Just my 2 cents, but I have long felt that we (and several NHL teams) chronically over-rate the WHL. Certainly a disproportionate number of busts seem to come from there, which is why I'm very lukewarm on this coming draft.
Because the Habs wouldn't have traded for Gomez?
If the Habs had drafted Giroux, they might have traded him one or two years later, for Hossa or Lecavalier.
A lot of big surprises come from the WHL too. Guys like Getzlaf, Mark Stone or Gallagher. Maybe it's just a badly scouted league? How the hell did one of the best playmaker (with size) of the current era like Getzlaf felt to 19th? How can a guy like Stone fall in the 6th round only? You can argue Gallagher was too small but Stone has a good frame.
Yakupov
Guy from Atlanta
DAIGLE
Ekblad
HahaDo you follow the NHL? Ekblad is an excellent defensemen.
I wouldn't say "excellent". "Bretty gud" is closer to his real talent.Do you follow the NHL? Ekblad is an excellent defensemen.
I wouldn't say "excellent". "Bretty gud" is closer to his real talent.
Going back further, picking Wickenheiser over Savard is just incredible....I wonder how many more Cups the Habs could have won with the magical Denis on their side?
I wouldn't say "excellent". "Bretty gud" is closer to his real talent.
He's "just" 24 though. He's also a relatively big dman which historically tend to take more time to develop.
You know that's the funny thing. According to lot of habs fan there's still untapped potential in Domi and Drouin yet they are almost one year older than Ekblad and are the type of players who outside of a few exceptions like St Louis tend to develop at a younger age than big dmen but yet Ekland is a flop? Go figure
Maybe. I didnt watch the Panthers this year. He's got a lot of tools to be excellent but until recently he was hovering between okay and very good.I would say excellent. I think he took an impressive step forward with his game this year and played like a true #1.
A lot of big surprises come from the WHL too. Guys like Getzlaf, Mark Stone or Gallagher. Maybe it's just a badly scouted league? How the hell did one of the best playmaker (with size) of the current era like Getzlaf felt to 19th? How can a guy like Stone fall in the 6th round only? You can argue Gallagher was too small but Stone has a good frame.
To me, a first round bust would be a player who never played in the NHL or never really had an impact in the few games they played.
The name of Kostitsyn was thrown around here but he doesn't fit my description of bust. Patrick Stefan and Daigle just never really lived up to their supposed superstar potential. They just were average players. They were not busts.
Now, guys like Leblanc, Fischer, Scherbak, Chouinard, Brad Brown, Terry Ryan, Matt Higgins, McCaron, Tinordi, Marcel Hossa, Beaulieu, Brent Bilodeau, Perezoghin, Lindsay Valis, David Wilkie and Kyle Chipchura are first round Habs' picks in the last 30 years. Not an amazing track record to say the least.
Either player development staff really blows or scouts have no clue what they are doing on this team. Drafting is not always a recipe for success and all other teams have busts.
You also have, many good players that are drafted in the later rounds. It's a game of chance.
Yikes. Could have had Markov and Lidstrom together? I mean my grandmother could have played nets with those 2 on the line. Ouch. Though my grandmother was a great goalie. Norwegian.[TBODY] [/TBODY]
51 Montreal Pierre Sevigny F Verdun Junior Canadiens [QMJHL] 78 4 5 9 64 1997-98 3 52 Hartford Blair Atcheynum R Moose Jaw Warriors [WHL] 196 27 33 60 36 2000-01 3 53 Detroit Nicklas Lidstrom D Vasteras IK [SEL] 1564 264 878 1142 514 2011-12 3 54 Quebec John Tanner
The old Hindsight argument. Can you guess how much Timmins is paid so that he cannot use the Hindsight argument?Easy to look back and say that, however David Pastrnak would have been long gone before the 25th pick had anyone expected to him become this good.
Then there is my grandma Hilda from Stavanger Norway. Came to Canada on a boat with one other girlfriend in about 1930. She could have taken all you Finns and Swedes to the wood shed and given you a good spanking.We are a bit of the same though, look at all the Finns with Swedish names like Rask of the Bruins for example, we were one country for approx 800 years. That is why I am Swedish but my DNA is 49% Swedish, 40% Finnish and the rest neanderthal.
Interesting...will keep an eye on that. Though it is more our Montreal poster territory. Montreal what do you think?Just my 2 cents, but I have long felt that we (and several NHL teams) chronically over-rate the WHL. Certainly a disproportionate number of busts seem to come from there, which is why I'm very lukewarm on this coming draft.
Then there is my grandma Hilda from Stavanger Norway. Came to Canada on a boat with one other girlfriend in about 1930. She could have taken all you Finns and Swedes to the wood shed and given you a good spanking.
My uncle and my dad were hall of fame players at Loyola in the 50's. My uncle was a really good player. Like close to NHL good. I remember going to a game with him in Edmonton in the early 80's. The Oilers were insanely good of course. But he insisted on calling Coffey 'Coughup.' Out loud. When the crowd was quiet. My uncle was an old fashioned player. Big tough guy. Montreal guy. Had watched Doug Harvey and all that I guess. Great fun.You simply can't forget Doug Wickenheiser. Yes he had a somewhat decent career ... had he been a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Problem is he was a 1st overall pick drafted before guys like of Denis Savard and Paul Coffey.