HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[habsfan891]

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Chicago - Demidov
Anaheim - Yakemchuk
CBJ - Silayev
Montreal - Lindstrom

I'm quite certain Anaheim and CBJ will pick defense, Chicago is the wildcard for me, they can take anything.

I'd be shocked if we didn't take Leshunov in this scenario tbh

 

[Habs Icing]

I don't get it. Why are people so hung up on drafting only a forward at 5. I don't care if we have a need, and that you can only have top line wingers/centermen through the draft. That's not true. Finding an Eichel is possible. Finding a top 2D is impossible. This is such a dangerous way of thinking we are set on defence so we should disregard it. If the best projected player available when we draft is a LD/RD, then we pick him over a lesser projected forward.

Taking a defenceman - even a RHD - is an admission that they screwed up last year. Does anyone think they messed up the 2023 1st pick? They're loaded with defencemen. Guhle plays like a 1st line d. Reinbacher is supposed to be the future right-handed d-man on that pair so explain to me why they would take another defenceman when prospects from 3 to 10 maybe even to 15 are interchangeable as BPA?

 

[Seb]

High pick on small sample size of games. Galchenyuk had great skill in junior also. . Need to really hit this pick.

Galchenyuk was a great pick and his injury/skills played no part in the way he turned out.

 

[Habs Icing]

As long as it's not the Puljujarvi/Bouchard look, I'm good.

How about Schefele's I-just-inhaled-a-kilo-of coke-look?

I'd take Bouch at 5 and run home

With Bouchard? Wouldn't that be kidnapping?

 

[NotProkofievian]

Galchenyuk was a great pick and his injury/skills played no part in the way he turned out.

Galchenyuk is a moron who can't skate who was coached by morons.

No indication that Cayden is a moron, much better skater than Galchenyuk ever was, and morons will not be coaching Cayden should we draft him.

 

[Seb]

I think Batherson or Boldy are closer stylistically.

Carter had elite speed and an elite shot.

I have said it once in this thread without much reaction to it so I'll try again : I see Rick Nash in Sennecke.

Same combination of Size, Speed, Shot and Elusiveness.

Anyone agree/disagree?

 

[skidcells]

Pronman’s mock draft has us taking Demidov. Celebrini, Levshunov, saliyev, Dickinson where the picks before us. I’ll take it and run.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Just gonna post the top 5 of Pronman's first mock

1. San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University-Hockey East​

Celebrini is the consensus No. 1 pick. The Sharks GM has basically said that’s who they’re taking. We can move on.

2. Chicago Blackhawks: Artyom Levshunov, RHD, Michigan State-Big Ten​

Our colleague Scott Powers believes it’s down to Levshunov or SKA winger Ivan Demidov for Chicago. Both are great prospects, but history has shown if it’s close the NHL team often will lean to the big defenseman over the smaller winger.

3. Anaheim Ducks: Anton Silayev, LHD, Torpedo-KHL​

Anaheim is sitting in a great position because of how talented their group of young forwards are and the collection of high-end defense prospects at the top of this draft. Whether it’s Levshunov, Silayev or Sam Dickinson, the Ducks are in a great spot to leave with a big, mobile defenseman. Silayev as a huge and mean defender fits in very well with the kind of team GM Pat Verbeek wants to build. The league thinks if they go forward it would be for Cayden Lindstrom.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Sam Dickinson, LHD, London-OHL​

The Blue Jackets could go in a few different directions. They’ve added forwards and defensemen high in the draft in recent years although if I had to pick a need for them it would be more defensive depth. Silayev or Dickinson feel like ideal adds for them for that reason based on need and best player available. They’re not in such a bind on defense though that this pick could easily be Ivan Demidov or Cayden Lindstrom up front.

5. Montreal Canadiens: Ivan Demidov, LW, SKA-KHL​

The draft breaking this way would be ideal for the Canadiens, who many in the league believe want to add a forward in this draft. They would have their pick of Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom, Beckett Sennecke and others. Demidov is considered the second-best forward in the draft by many and would fit a need for the Habs.

Jets pick Pronman gives us Boisvert.. what a dream that would be.

 

[Leto]

Just gonna post the top 5 of Pronman's first mock

Solberg to the Blues checks out. It's a shame he is a LD, he would be an easy pick if he was a RD.

 

[habsfan891]

Just gonna post the top 5 of Pronman's first mock

1. San Jose Sharks: Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University-Hockey East​

Celebrini is the consensus No. 1 pick. The Sharks GM has basically said that’s who they’re taking. We can move on.

2. Chicago Blackhawks: Artyom Levshunov, RHD, Michigan State-Big Ten​

Our colleague Scott Powers believes it’s down to Levshunov or SKA winger Ivan Demidov for Chicago. Both are great prospects, but history has shown if it’s close the NHL team often will lean to the big defenseman over the smaller winger.

3. Anaheim Ducks: Anton Silayev, LHD, Torpedo-KHL​

Anaheim is sitting in a great position because of how talented their group of young forwards are and the collection of high-end defense prospects at the top of this draft. Whether it’s Levshunov, Silayev or Sam Dickinson, the Ducks are in a great spot to leave with a big, mobile defenseman. Silayev as a huge and mean defender fits in very well with the kind of team GM Pat Verbeek wants to build. The league thinks if they go forward it would be for Cayden Lindstrom.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets: Sam Dickinson, LHD, London-OHL​

The Blue Jackets could go in a few different directions. They’ve added forwards and defensemen high in the draft in recent years although if I had to pick a need for them it would be more defensive depth. Silayev or Dickinson feel like ideal adds for them for that reason based on need and best player available. They’re not in such a bind on defense though that this pick could easily be Ivan Demidov or Cayden Lindstrom up front.

5. Montreal Canadiens: Ivan Demidov, LW, SKA-KHL​

The draft breaking this way would be ideal for the Canadiens, who many in the league believe want to add a forward in this draft. They would have their pick of Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom, Beckett Sennecke and others. Demidov is considered the second-best forward in the draft by many and would fit a need for the Habs.

Jets pick Pronman gives us Boisvert.. what a dream that would be.

I can only dream this is how the draft goes

 

[Habs Icing]

I have said it once in this thread without much reaction to it so I'll try again : I see Rick Nash in Sennecke.

Same combination of Size, Speed, Shot and Elusiveness.

Anyone agree/disagree?

As good as any other comparison I've seen so far. I do, however, remember Nash built like a tank. Sennecke may never reach Nash's proportions but I like Sennecke. It's a toss of the coin between him and Iginla. If the other two are not there at 5. As a matter of fact I would trade up to get both - Iginla & Sennecke.

 

[Leto]

Pronman's mock does have a few eyebrow-raisers:

• The Flames skipping on Iginla
• Catton to the Sabres (Another small forward?!)
• Solberg and Eiserman at 16-17 (Would have expected Solberg at the end of the 1st round)

This will be a fun draft.

 

[Jaynki]

Honestly, i think it is very probable Demidov falls to us.

Teams reach for top pair D and top 6C whereas smaller winger fall, especially when these players have size. Its evidenced in every single draft. Reinbacher/Simashev ahead of Michkov, Benson at 13, for example in 2022.

Now we enter the draft and there is Silayev, Levshunov and Lindstrom. I personally would prefer Demidov above them, but the fact is teams reach for the Silayev's and Lindstrom's and the Demidov tend to fall a little. It is very subjective and also indicative of nothing and one would argue it is hopium and i would totally agree.

Still, worst case scenario, we have Silayev or Levshunov at our spot and even tho we already have 4 norris caliber dman in our organisation (a slight exageration) it would be very stupid to skip on one of them, in my humble opinion.

Again, in my very humble opinion and nothing more than my opinion and worthless analysis, i think if Chicago skip Demidov, strong strong chance he falls to 5 as he don't appear to be a player someone like Verbeek like and it remains to be seen for CBJ but i do think these GMs would favour a Lindstrom or 6ft3 RD or 6ft7 smooth skating LD.

 

[Saundies]

Pronman did have us taking Slaf.. This is such a hard draft to pin down though. I think everyone's just taking their best guess.

I personally have a feeling Chicago doesn't take Demidov. Literally a shot in the dark, but where Bedard is slightly undersized I can't see it.

I don't think he gets past Columbus, unfortunately.

 

[sandviper]

Taking a defenceman - even a RHD - is an admission that they screwed up last year. Does anyone think they messed up the 2023 1st pick? They're loaded with defencemen. Guhle plays like a 1st line d. Reinbacher is supposed to be the future right-handed d-man on that pair so explain to me why they would take another defenceman when prospects from 3 to 10 maybe even to 15 are interchangeable as BPA?

I don’t think so. I don’t see Mailloux as a true second pair guy. Maybe a tweener #4/#5 but not a legit #3/#4. Reinbacher I think will be. Barron, I don’t see him in our lineup.

Thus, we still lack a first pairing RHD, let alone a first pair D on either side. If a D is the BPA, and they see them as a potential first pair, that’s way more valuable than a forward. In fact, I’d argue a second pair defender is more valuable than any forward other than a first liner.

 

[Habs Icing]

I don’t think so. I don’t see Mailloux as a true second pair guy. Maybe a tweener #4/#5 but not a legit #3/#4. Reinbacher I think will be. Barron, I don’t see him in our lineup.

Thus, we still lack a first pairing RHD, let alone a first pair D on either side. If a D is the BPA, and they see them as a potential first pair, that’s way more valuable than a forward. In fact, I’d argue a second pair defender is more valuable than any forward other than a first liner.

Hence their admission of a screw-up. You use a 5th OA to draft a 2nd pair d-man?

 

[Jaynki]

Taking a defenceman - even a RHD - is an admission that they screwed up last year.

No absolutely not. It means nothing aside from them taking who they believe is their BPA.

 

[Habs Icing]

No absolutely not. It means nothing aside from them taking who they believe is their BPA.

The consensus is that picks from 3 to 10 (or 15) are interchangeable. If you picked a 1st pair RHD in 2023, you don't pick another who may or may not be the BPA while having only Dach on your 2nd line as a bonafide top 6 player.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If the Jets pick remains the same (no trades) and we are picking 24-27 range, who would be a center target with that pick?

Beck/Kapanen in our pool as true type centers. I think we could add to this and hopefully add someone who has 2C potential if we hit. Curious to see the list of names some fans have who have dug into the talent in that 15-30 range.

The consensus is that picks from 3 to 10 (or 15) are interchangeable. If you picked a 1st pair RHD in 2023, you don't pick another who may or may not be the BPA while having only Dach on your 2nd line as a bonafide top 6 player.

What do you think the chances are that teams in the 8-15 range, pick players who are ranked outside of the typical top 15 you see on most draft lists?

I tend to agree the top 13 or top 15 is stable but I thought that before and teams go off the board.

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

The consensus is that picks from 3 to 10 (or 15) are interchangeable. If you picked a 1st pair RHD in 2023, you don't pick another who may or may not be the BPA while having only Dach on your 2nd line as a bonafide top 6 player.

That won't be NHL teams consensus at all. They will be very high on specific players in that range. Your model makes it seem that NHL GM's draft primarily based on the position a player plays, but that's usually the last thing they evaluate.

 

[Jaynki]

The consensus is that picks from 3 to 10 (or 15) are interchangeable. If you picked a 1st pair RHD in 2023, you don't pick another who may or may not be the BPA while having only Dach on your 2nd line as a bonafide top 6 player.

If Silayev or Levshunov is there at 5 and Lindstrom/Demidov are gone. There is not a single forward that would justify passing on one of them even with the current constitution of our U25 core.

Getting our hands on one of these type of defenseman could probably land us a forward like Marner on the trade market.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Taking a defenceman - even a RHD - is an admission that they screwed up last year. Does anyone think they messed up the 2023 1st pick? They're loaded with defencemen. Guhle plays like a 1st line d. Reinbacher is supposed to be the future right-handed d-man on that pair so explain to me why they would take another defenceman when prospects from 3 to 10 maybe even to 15 are interchangeable as BPA?

Not sure how good Reinbacher will be. But I do think the Habs went BPA according to their board last draft.

If they take another RD in this draft, it's because they think he is BPA (again). The interchangeable BPA's in the 2-15 range is subjective on who you ask.

 

[waitin425]

I have said it once in this thread without much reaction to it so I'll try again : I see Rick Nash in Sennecke.

Same combination of Size, Speed, Shot and Elusiveness.

Anyone agree/disagree?

Very good comparable. Perry is another one.

Reinbacher better be a top pairing or it us a miss of a pick.

Mailloux is most definitely a 2nd pairing and himself could surprise some people as a top pair guy. I'm big on him.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Very good comparable. Perry is another one.

Reinbacher better be a top pairing or it us a miss of a pick.

Mailloux is most definitely a 2nd pairing and himself could surprise some people as a top pair guy. I'm big on him.

I was thinking Perry when watching Sennecke.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If Silayev or Levshunov is there at 5 and Lindstrom/Demidov are gone. There is not a single forward that would justify passing on one of them even with the current constitution of our U25 core.

Getting our hands on one of these type of defenseman could probably land us a forward like Marner on the trade market.

Not sure. I've seen too much variance in this draft year's rankings as the season went along. It's a very difficult scouting game to track progression from age 16-18 and try to project where they will be at age 20-23. Most of the growth happens from age 18-20 IMO.... for the ones who turn into legit grade A's and have great D+1 and D+2.

My drafting strategy has changed over the years. I usually target the guys I feel will break out after the draft. D+1 and D+2 is where the gains are made. Look at the difference between Wright and Slaf for example.

The guy that stands our to me to have a possible break out D+1 and D+2 is Tij Iginla. One of the hottest trending and also one of the youngest in this draft. Great size/weight at his age and very difficult to find his flaws.

Took a lot of guts to take Slaf over Wright and it will be similar to take Tij over some of the D.