Rank the Habs wingers, #3

[DAChampion]

Let's have a series of polls ranking the Habs wingers. Rank them for current total play and potential total play for the 2019 campaign, offense and defense. Polls will be up for 24 hours.

Brenden Gallagher won round 1, with 97.3% support, see here: https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/rank-the-habs-wingers-1.2563517/

Jonathan Drouin won round 2, with 53.6% support, see here: https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/rank-the-habs-wingers-2.2563929/

Click to read more...

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

Drouin at #2 Ineffective high risk play style to me.

 

[G0bias]

If this poll is for current play, is it all three of Drouin's good games that puts him ahead of the others?

 

[Adam Michaels]

If this poll is for current play, is it all three of Drouin's good games that puts him ahead of the others?

This is why I had voted for Tatar. Drouin has the better skill set but right now, Tatar is having a better season. But since Drouin ended up winning #2, I voted for Tatar again here.

 

[Habs Icing]

I can't believe this forum voted Drouin as our 2nd best winger.

 

[Lshap]

I can't believe this forum voted Drouin as our 2nd best winger.

I voted for Drouin as #2, but after last night's game I'm feeling a bit sour about that decision. His youth and talent still make me think he can become the best player among our current crop, but he needs to process the chessboard more effectively. A guy like Domi is a joy to watch because his radar is set to 360 degrees and is constantly recalibrating; Drouin is a one-way guided missile that keeps being intercepted.

Anyway... Tatar for #3.

 

[Andrei79]

Lehkonen since #2. No other winger is as versatile and every line he plays on sees its shot chances go up. He just needs to start scoring on those chances.

 

[26Mats]

I voted based on a mix of who's the best now and who's the most valuable asset/has the most potential.

So Drouin was number 2. I still have Tatar at 3. No young player has surpassed him and given that he'll be 28 soon, that should give him about a good 5 more productive seasons.

 

[Habs Icing]

I voted for Drouin as #2, but after last night's game I'm feeling a bit sour about that decision. His youth and talent still make me think he can become the best player among our current crop, but he needs to process the chessboard more effectively. A guy like Domi is a joy to watch because his radar is set to 360 degrees and is constantly recalibrating; Drouin is a one-way guided missile that keeps being intercepted.

Anyway... Tatar for #3.

Lshap, last night's game wasn't the make or break point for me. It's been all 13 games. So far he has had two decent performances and one very good one. That's a total of 3 games. You compare that with what Tatar, Lehkonen, Byron and even the new whipping boy Armia have brought to the team and you realize how badly Drouin has played. I read your original post where you said you were voting on potential. I see where you're coming from but quite honestly I don't see potential in this player. And that's mainly between the ears. He doesn't have any hockey sense. He can skate like the wind, he can dangle and he can make great passes when he isn't nonchalant but he doesn't know how to put it all together and he doesn't know how to play with others.

Last year the excuse was he was playing at center. This year the excuse is that last year he was at center and has to readjust to his position. The coaching staff is bending over backwards to make it work. They give him all the cookies: PP, the best player (Domi), offensive zone minutes and they put up with one and half minute shifts. Honestly that infuriates me more than his nonchalant passing. Those long, extended shifts make me want to throw sharp objects at my screen.

 

[bobholly39]

If as per OP it's for "potential total play of 2019" - sorry but Drouin should definitely rank ahead of Tatar. It'd be horribly disappointing if Drouin doesn't outperform him this season, despite the fact that Tatar has looked great so far. And more than just disappointing, it'd be shocking. Drouin should and likely will have the better season.

I voted Tatar here - though to be honest although i've been mostly down on Byron past cpl of yrs (not that i don't like him - i love him - i just have trouble seeing him as a top player) - I was coming around this season and considered voting him first.

 

[Lshap]

Lshap, last night's game wasn't the make or break point for me. It's been all 13 games. So far he has had two decent performances and one very good one. That's a total of 3 games. You compare that with what Tatar, Lehkonen, Byron and even the new whipping boy Armia have brought to the team and you realize how badly Drouin has played. I read your original post where you said you were voting on potential. I see where you're coming from but quite honestly I don't see potential in this player. And that's mainly between the ears. He doesn't have any hockey sense. He can skate like the wind, he can dangle and he can make great passes when he isn't nonchalant but he doesn't know how to put it all together and he doesn't know how to play with others.

Last year the excuse was he was playing at center. This year the excuse is that last year he was at center and has to readjust to his position. The coaching staff is bending over backwards to make it work. They give him all the cookies: PP, the best player (Domi), offensive zone minutes and they put up with one and half minute shifts. Honestly that infuriates me more than his nonchalant passing.

Fair points.

The other thing that was crazy-making wasn't even Drouin's fault. The Bell Centre has small posters in all the men's (and presumably lady's) rooms with the slogan, (roughly translated) "Players at the very top of their game!", which shows three athletes: Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, and... Jonathan Drouin.

Are these people completely out of their minds...?

 

[26Mats]

Drouin is our 2nd best winger. Think about that for a second.

With the emergence of Domi and Kotkaniemi at center, that Drouin is our #2 winger really shows what a need we have for top flight wingers. And yet we passed on so many that were available this summer at bargain bin prices (Skinner, Perron, Duclair, etc...)

 

[Habs Icing]

Fair points.

The other thing that was crazy-making wasn't even Drouin's fault. The Bell Centre has small posters in all the men's (and presumably lady's) rooms with the slogan, (roughly translated) "Players at the very top of their game!", which shows three athletes: Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, and... Jonathan Drouin.

Are these people completely out of their minds...?

LOL.

Which goes to prove what some of us suspected and posted. The Drouin trade was not really a hockey trade. It was mainly a marketing gimmick. Of late I've been saying I would be extremely happy if Douin turned out to be as good as Brassard. I'm slowly starting to believe it would take a miracle for Drouin to be as good as that player.

 

[Habs Icing]

Drouin is our 2nd best winger. Think about that for a second.

With the emergence of Domi and Kotkaniemi at center, that Drouin is our #2 winger really shows what a need we have for top flight wingers. And yet we passed on so many that were available this summer at bargain bin prices (Skinner, Perron, Duclair, etc...)

Drouin is not our #2. The majority of posters who voted in that poll believe he is. Not the same thing.

 

[26Mats]

Drouin is not our #2. The majority of posters who voted in that poll believe he is. Not the same thing.

Well since god thinks he's not #2, he must not be.

Either way, the same point holds if Tatar is our #2.

 

[Habs Icing]

Well since god thinks he's not #2, he must not be.

Either way, the same point holds if Tatar is our #2.

It's God not god.

 

[ArtPeur]

I thought we were deep at wing, looking at this poll, I kinda feel bad/sad

 

[417]

Fair points.

The other thing that was crazy-making wasn't even Drouin's fault. The Bell Centre has small posters in all the men's (and presumably lady's) rooms with the slogan, (roughly translated) "Players at the very top of their game!", which shows three athletes: Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, and... Jonathan Drouin.

Are these people completely out of their minds...?

The team is really pushing the Drouin angle and it's not helping imo

 

[JianYang]

This is a tough one. I went with Byron over tatar, but I seem to be in the minority.

 

[JoelWarlord]

After Gallagher it's Byron, Lehkonen, Tatar, Drouin, Hudon, Armia, Shaw, Scherbak, Deslauriers IMO.

Drouin at #2 is a real stretch for me, don't think he's even close to Lehkonen or Byron to be honest. He's going to have more raw points but Drouin's basically a PP specialist and scores at a low end 2nd line/high end 3rd line rate at even strength and has very little defensive/possession impact. No way that's more valuable than Byron or Lehkonen's combo of ES two way play and better ES offense + better goal scoring.

 

[Cobra Commander]

We are deep at center with the additions of Domi and Kotkaniemi, we are actually lacking one or two goal scoring wingers..