts. Is there anything I'm not getting? Seems like a slam dunk top 5 pick.

I like how you specify that the next closest teammate had 54 points but you exaggerate saying Bouchard was close to 100 points.

 

[1909]

I like how you specify that the next closest teammate had 54 points but you exaggerate saying Bouchard was close to 100 points.

87 points is pretty impressive for a d-man, especially with the next guy at 54.

 

[waffledave]

What's wrong with Evan Bouchard? Big defenseman at 6'2, close to 100points on a knights team where his next teamate has 54pts. Is there anything I'm not getting? Seems like a slam dunk top 5 pick.

Sounds like Beaulieu.

 

[waffledave]

I can totally see us getting screwed by the lottery and getting a crap pick. And then Bergevin will spin that into buying him another year because "DRAFTING IS HARD AND UNFAIR! WE EARNED THAT PICK!"

 

[blarneylad]

I can totally see us getting screwed by the lottery and getting a crap pick. And then Bergevin will spin that into buying him another year because "DRAFTING IS HARD AND UNFAIR! WE EARNED THAT PICK!"

What is the lowest they can pick? 7th?

That leaves them the opportunity to pick one of a group of Boqwist, Hughes, Thachuk, Walstrom. Assuming Dahlin is 1, Svech 2, Zadina 3.

 

[1909]

What is the lowest they can pick? 7th?

That leaves them the opportunity to pick one of a group of Boqwist, Hughes, Thachuk, Walstrom. Assuming Dahlin is 1, Svech 2, Zadina 3.

Right. All the guys between 4th and 9th have about the same value.

And It is not MB who is picking, but Timmins who is supposed to have seen all these guys very often.

 

[1909]

Sounds like Beaulieu.

Totally different players and personnality. Beaulieu barely reached 50 points in the Q.

Their only ressemblance is being unilingual Anglophones and having a "French" name

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

Totally different players and personnality. Beaulieu barely reached 50 points in the Q.

Their only ressemblance is being unilingual Anglophones and having a "French" name

Beaulieu was a much better skater while Bouchard is much smarter in the offensive zone.

Defensively they are very similar. Uninvolved and don't use their size.

 

[Mdamico]

Right. All the guys between 4th and 9th have about the same value.

And It is not MB who is picking, but Timmins who is supposed to have seen all these guys very often.

People said the same thing in 2016. Immediately after drafting Sergachev (at 9th) we thought we got the best defenseman in the draft...

This year has a very solid top 10. The major difference is the lack of top end offensive talent. However, I'd wager that Dobson or Whalstrom or Boquist will be more valuable to a team in the long run than someone like Zadina or Tkachuk.

Strong top 10 nonetheless, just no surefire superstar in the top 2 like last drafts.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Timmins does deserve blame but like Bergevin has made as clear as he possibly can, he makes the final decision. That’s his job. People don’t dislike Bergevin because he’s french. What a bunch of garbage. They dislike him because he’s failing miserably at what he’s suppose to do.

 

[nhlfan9191]

I’ve read a lot of posts on here and what I see a lot of is people pointing out the french talent depth for management and coaching positions sucks right now so we should start being more open about other options and another popular one is making fun of Bergevin and Therrien talk, which isn’t a knock on the french, it’s a knock on how those two in specific are terrible at communicating in two different languages. People are allowed to have an opinion that we don’t need to have french speaking staff in all important positions and that politics is getting in the way of that. It doesn’t make them anti-french but I’ve seen certain posters try and play victim so forgive me if there are in fact posters doing things other then what I said taking shots at a culture, which I think the mods have taken care of because I rarely see it.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Outside of a top 2 pick, I don’t think anyone in this draft is ready to jump in next year to help anyways. So drafting for need is a terrible idea. Likely don’t contribute in a meaningful way for 2-3 years anyways.

 

[le_sean]

87 points is pretty impressive for a d-man, especially with the next guy at 54.

Of course it is, no denying that. But why isn’t a Canadian 6’2 RD that scored 87 points considered for Top 3? Because he’s an average skater and sucks at defending.

 

[Mdamico]

I'm sick of this for real. There is no anti-french sentiment. We are tired of being tied down by politics. This is professional sports man, it's meritocracy and it's about putting the best players on the ice.

Timmins is responsible for that from a draft perspective, but it is a little hard to draft the best player when there's pressure to pick a local kid who's ranked 3-5 spots later instead of a can't miss prospect (Leblanc is the best example).

The fact that we traded Sergachev for Drouin mainly because he was a local kid suddenly made available by Stevie Y is another indication of this.

This is 2018, not 1978. Quebec does not produce anywhere near the same quantity or quality of talent. As we speak, you have Lafrenière being compared to Lecavalier as a potential number 1 pick in 2020. That's because there hasn't been a can't miss offensive dynamo that was born and bread in Quebec since Vinny. There are only 37 full time Quebec born NHLers out of 600+ players in the NHL, and none of them were PPG this year. I don't hate Quebec born players, but if I had to choose the player, I base myself on talent over demographics.

Until this franchise lets go of this archaic notion that the Canadiens must adhere to this supposed majority francophone fanbase, then we shall see change. Non-franchophone and (in my case) francophone fans do not hate nor discriminate against the inclusion of francophone personnel (player or management), we are simply tired of being held back as a sporting franchise because of this outdated tradition.

Real Madrid doesn't have to adhere to the Catalonian people when signing players for transfers, they simply go and get the best they can get. Hell, soccer had a problem in Europe where the top teams never had enough local born players on their rosters ,and yet this never bothered Manchester United, Juventus, Barca or Bayern fans at all. Only in Montreal,Quebec is demography a key attribute to determine someone's worth to the franchise and that is flawed in practice.

I stay humbly respectful to francophone fans who have followed this team for generations, but, in the end, the lack of championships in Montreal will continue as long as this is not dealth with from an organizational perspective.