Most realistic expectations for our top prospects

[HankyZetts]

Since 2008 out of all our picks only 3 players are now regular NHLers.

Lots still in limbo plus horrible drafts in 09 and 08(no 1st rder). The few drafts before 08 are ridiculous, lots of nhlers there.

 

[Mrbubble]

You all must be kidding on Scherbak, bust based on what? His preseason plays? He was injured + he's just ***** 19 years old. Suddently he's not our best prospect, funny how the expectations were high on him on preseason and the 10 ahl games he played.

Mccarron's developpement took a while too

I stand by this kid, he has a lot of skills, grit and good hockey sense can't see him bust. Transition may take time but he will be out elite 1st line winger 2 years from now.

 

[Scintillating10]

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - Personally think he'll bust, but maybe 3rd line winger, Ala Burmistrov
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - 2nd line centre, ala Brian Boyle with an offensive twist.
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 4th line shutdown C, ala Kruger
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - 3rd line Two-way C, ala Cody Eakin
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - I see him as a #4, Ala Petry-lite
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - #6 Shutdown D, ala Mark Stuart
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - Bust, ala D'Agostini (like the guy above me said)
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - NHL Starter, ala Corey Crawford
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Haven't seen him play before, but I'm guessing that from what I've seen he's probably not going to be coming over anytime soon...
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW - Most underrated Habs prospect... Going bold here and saying 2LW, ala Marcus Johansson

I'm pretty average with my picks..

Schebak's popularity has certainly fallen on this board since he was drafted. Hope he doesn't end up another Leblanc or Tinordi

 

[Lshap]

McCarron is not a typical middle 6er. Hell be the heart and soul of this team.he's 100% a keeper.

Nikita is the only other one I'd have a hard time to give away.

Since 2008 out of all our picks only 3 players are now regular NHLers.

Galchenyuk
Gallagher
Beaulieu


The only top 6 players I can see in our pool are Scherbak, Mccarron and Hudon

Agree with both of you. Competition is too tight for most of our prospects to make the NHL, let alone get anywhere close to a top-six spot.

For me, the single biggest quality to look for is confidence. That's where McCarron is head and shoulders above the rest - figuratively and literally. He has a superior awareness on the ice. Obviously being that big gives you a better view, but it's the mental game, the quality of confident control, that should elevate his raw talent into NHL-level talent. McCarron seems to have it more than any of our current prospects.

Hudon looked good in the preseason and may have what it takes.

Scherbak I haven't seen enough at any level, but the consensus is he's close to NHL-ready.

The others... a mixed bag of talent in need of experience. No way to tell.

 

[ottawa]

Reway is getting some solid feedback here, what's the deal with him not wanting to come to the N?

 

[Bouboumaster]

I so want McCarron on the line-up!

 

[MasterDecoy]

Nice topic!

We tend to have unrealistic expectations for Montreal prospects. Take a look at the Top 10 Prospects from 2010. (Boldface highlights players who became contributors on the Canadiens.)

1. P.K. Subban, D
2. Danny Kristo, LW
3. Louis Leblanc, C
4. Yannick Weber, D
5. Aaron Palushaj, RW
6. Ben Maxwell, C
7. Joonas Nattinen, C
8. Ryan White, C
9. Mathieu Carle, D
10. David Fischer, D
11. Andreas Engqvist, C
…
18. David Desharnais, C
…
20. Alexei Yemelin, D

Interesting that two guys much lower in the 2010 rankings became valuable members of the 2015 team.

My tempered expectations for 2015 prospects:

1. Nikita Scherbak (RW) Second-line winger
2. Mike McCarron (RW/C) Waived
3. Jacob De La Rose (C) Third-line center
4. Charles Hudon (C/LW) Traded
5. Noah Juulsen (D) Traded
6. Jarred Tinordi (D) Waived
7. Sven Andrighetto (RW) Traded
8. Zachary Fucale (G) Traded
9. Martin Reway (LW) First-line winger
10. Artturi Lehkonen (LW) KHL/Europe
…
xx. Brett Lernout (D) Top 4 defenseman

Just not convinced that McCarron's talents will translate to the NHL. But I hope I'm wrong!

Going out a limb here. The still-raw Brett Lernout might well grow into the defender we had hoped Tinordi would become. And Reway looks like a "bust-or-boom" type of player—an NHL All-Star or a forgotten talent. Just saw the report that he's been discharged from Sparta Prague and is likely on his way to the KHL.

You're not wrong, but the 2010 pool of prospects was pretty awful...

 

[Number 57]

Scherbak - 2nd line winger with good offensive skills, 50-55 pts per season.

McCarron - 2nd or 3rd line versatile player, very physical, can play PP or PK, integral part of the team, between 40-50 pts per year on average.

Fucale - low-end starter ala Halak, Crawford, will be Price's backup for a while.

De La Rose - 4th line guy who always has a spot in the NHL like Craig Adams, Dominic Moore, Kyle Brodziak, but not a key part of a team.

Hudon - 2nd/3rd line two-way guy with a lot of smarts, might put up huge points for a season or two but I think will likely settle as a 40-45 pts player.

Pateryn - 3rd pairing guy who can also fill in on the 2nd, very safe, plays physical, heads-up plays. Not a lot of points. Great on the PK. Long NHL career.

Tinordi - will settle as a 3rd pairing physical guy somewhere else in the NHL, but likely won't have a long career.

Lernout - 3rd pairing guy like I described for Pateryn, but with better puck poise.

Juulsen - Top-4 D who can do it all, bring in about 25-30 pts per season, can play physical, both PP and PK. Should spend two years in AHL so out D-corps might have changed a lot before he's ready.

Andrighetto - might stick somewhere in the NHL for a little while, but will likely go back to Europe soon.

Reway - will never come over

Lehkonen - 3rd/4th line winger with speed and defensive skills. Will surprise us and make the squad full-time during his 1st year (as a call-up), but will never develop enough offensive skills to be a great top-6 guy.

Bournival - will stick around as a 4th liner somewhere else, but will bolt to Europe before he's 30.

So realistically that's our lineup a couple of years from now;

Pacioretty - Galchenyuk - Gallagher
UFA - Eller - Scherbak
Hudon - McCarron - Lehkonen
Smith-Pelley - De La Rose - Grégoire

Beaulieu - Subban
Emelin - Petry
Juulsen - Lernout/Pateryn

Price - Fucale

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

my turn now :

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - KHL
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - 3rd or 4th liner
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 3rd or 4th liner
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - AHL
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Bust
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - Bust
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - AHL
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up / AHL
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Bust
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Bust

 

[Skip Bayless]

1-Scherbak : He's too raw for me to project.
2-McCarron: 3rd line C who can shutdown the opponent and ship in.
3-Hudon: 2nd line C 15G-30A type of player
4-Fucale: Time will tell, but I think he'll make the NHL.
5-DLR: Defensive minded 4th line C with good possession game.
6-Juulsen: Reliable Top 4 D.
7-Andrighetto: NHL journeyman, wont stick in the NHL for too long.
8-Tinordi: Bottom pairing D or 7th D, depending on the team.
9-Reway: Flipping burgers at burger king
10-Lehkonen: I like his game, but he needs to fill up. Bottom 6 W if everything goes well.

 

[domiwroze]

my turn now :

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - KHL
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - 3rd or 4th liner
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 3rd or 4th liner
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - AHL
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Bust
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - Bust
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - AHL
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up / AHL
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Bust
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Bust

 

[LePoche69]

It's a discussion I had many times over the years here on HF. You can almost be only Cartesian and pragmatic in saying that it is mathematically impossible for many of these prospects to play in the NHL. Most teams have already 2/3 of their players who'll still play 5-10 years in the NHL, and other prospects are drafted every year, + some free agents from USA college and others from Europe. So there are WAY more Duncan Millroy in these lists than players who'll have a certain impact (and I'm not necessarily talking about "top 6-kind of impact).

So I'll try the exercise just for fun, with that logic in mind:

2015 voting + plus my expectations

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - 1 or 2 seasons in and out of the top six, then go in KHL.
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - Useful 3th liner with 2 or 3 seasons in the top-6
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 3-4 years in a NHL lineup, useful but bring too little to the table, too easy to replace by an up and coming youngster, so will return in europe.
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - Jack-of-all-trade for a coach in the NHL, will play 5-10 years in the NHL anywhere between 4th and 1st lines. Poor-man Mike Ribeiro.
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Regular #5-6 d-man in the NHL.
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - Regular #6-7 d-man in the NHL for 5 to 7 years, then retire.
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - Europe next year.
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - career #2 goalie in the NHL. 3 years in the AHL.
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Europe with a cup of cofee in the NHL at around 27-28 years old.
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW - Europe with a cup of cofee in the NHL.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

2015 voting + plus my expectations

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - top-6 RW
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - Middle 6 C/RW
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - Third line Center
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - middle 6 C/LW
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Top4 RD
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - 6/7th D (LD)
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - Offensive third liner (RW/LW/C)
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up
9. Martin Reway, LW, - EUROPE first liner
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Middle 6 LW

A few of them were first rounders, but no one was a very high draft pick. It's like holding on to a pair of sevens and hopin for a full house.

 

[Runner77]

my turn now :

5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Bust
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - Bust
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Bust
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Bust

This is as genuine a Habs fan HF post as you're going to get.

4 busts in the top 10.

Who says more?

 

[domiwroze]

This is as genuine a Habs fan HF post as you're going to get.

4 busts in the top 10.

Who says more?

That's more than 4, he said Hudon AHL, Ghetto AHL, Fucale AHL and Sherbak KHL

So 8 of them will never play for the habs. And the best upside from these 10 prospect will be McCarron on our 3rd/4th line. I think it's pretty safe to say that he's wrong.

 

[jaffy27]

my turn now :

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - KHL
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - 3rd or 4th liner
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 3rd or 4th liner
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - AHL
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Bust
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - Bust
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - AHL
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up / AHL
9. Martin Reway, LW, - Bust
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Bust

You should submit this list to Bergevin and get Timmins fired ASAP before he steps up to the podium in 2016.....submit your C.V while your at it...just in case your right

 

[Runner77]

That's more than 4, he said Hudon AHL, Ghetto AHL, Fucale AHL and Sherbak KHL

So 8 of them will never play for the habs. And the best upside from these 10 prospect will be McCarron on our 3rd/4th line. I think it's pretty safe to say that he's wrong.

True enough, I guess I placed too much emphasis on his "Bust" qualifications.

However, doesn't take away from the fact that he produced a champ HF post.

 

[montreal]

Reway is getting some solid feedback here, what's the deal with him not wanting to come to the N?

We don't really know what his true intentions are. So far I haven't heard of the Habs offering him a contract so we can't say for sure he doesn't want to be in the NHL. The one knock was over the summer he was sitting by the pool instead of going to the development camp. But if the Habs offer him a contract this summer or next (he has to be signed by June 2017), we'll see what happens.

 

[Wats]

Assuming Lefebvre continues to be AHL head coach and based on recent development history.

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - 2nd/3rd liner
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - 2nd/3rd liner
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - 4th liner / SHLer
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - 2nd/3rd liner
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - #3/4 D
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - AHL
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - 3rd/4th liner / SHLer
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up / AHLer
9. Martin Reway, LW, - KHLer
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW - SHLer
11. Brett Lernout, D - #5-6 D
12. Daniel Carr, LW - 4th liner
13. Jeremy Gregoire, C/RW - 4th liner/AHLer
14. Jeremiah Addison, RW - 4th liner
15. Daniel Audette, C - AHLer
16. Darren Dietz, D - AHLer
17. Tim Bozon, LW - Swiss League
18. Connor Crisp, LW - 4th liner / AHLer
19. Simon Bourque, D - #5-6 D/ AHLer
20. Lukas Vejdemo, C - SHLer

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

This is as genuine a Habs fan HF post as you're going to get.

4 busts in the top 10.

Who says more?

That's more than 4, he said Hudon AHL, Ghetto AHL, Fucale AHL and Sherbak KHL

So 8 of them will never play for the habs. And the best upside from these 10 prospect will be McCarron on our 3rd/4th line. I think it's pretty safe to say that he's wrong.

You should submit this list to Bergevin and get Timmins fired ASAP before he steps up to the podium in 2016.....submit your C.V while your at it...just in case your right

True enough, I guess I placed too much emphasis on his "Bust" qualifications.

However, doesn't take away from the fact that he produced a champ HF post.

I must admit I LOL'ed as I posted it. No time for smiley.

However, my point is, prospects in general tend to be massively overhyped. Most of them don't pan out.

As for the C.V. suggestion : No thanks, I'm not ready for a salary drop.

 

[CanadienShark]

2015 voting + plus my expectations

1. Nikita Scherbak, RW, - top-6 RW
2. Mike McCarron, RW/C, - Middle 6 C/RW
3. Jacob De La Rose, C, - Third line Center
4. Charles Hudon, C/LW, - middle 6 C/LW
5. Noah Juulsen, D, - Top4 RD
6. Jarred Tinordi, D, - 6/7th D (LD)
7. Sven Andrighetto, RW, - Offensive third liner (RW/LW/C)
8. Zachary Fucale, G, - Back-up
9. Martin Reway, LW, - EUROPE first liner
10. Artturi Lehkonen, LW, Middle 6 LW

XXXX - XXXX - Scherbak
Hudon - McCarron - XXXX
Lehkonen - DLR - Andrighetto
XXXX - XXXX - XXXX

XXXX - XXXX
XXXXX - Juulsen
Tinordi - XXXX

XXXX
Fucale

Seems about right as far as reasonable upside, but I seriously doubt all 9 of those guys are NHLers.

 

[CanadienShark]

For me the guys I have the most confidence of having a NHL career are:

1. Mike McCarron
2. Jacob De La Rose
3. Nikita Scherbak
4. Noah Juulsen

I'd add Hudon to that list. Those 5 are guys I'm pretty confident will be NHLers.

 

[mattef]

Nikita Scherbak
Top-6 (+/- 45 pts/y)

Mike McCarron
Probably a kind of Dale Weise/DSP.

Jacob De La Rose
4th line C

Charles Hudon
Something like Mathieu Perreault in WPG. Unidimensional 3rd line guy.

Noah Juulsen
Probably a good #4D

Jarred Tinordi
#6 or 7... Will probably end up boucing around the league on short deals

Sven Andrighetto
I doubt he does ever more than AHL with a few call ups per year, and then going back to Europe

Zachary Fucale
Mathieu Garon type of career

 

[greyboy67]

Hudon will be a star.

Mccarron will be an impact player as well.

Scherbak boom or bust, haven't seen him do enough of the little things yet, but I'm not worried at all.

Juulsen looks like a stud top-4

DLR elite bottom 6er

Reway is a superstar no joke, if he ever humbles himself.

Those are high expectations. Prospects are just that—prospects. Most likely one or perhaps two of these guys will become solid NHL players, but not all 5 of them. Three would be outstanding. DLR has the best shot because he's already shown he can play in the NHL.

 

[greyboy67]

You're not wrong, but the 2010 pool of prospects was pretty awful...

I'll grant you that. If we roll back 5 more years to 2005, it's a different picture:

1. Andrei Kostitsyn, RW
2. Alex Perezhogin, RW
3. Chris Higgins, LW
4. Kyle Chipchura, C
5. Tomas Plekanec, C
6. Yann Danis, G
7. Marcel Hossa, LW
8. Corey Locke, C
9. Ron Hainsey, D
10. Oskari Korpikari, D
…
18. Alexi Yemelin, D
19. Jaroslav Halak, G

Not as many busts. Plekanec is one of the most underrated players in the NHL. Chipchura, Hainsey, and Higgins have had long NHL careers. Kostitsyn was a valuable player for a few years.

Hainsey was the one the Habs should have kept.