HF Habs: Draft 2018: What are your immediate draft class feelings?

[David Suzuki]

Brady is a full calendar year older than Kotkaniemi and grew up playing on NA ice. This shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s producing more today.

Some on here have a fetish for bashing Habs players. Saw someone in the game thread suggest Kotka would never be a better player then he is right now because, at barely 18, he's had a string of average games. Unreal.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

A lot depends on who they play with. It was funny about the posters who hated Tkachuk and compared him to a McCarron type. We have to stop doing this to ourselves. Tkachuk is a beast and I'm not saying we should of taken him over Kotkaniemi. But he is a top 5 pick value. Some were saying he wasn't even a top 10. Comical and I feel our drafting success with missing on Tinordi and McCarron affect some peoples judgment. Yes the game has gotten faster but you still need guys with skill and strength to go along with good skating. That's not changing and my evidence look at the final 8 rosters in the playoffs vs pre-season or October games.

I think Kotkaniemi and Tkachuk end up close in points potential. Were looking at 60-80 pts ceiling guys. It's anybodies guess how much better they can get and who they end up playing with in future years.

It's doubly funny because they same posters who hated Tkachuk and compared to McCarron were the same posters who were banging the table for McCarron

But that makes your point, they probably felt burned and didn't want to make the same mistake.

I agree with your point assessment, think both guy have ppg potential. Obviously Tkachuk is alot closer to that, but Kotka has a path to it just as grows and improves.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Kotkaniemi (Ahead of the expected development): He is better sooner than we expected. Top 2 center is a safe bet based on what we have seen so far

Ylonen (Equal to expected development): First year of Liiga and 7 pts in 24 games. It would of been nice to see him show promise this season but what he is doing is ok. The U20 tournament will be a good test!

Romanov (Ahead of the expected development): Made the KHL roster. Yeah, he has no pts but his a +11 and it's impressive for a 18 year defenseman to make the KHL. Hope he plays for team Russia at the U20's

Olofsson (Equal to expected development): He is playing SHL cause his team got bumped up but he is not looking out of place. A real 200' center. A good measure on how good he looks will be at the U20 worlds

Hillis, Harris, McShane, Gorniak, Fonstad, Houde, Stapley: Who knows. Expecting busts and some surprises is normal with 3 round + picks. Too hard to determine at this stage. I do like what I see with Harris, McShane, and Stapley at this stage.

 

[Habs Halifax]

It's doubly funny because they same posters who hated Tkachuk and compared to McCarron were the same posters who were banging the table for McCarron

But that makes your point, they probably felt burned and didn't want to make the same mistake.

I agree with your point assessment, think both guy have ppg potential. Obviously Tkachuk is alot closer to that, but Kotka has a path to it just as grows and improves.

All I know is it's nice to see us have an asset like Kotkaniemi. First time in a very long time we have a skilled center with size. Safe #2C but it's hard to determine what pieces we have that fit with him well. I think Suzuki is a good fit. Or to move Domi to wing and have Domi/Kotkaniemi/Drouin as the top line. Suzuki plays with Poehling.

Down the road problems/challenges

 

[Hannibal]

Tkachuk, as i thought, has Jamie Benn upside.

The next top powerfoward in the game.

Drouin-Domi-Tkachuk

What it could have been..

 

[Fazkovsky]

We are eating big time crow on Tkachuk

Looks like a similar player to his brother

 

[NotProkofievian]

What year do you guys think Kotkaniemi will overtake Tkachuk as a scorer?

Who knows, maybe this year. I can't have the cake that Brady is producing unsustainably and eat it too by saying it's out of the question right now. I would expect next year, though.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Tkachuk, as i thought, has Jamie Benn upside.

The next top powerfoward in the game.

Drouin-Domi-Tkachuk

What it could have been..

Except we have an actual high potential centre instead who looks promising as hell as the youngest player in the league this season producing at .5 PPG already.

Everyone knew Brady was more physically ready at this point anyways.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I wonder if anyone can quote a single poster comparing Tkachuk to McCarron, and especially one who was saying ''we MUST get McCarron'' back in 2013.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

I'd still take Kotka over Tkachuk but I think this is a lesson to not follow the HF Hive mind and to do your own scouting

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Who knows, maybe this year. I can't have the cake that Brady is producing unsustainably and eat it too by saying it's out of the question right now. I would expect next year, though.

I’d be pretty shocked if it happened this year. Think Kotka needs at least one offseason of strength development before he can become a real force out there. Right now he’s basically a JAG- which is still great considering what we thought his career arc would be heading into the draft.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I’d be pretty shocked if it happened this year. Think Kotka needs at least one offseason of strength development before he can become a real force out there. Right now he’s basically a JAG- which is still great considering what we thought his career arc would be heading into the draft.

I don't think it's very likely either. But I do think that Brady will slow down a lot from his admittedly terrific start. Even Auston Matthews was held pointless for long stretches in his rookie season. And who knows, Jesperi could catch fire.

I agree that Jesperi needs to get bigger, stronger, more able to stay on his feet to be dangerous shift to shift. For that reason it becomes a lot more likely starting next year.

 

[BushFireRecordsRedux]

Except we have an actual high potential centre instead who looks promising as hell as the youngest player in the league this season producing at .5 PPG already.

Everyone knew Brady was more physically ready at this point anyways.

Yep, Jesperi has more growing to do for sure, people were pretty sure KK wasn't even NHL ready at the time of the draft and Brady was seen as one of (if not the) most NHL ready forward in the draft. Anyway, how much would Tkachuk have to outscore Jesperi by yearly for us to not take the big, 2-way, skilled C given our history? Brady is really good and will continue to be, there are going to be other good players taken behind those 2.

I'm sure Ottawa is thrilled with their guy and good for them but most thought Kotkaniemi would be in Finland and he's taking a regular, competent shift at C in the NHL. I'm happy with where he's at.

 

[1909]

Except we have an actual high potential centre instead who looks promising as hell as the youngest player in the league this season producing at .5 PPG already.

Everyone knew Brady was more physically ready at this point anyways.

Habs needed to draft BOTH players: Kotkaniemi and Tkatchuk. But it was impossible of course.

 

[The Great Weal]

I'd still take Kotka over Tkachuk but I think this is a lesson to not follow the HF Hive mind and to do your own scouting

The same ones that also said that we should take Sokolov over Pezzeta? Yeah, neither HF or real scouts make the right call all the time. The difference is that HF isn't given all the tools possible and isn't watching as many games lives.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

When both will be developed to their maximum, Kotka will be the most valuable of the two.

 

[Habs]

We drafted by need, instead of BPA. This team will never learn. Brady looking like a gem, all the haters are so quiet except a rare few who at least admit they were wrong.

 

[The Great Weal]

We drafted by need, instead of BPA. This team will never learn. Brady looking like a gem, all the haters are so quiet except a rare few who at least admit they were wrong.

Didn't you want Wahlstrom?

 

[Janne Niinimaa]

We are 25 games into the season and posters are already jumping on the people that didn't have Tkachuk top 5.

The defensemen (Dobson, Hughes, Boqvist, Bouchard, Smith) will obviously take longer to develop. Kotkaniemi is actually developing very well and quicker than expected, Kravstov is doing well in the KHL.

Most of us had Tkachuk as a 60ish point winger. Right now he had a very very good first 14 games in the NHL. How about everyone calms down on saying we made the wrong pick?

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

We drafted by need, instead of BPA. This team will never learn. Brady looking like a gem, all the haters are so quiet except a rare few who at least admit they were wrong.

No, you're wrong. They drafted best value available. And time will show this.

Timmins is quoted as saying he goes for BVA, not BPA.

And everyone knew Brady was one of the most NHL ready of the bunch. Chances he'll plateau sooner, and his position is not as demanding in terms of adaptation and development as for a centerman or defenseman.

 

[Simarino]

The same ones that also said that we should take Sokolov over Pezzeta? Yeah, neither HF or real scouts make the right call all the time. The difference is that HF isn't given all the tools possible and isn't watching as many games lives.

All that should be a very good reason for some posters in here to be a litlle bit more humble when they give their opinion on prospect and not talk like they own the truth!!(not talking about you)

 

[KevSkillz4]

I think Tkachuk and Kotkaniemi can be better than Svechnikov.

 

[G0bias]

A lot depends on who they play with. It was funny about the posters who hated Tkachuk and compared him to a McCarron type. We have to stop doing this to ourselves. Tkachuk is a beast and I'm not saying we should of taken him over Kotkaniemi. But he is a top 5 pick value. Some were saying he wasn't even a top 10. Comical and I feel our drafting success with missing on Tinordi and McCarron affect some peoples judgment. Yes the game has gotten faster but you still need guys with skill and strength to go along with good skating. That's not changing and my evidence look at the final 8 rosters in the playoffs vs pre-season or October games.

I think Kotkaniemi and Tkachuk end up close in points potential. Were looking at 60-80 pts ceiling guys. It's anybodies guess how much better they can get and who they end up playing with in future years.

If people really compared him to McCarron or "hated" him, they wouldn't have him in their first round let alone top 15. There's no need to start spreading BS.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I wonder if anyone can quote a single poster comparing Tkachuk to McCarron, and especially one who was saying ''we MUST get McCarron'' back in 2013.

No takers, huh?

 

[G0bias]

To those serving crow 25 games in an entire draft class, raise of hands those who watched him at BU?

I personally still had him top 10, albeit at the tail end of it, but wouldn't be shoving any player in anyone's face at this point of a draft class. For all we know one or more of Boqvist, Hughes, Smith, Alexeyev become stud #1 Ds. It took Hedman 5 years to be the player he became. Pettersson was the best player of his class not until a year after.