Player Discussion Jonathan Drouin - Dr Jeckel And Mister Hyde Vibes Edition

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Yeah I was pretty settled in thinking we'd have to eat this trade as a rather big loss. I thought he'd be a 50-60 guy who's inconsistency would drive us nuts but could still be a nice complimentary 2nd winger if we had talent for him to play with getting most of his points on the PP.

Now he's looking like something pretty special. Hopefully this play can stick more often than not. Last night was actually good to see. He had some brain farts but still overcame them with more positives. Saw him backchecking and being physical along the boards as well. That's just a bonus. Get him (along with Domi) as close to his ceiling as possible and we're not so desperate for a top 5 pick though I think one more high end forward (that's including Suzuki and Poehling) and we'd have a forward group you can contend with.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Julien is doing a great job developing the kid. Too bad we wasted a full year with him at center. He is not a center, but he is becoming a pretty great winger.

He & Domi have some serious chemistry. They seem to like each other too. Drouin's physical play is underrated as is his ability to get under opponents' skins.

He seems happy & is having fun - a huge change from last year.

 

[sandviper]

I agree. He is playing much smarter and I'm sure Ducharme is helping. Drouin is the type where if you want him to do something, tell him he can't and he will.

The other thing I'd like to see is what his game looks like when he does get a bit stronger as he ages to his 25-30 years. He's never going to be a power forward type winger but we have to assume he matures even more and gets stronger? My latest focus is educating some who jump on players from age 20-25. A lot of players struggle in this age range and end up finding their game from 25-30. Drouin is 23 and I have faith in him being a pt/game type player if he has talent to work with.

The young core is something to build on for sure. 13 solid assets from age 18-23. Hard to say how good Romanov, Ylonen, Evans, Olofsson are but I expect some to show promise (and this don't include the many other prospects). Add in a few key vets and the future looks like something. Still need about two more grade A prospects IMO though. Power forward at LW and a stud with Size/Skating/Skill at LD.

Domi: 23
Drouin: 23
Lehkonen: 23
Evans: 22
Juulsen: 21
Suzuki: 19
Poehling: 19
Brook: 19
Primeau: 19
Ylonen: 19
Kotkaniemi: 18
Romanov: 18
Olofsson: 18

It would be interesting to see NHL projected rosters from each teams fan base from age 23 and under. How do the Habs look in this case compared to the rest of the league?

I am going strictly by memory but I think we’re generally in the top-20 in terms of prospects after this past draft. I don’t know what the age cut off is, but I recall seeing this in a number of articles across TSN and the Athletic. Depending how much you narrow/limit the prospects, I think we’re even top-10 in some articles.

 

[FloJack]

Julien is doing a great job developing the kid. Too bad we wasted a full year with him at center. He is not a center, but he is becoming a pretty great winger.

I agree, but at the same time, who knows if that year at centre hasn't helped what we're seeing now. Everyone learns and develops differently. Regardless, he is competing most of the time (and yielding results from that too!), which is the biggest difference with what we saw last year.

 

[CauZuki]

I am going strictly by memory but I think we’re generally in the top-20 in terms of prospects after this past draft. I don’t know what the age cut off is, but I recall seeing this in a number of articles across TSN and the Athletic. Depending how much you narrow/limit the prospects, I think we’re even top-10 in some articles.

Getting Suzuki helped out a lot:

Pronman: 2018-19 NHL farm system rankings

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

Sorry Drouin for doubting you.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I am going strictly by memory but I think we’re generally in the top-20 in terms of prospects after this past draft. I don’t know what the age cut off is, but I recall seeing this in a number of articles across TSN and the Athletic. Depending how much you narrow/limit the prospects, I think we’re even top-10 in some articles.

I'd like to see a hybrid of current NHL players (23 and under.. I think I saw a age 24 or 25 previously) and factoring in prospects not on the NHL roster. I count over half a roster in the age 18-23 range.

14 guys that stand to be on our roster in 3+ years. Domi, Drouin, Lehkonen, Juulsen, Kotkaniemi, Suzuki, Poehling, Brook, Evans, Olofsson, Mete, Romanov, Ylonen, Primeau.

Of course we don't know how good the prospects will be but at this stage, this is my core and hopefuls. Doesn't include any of the other guys we have that will also disappoint/surprise

 

[Habs Halifax]

Getting Suzuki helped out a lot:

Pronman: 2018-19 NHL farm system rankings

Prior to this past off season and draft, I had the Habs in the middle of the pack range (people insisted to me that we were bottom of the league). Now we added Kotkaniemi and Suzuki and we are in most peoples top 10 or top 5? How do you go from bottom of the league to top 5 or top 10 with two players? I like Kotkaniemi and Suzuki and value them a lot but were not talking about McDavid types here. Don't add up to me.

Just goes to show how much bias and guess work those prospect rankings are if you ask me.

 

[Habs Halifax]

27 fits him better than 92.

27 was his number in junior too.

 

[Cobra Commander]

I always been high on Drou during his Jr time and his Tampa time. I always appreciated the way he play, he's an exciting player bless with alot of skills. But last year I start to question his willingness to win. I really thinks that Domi's attitude is really what Drou need. We saw him play his best hockey of the year last year with Gallagher and now he p'au his best hockey since he got here playing with domi. If he can keep playing with those type of guy and develop this kind of willingness I reallythink Drou can become an elite in this game. I dont think hell need a nylander or marner to hit 70 pts.

He said 70 assists lol, that’s incuding 20+ goals would be incredible.

 

[cave troll]

Althought he is playing great, I still think can can do much better than this.
But man, this boy has golden hands.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Althought he is playing great, I still think can can do much better than this.
But man, this boy has golden hands.

I agree and I'm scared to say what I really am hoping for... A 100 pts season from him from the age of 25-30. He did have 1.89 pts/game in the Q. The potential is there but it all comes down to our PP and the talent surrounding Drouin

 

[Habs Halifax]

He said 70 assists lol, that’s incuding 20+ goals would be incredible.

Rewind back to his draft year and if someone told me his potential was 70 assist and 20 goals, I would believe them. Were talking about potential here, not guarantees.

A guy like Marner would have struggled just as much as Drouin has on our roster last season. So many people target Drouin because of who traded him and also ignored the talent that Drouin had to play with.

 

[Cobra Commander]

I would like to hear a Jo-jo.. Jo-jo... Jo-jo chant at the Bell Center, get those hairs on the back of his neck standing up, make him feel like a hockey God. Some guys (Kovalev, Drouin I suspect) play better the more you praise them.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I would like to hear a Jo-jo.. Jo-jo... Jo-jo chant at the Bell Center, get those hairs on the back of his neck standing up, make him feel like a hockey God. Some guys (Kovalev, Drouin I suspect) play better the more you praise them.

You touched on something I talked about early on in the year. Confidence and support from the fan base towards young players even if they are struggling. I get the Price critics cause he took us to the cleaners on his monster deal and now has to live up to it, but lets give the young core support.

We can all see the difference in Drouin now that he is playing with more confidence. When you are a young player and you know the Bell center will boo your every mistake, it can get to you. Credit to the coaching staff and credit to Drouin for overcoming this black cloud that followed him around

 

[CauZuki]

The worst decision made about Drouin was forcing him to play at center last season.

If only someone could have forseen such a thing...

 

[crosbyshow]

I would like to hear a Jo-jo.. Jo-jo... Jo-jo chant at the Bell Center, get those hairs on the back of his neck standing up, make him feel like a hockey God. Some guys (Kovalev, Drouin I suspect) play better the more you praise them.

Agree at 100%

This kid loves the game and he wants to give us a show like Kovy.

He will still be a frustrating player sometimes like Richer, P.k and Kovy but ... man...those guys were and are so spectacular

 

[crosbyshow]

I remember in his draft seasson when in palyed in Halifax , I thought that I had never seen hands like Drouin excepts maybe Datsuyk and Kovalev

 

[stanley25]

I would like to hear a Jo-jo.. Jo-jo... Jo-jo chant at the Bell Center, get those hairs on the back of his neck standing up, make him feel like a hockey God. Some guys (Kovalev, Drouin I suspect) play better the more you praise them.

He has definetely derserved it this year. Curious to know if that mite take him to that next gear i beleive he may have hidden away. Players like Drouin, Domi, Gally and Price for that matter seem to feed off that bell center energy.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I've been very impressed by his play when he doesn't have the puck. He's been playing more physical and winning battles, using his speed to win races and back checking hard and making some very good defensive plays. It is great that he's putting up points, but the best part is he's producing at a significantly higher pace at even strength.

 

[Captain Mountain]

This was the year he really needed to elevate his game...


...and he has.

Especially the couple of weeks.

 

[Cobra Commander]

I remember in his draft seasson when in palyed in Halifax , I thought that I had never seen hands like Drouin excepts maybe Datsuyk and Kovalev

Holy shit was he ever an incredible Juniors player.

 

[No More Subban]

I never really understood why people gave up on him after last season.

He was set up to fail being 1C right off the bat.

I've always said wait til he plays wing full time..

 

[Scriptor]

Saw the Drouin in 60 seconds clip above. He was dominant in that highlight reel, but if he tried some of those moves at the NHL level, he'd get flattened more often than not. His ability to cut across an opponent and still leave himself with a shot is impressive, though.

 

[Sorinth]

Prior to this past off season and draft, I had the Habs in the middle of the pack range (people insisted to me that we were bottom of the league). Now we added Kotkaniemi and Suzuki and we are in most peoples top 10 or top 5? How do you go from bottom of the league to top 5 or top 10 with two players? I like Kotkaniemi and Suzuki and value them a lot but were not talking about McDavid types here. Don't add up to me.

Just goes to show how much bias and guess work those prospect rankings are if you ask me.

It's fairly normal for big jumps to occur, it's a combination of some teams adding top prospects to their pool (Like we did) and other teams losing top prospects to graduation.

For example next year most lists won't consider Kotkaniemi to be in our pool anymore, so we can expect to drop significantly unless we add another top-prospect at the draft (ie not a mid/late 1st).