Prospect Info: 68th Scott Walford

[Adam Michaels]

Officially no longer a Habs prospect.

 

[TT1]

3rd rounder walks, smh

I was never high on either him or Tyszka but still... waste of assets.

 

[CoopersFalls]

I haven’t commented on this because I thought they would get it done last minute, but letting him go for nothing is a mistake IMO.

 

[otto bond]

3rd rounder walks, smh

I was never high on either him or Tyszka but still... waste of assets.

maybe room for better asset. All teams have those and you can't cash on all but sure stings more in those rounds.

 

[Adam Michaels]

For that draft year let's hope it stops with those two but if previous performances are any indication we may have to strike off a few other picks from that year. I went from a big Timmins supporter to a fan that's close to wanting him fired.

From that draft year, drafted and signed are Poehling, Brook, Fleury, and Primeau. Only pick that year still unsigned is Joni Ikonen and a good chance they sign him and bring him over to North America as soon as next year. They still hold his rights until June 1st, 2021.

From the ones signed from the 2017 class, they all have NHL potential. Those are four of seven picks. And they're quality prospects.

- Poehling: WJC MVP, NCAA NCHC First All-Star Team.
- Brook: WHL Defenseman of the Year Nominee
- Primeau: Hockey East All-Rookie Team in 2018, Hockey East Tournament MVP in 2019, Beanpot MVP in 2019, Mike Richter Award Winner for NCAA's Best Goalie in 2019.
- Fleury: His growth last year was evident. He went from bottom pair and healthy scratch at the start of the season to cementing a role in the Top-4 and even earning PP time by the end of it.

And Ikonen is playing and developing in a men's league in Liiga.

I'm looking at the players under contract and the only left to sign in Ikonen and I think that is a great draft class.

And oh yea, you can include Nick Suzuki in that 2017 class. Not a Habs pick (because he went long before the Habs were selecting). But it's the amateur scouting department that (Churla and Timmins at the helm) scouted him and gave MB and management the reports on him in order to target him in that Pacioretty trade.

We obviously don't know how these players will turn out when they have a few pro seasons under their belts. But when did the Habs have this many prospects with this kind of pedigree heading into their pro debuts? And all of them are from the same draft class.

Timmins keeps mentioning his job as projecting each player into the future. Well I don't expect every pick to make it to the NHL but how lousy of a projector are you when two years later you realize your picks are not even ECHL worthy? You're off by a big margin. I can understand if these two ended up being simply AHL journeymen okay your projection was a little off. But 2 years later you realize they are not even worthy of a look at ECHL level., there's something wrong with your projections. And it's not just these two. Timmins and his staff have been doing this a little too much since 2007.

In the two years since drafting a player, there are numerous factors that can change the opinion on a draft pick. Tyszka for instance, has an injury history. In his four seasons in the WHL, he missed significant time in three of those seasons due to injury.

Walford also had a major injury in 2018 (I believe it was his knee) that kept him from ending the season and missing Victoria's entire playoff run that year. He missed development camp and rookie camp and the start of the following WHL season.

Injuries may not be the only reason why they chose to let them go. For all we know, when player development would meet with them, maybe they told them they need to work on certain things. When they'd continue monitoring them, maybe they saw that they hadn't improved on those areas.

You also talk about projection, well, projection isn't a guarantee. You mention that his picks aren't even ECHL-worthy. If the Habs brass realize two years after drafting them that they aren't even ECHL-worthy, then why bother signing them? The day they selected them, they weren't looking at them as "ECHL-worthy." Somewhere along the way between selecting them and the June 1st, 2019 deadline, they realized that they're not worth an NHL spot.

This also doesn't mean they can't offer them an AHL deal. They do give them the chance to re-enter the draft and possibly be picked by another organization. If they go undrafted, they very well may sign one or both to AHL deals. If that would be the case, then that would be great asset management. But we'll see where that goes.

And finally. I just wanted to mention that Otto Leskinen is surely a reason why neither Walford and Tyszka went unsigned. Leskinen is a product of the European Combine they held last year. The same combine where they saw more of Romanov, as well. So although Leskinen is not a draft pick, he is a product of the scouting department.

 

[Tyson]

Not everyone develops well enough to earn a contract. Nothing to see here.
Habs prospect pool is vastly improved in the last year despite these two players being shown the door.

 

[jaffy27]

3rd rounder walks, smh

I was never high on either him or Tyszka but still... waste of assets.

This is a reality in the NHL.....

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

I'm OK with the Habs not signing Walford or Tyszka.

 

[Paddyjack]

This is a great kid. Will be a Karl Alzner clone. Very steady and capable.

Well, don't go further than this for an explanation lol!

Note: This is not a knock on the poster, but I had quite a chuckle when I read that sentence, which was written at the beginning of this thread the day of his selection.

 

[1909]

3rd rounder walks, smh

I was never high on either him or Tyszka but still... waste of assets.

No. bad draft picks. Thanks Timmins again !

 

[montreal]

No. bad draft picks. Thanks Timmins again !

Walford yes it was a bad pick but Tyszka no since he was a 5th round pick and had NHL tools but injuries have impacted him. Tyszka is exactly the kind of pick you want the scouts to make in the 5th round imo, Walford I don't get what their scouts saw.

That said Fleury looks like a good find and Brook is going to rip shit up.