HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[BJCOLLINS]

Cayden Lindstrom - John Leclair, with an edge.

 

[MtlSars]

If we want Iginla we have to trade down. Isn’t he around 10-12 on most rankings?

Personally I think Catton and Eiserman have more offensive potential. At 5 I go with Catton.

Yeah Calgary drafts at 9, I'm willing to put $$$ he doesn't get past that

 

[Habs Halifax]

Why trade Jackeye? To become even softer? We saw how that team got thrown around without X in the lineup last year.

Agreed. Bad idea to move Xhekaj IMO. He's our Ekholm and Xkekaj has not fully matured yet. He's not going to be a 30+ pts D man but the value he provides for us beyond that should not be overlooked.

I really like the Xkekaj/Mailloux pairing

 

[Leto]

Jackeye has a permanent spot on the bottom pairing when we contend , depending on the contract negotiations of course

People will understand his worth when we cross-check our way up in the playoffs .

 

[waitin425]

I don't mind a trade scenario, but we need to be locked in on getting the best prospect possible. Outside of Celebrini and Demidov, the uncertainty of any redraft 3 years down the road is huge.

For all we know, Sennecke could be right up there....or Catton....or Hage. The diamond is out there, we just have to trust our management to have done its due dilligence.

As of today, I am leaning Iggy for our pick. But, whoever it is, I trust the process.

 

[Jaynki]

Demidov, Lindstrom or Tij. No need to overcomplicate it.

But gotta be honest, if Lindstrom and Demidov are gone at 5, strong and real possibility we go with a D and it's perfectly fine. Tough to justify passing on Levshunov especially.

 

[ottawa]

I'd still take Berkly Catton.

If they have him off the board because of size concerns which is kinda lol to me but whatever since he's barely shorter than Tij and punched his lights out.

Then it's Sennecke ahead of Iginla.

I always find it hilarious how 5'11 is a red flag to some but 6'0 is A-okay...if the habs think Catton is BPA then I'm confident they'll be smart enough to take him regardless of that 1" he lacks. And he might still have an inch or two in him for all we know.

 

[HabzSauce]

Leonard is more skilled and significantly better defensively.

He'd be in the running for 2nd overall this draft.

I still want to trade for this guy.

5th++ for Leonard please and thank you

 

[waffledave]

Demidov
Lindstrom
Sennecke
Catton
Helenius
Iginla

That's my ranking for my personal choices.

I see Lindstrom and, obviously if the players hit their ceiling you'd want Demidov, but image Lindstrom and Slaf and possibly Dach just bullying their way around the ice.

I have Lindstrom and Catton pretty much tied on my list, above Sennecke. Iginla above Helenius.

I think Columbus takes Lindstrom if he's there. I think 2/3 end up being dmen including Buium in there as a shocker.

 

[Hannibal]

Just let Lindstrom drop to 5th please.

Hockey gods, be with us please.

 

[waffledave]

I always find it hilarious how 5'11 is a red flag to some but 6'0 is A-okay...if the habs think Catton is BPA then I'm confident they'll be smart enough to take him regardless of that 1" he lacks. And he might still have an inch or two in him for all we know.

We have been screaming for an offensive superstar. Half this board wanted Michkov despite his size and zero defense just because of offensive potential.

Catton is a crazy smart player, good in all situations, good skater, good stickhandler, and offensive potential out the wazoo. He has a much higher shot at being an impact player in the NHL.

 

[morhilane]

My worst fear and best case trading scenario at the same time.



I know this top 4 scenario has already been posted in here but evidently, more Hab fans are wary of it happening.

Everyone is acting like Demidov/Lindstrom are way ahead of the other kids. They aren't. The gap between Bob's top 4 and the rest of the top 15 isn't that large.

This draft isn't like last year or 2022 where the top 4 /5 had a clear talent gap with the rest. If Demidov/Lindstrom have been taken, Habs just have to pick their 3rd forward on their list.

In fact, outside Demidov being probably #1 on the Habs list after Celebrini since we have been hearing since last year that at least one scout was very high on him, we don't know that they have Lindstrom after Demidov on their list...

 

[Andy]

I wonder if CBJ or ANA will be open to trading down. At some point, both franchises need to move past their rebuilds. Can they really wait another 2-3 years for their 2024 pick to hit their stride?

 

[Leto]

I always find it hilarious how 5'11 is a red flag to some but 6'0 is A-okay...if the habs think Catton is BPA then I'm confident they'll be smart enough to take him regardless of that 1" he lacks. And he might still have an inch or two in him for all we know.

5'11 179 lbs? He's a bum.
6'0 180 lbs? He's a stud.

 

[Walksss]

Am I crazy for thinking Sennecke has a higher ceiling than Lindstrom?

His hands and creativity are much better. Obviously I'd be stoked to get either but it seems closer in talent level than any ranking I've seen would suggest.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

I wouldn't count out Chicago going Levshunov and Anaheim going Buium. Then Columbus would take Silayev, and Montreal would have Demidov right there.

I could also see Anaheim realizing that and trading down with Montreal since Buium would still be there at 5. Not sure what we'd have to give up to move up 2 spots, but I'd imagine Barron would be involved.

 

[HabzSauce]

I honestly thought Celebrini would happen for us this year lol still processing

I felt the exact same about bedard last year.

We need to get better at manifesting lol

 

[Habs Halifax]

I always find it hilarious how 5'11 is a red flag to some but 6'0 is A-okay...if the habs think Catton is BPA then I'm confident they'll be smart enough to take him regardless of that 1" he lacks. And he might still have an inch or two in him for all we know.

That happens with the young whipper snipers. Weight always has to be paired up with height.

Catton, Iggy, Eiserman are close in height but two of them are around 185 lbs at a younger age and one of them is 165 ish and a bit older. I didn't say which one because I want the young whipper snipers to go look and understand for themselves.

Am I crazy for thinking Sennecke has a higher ceiling than Lindstrom?

His hands and creativity are much better. Obviously I'd be stoked to get either but it seems closer in talent level than any ranking I've seen would suggest.

You're not crazy. Lindstrom to me has big red flags and his high/low range is wide. He's one of those guys that can be very very good or very bad. Could make you look like a genius or a idiot. Came into the WHL as a 3rd rounder.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Demidov, Lindstrom or Tij. No need to overcomplicate it.

But gotta be honest, if Lindstrom and Demidov are gone at 5, strong and real possibility we go with a D and it's perfectly fine. Tough to justify passing on Levshunov especially.

I'd say that anything past Demidov is pretty up in the air forwards-wise. To me, Catton is the next best. A lot of people think Lindstrom, or Iginla, or Sennecke, or Helenius, or even Eiserman (please no) are next best.

It's hard not to complicate it when there's a ~10 player tier after the top 2.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I would think they'd take serious looks at Parekh and Yakumchuk because they are RD's and have high offensive potential.

In fact the same may be true of Dickinson. If they think he's a true number 1 after doing their deep dive, can the pass on him to take a forward they see as a 25-25 second liner? I think having Guhle and Reinbacher each on one of the top two pairs provides a defensive foundation to allow you to get offensive dmen on each of the top pairs:

Dickinson - Guhle
Hutson - Reinbacher
Xhekaj - Mailloux

Parekh would be a problem, you'd be putting Hutson or Parekh off powerplay 1 then you'd have to trade Mailloux because he wouldn't make either unit.

Maillouxs value is higher with the Habs then trading him because there's still gonna be the past dredged up with the new team if he's acquired.

Dickinson is off the board they aren't taking a left shot defenseman. They love who they have there. They consider it already over saturated.

I know people's philosophies differentiate from the teams but Hughes can't be more clearer that they aren't taking a left shot defenseman.

 

[waffledave]

Am I crazy for thinking Sennecke has a higher ceiling than Lindstrom?

His hands and creativity are much better. Obviously I'd be stoked to get either but it seems closer in talent level than any ranking I've seen would suggest.

Lindstrom is a skilled player but mainly he is a 6'4 center who plays like he's 6'4.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

I have Lindstrom and Catton pretty much tied on my list, above Sennecke. Iginla above Helenius.

I think Columbus takes Lindstrom if he's there. I think 2/3 end up being dmen including Buium in there as a shocker.

If you have watched him closely over the past two years, Buium going in the top 5 will be no shocker. In fact, I think both Buium and Yakemchuck may turn out to be the best defencemen coming out of this draft.

 

[Mrb1p]

Leonard is more skilled and significantly better defensively.

He'd be in the running for 2nd overall this draft.

 

[Leto]

I wonder if CBJ or ANA will be open to trading down. At some point, both franchises need to move past their rebuilds. Can they really wait another 2-3 years for their 2024 pick to hit their stride?

CBJ is hard to predict, since there is no incumbent GM. I think they are likely to stay put.

 

[FrankMTL]

Would you take O'Reilly with AVs 2nd?

It depends who else is available, but I can certainly see him being in the conversation yes. Otherwise, if they like better players with their late second, they have a chance to draft him at 70 or 78. He's a good two way player, but I wouldn't say anything stands out as elite besides maybe his game processing. Could possibly become a 3rd line player down the line.