HF Habs: Scouting Discussion Thread

[Estimated_Prophet]

And he mocked me for saying it was a terrible pick of a big guy who couldnt skate and didnt have enough skill to be a first rounder and i wouldnt take him before the third round.

So.i guess predicting the pick doesnt make you 100% right either.

He also said Michael Mcleod was a top 3 talent.

To be fair every scout who ever lived makes many of these mistakes. He also made statements that were a little over zealous more as an over reaction to the ocean of asinine comments directed towards him.

The best scouts in the world have opposing view points on many prospects. They often unanimously agree on their assessment of skill sets but developmental projection and pro translatability are the points of contention.

I am not saying that Grant is or is not a good scout but I think that his name has been unfairly smeared on this board.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Grant's pick for the Habs was Thomson? Interesting.

Usually I trust Grant when he's really pumping a player for the Habs, seems like he gets the occasional tip from Timmins. I'm not too worried about this hot take though, if he really thought the Habs would be taking Thomson he would be gushing about it all over Twitter. He's been a lot more conservative in his predictions this year, although from what he's posted I'm 100% sure the Habs would take Seider if available.

I remember when he fell in love hard with McLeod, that was weird. But that year I don't think he ever suggested that the Habs had any interest in McLeod, that was just his personal favorite prospect. I didn't really like how much you guys ragged on him for that though, everyone falls in love with players that end up busting.

 

[Frozenice]

To be fair every scout who ever lived makes many of these mistakes. He also made statements that were a little over zealous more as an over reaction to the ocean of asinine comments directed towards him.

The best scouts in the world have opposing view points on many prospects. They often unanimously agree on their assessment of skill sets but developmental projection and pro translatability are the points of contention.

I am not saying that Grant is or is not a good scout but I think that his name has been unfairly smeared on this board.

When he was here I asked him for opinions about maybe a half a dozen players and the responses I got weren’t very good, especially for someone who does this professionally.

In a lot of ways Grant had it coming, his attitude was pretty bad. However, the rudeness towards him was over the top, it was one of the reasons I quit posting on this forum for a couple of years. That and the whole PK thing. A lot of posters here were stuck in very repetitive grooves.

 

[phillytennis]

And he was all over McCarron like a cheap suit!

Yes....he kept insisting that McCarron was what the Habs needed. I debated the issue with him....I wanted no part of McCarron....the league was becoming faster....and McCarron lacked acceleration.
I don't trust McCregg one bit.

 

[Habs Icing]

To be fair every scout who ever lived makes many of these mistakes. He also made statements that were a little over zealous more as an over reaction to the ocean of asinine comments directed towards him.

The best scouts in the world have opposing view points on many prospects. They often unanimously agree on their assessment of skill sets but developmental projection and pro translatability are the points of contention.

I am not saying that Grant is or is not a good scout but I think that his name has been unfairly smeared on this board.

From what I've seen the smears are not because posters think he's a bad scout. It was because he had a condescending attitude to some of the more knowledgeable posters here.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I'll say one thing about Grant McCagg, I don't like his take on almost everything. But when it comes to the draft, he is not far off.

I believe he had Habs picking Poehling at 25 in 2017. And he was talking about Kotkaniemi for Habs months before most of the mainstream media started mentioning him.

He also posted here saying he would for "Scherbak" Timmins on drafted Nikita, or some variation of that.

 

[Michelangelo]

Grant is just (MOD) who happens to have some knowledge about prospects due to his relationship with Timmins

 

[phillytennis]

Grant's pick for the Habs was Thomson? Interesting.

Usually I trust Grant when he's really pumping a player for the Habs, seems like he gets the occasional tip from Timmins. I'm not too worried about this hot take though, if he really thought the Habs would be taking Thomson he would be gushing about it all over Twitter. He's been a lot more conservative in his predictions this year, although from what he's posted I'm 100% sure the Habs would take Seider if available.

I remember when he fell in love hard with McLeod, that was weird. But that year I don't think he ever suggested that the Habs had any interest in McLeod, that was just his personal favorite prospect. I didn't really like how much you guys ragged on him for that though, everyone falls in love with players that end up busting.

Grant.... could be a good guy... doesn't mean he's a good scout.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Grant is just an old senile ******* who happens to have some knowledge about prospects due to his relationship with Timmins

I argued with Grant more than anyone back in the day (McCarron draft mostly), but this board really doesn't give him the respect he deserves for giving us insight into what the Habs are doing when drafting. He clearly has a strng relationship with our scouting department, and calls our picks at a ridiculous rate.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Grant.... could be a good guy... doesn't mean he's a good scout.

I would say that Grant is most definitely a "good scout", which is a largely subjective opinion either way.

I do not take Grant's individual player evaluations as gospel, no one should with any scout, not even with McKenzie's list. However, I find Grant to be an incredible resource for Habs fans because of how similar his list has been to Timmins' list historically. He's track record at predicting Habs picks is far better than any of the RDS/TSN pundits and infinitely better than any posters on these boards.

Rather than call Grant a bad scout for having McCarron ranked highly, I appreciate his insight into how the Habs evaluate players.

TLDR; Grant's rankings have flaws like every other scout, yet he is a great resource for Habs fans because of how similar he thinks to Timmins

 

[le_sean]

Nothing wrong with Grant the scout, it’s Grant the human being that needs to grow up.

He’s to scouting as Berkshire is to analytics - even thought I respect Berkshire far less.

 

[Kobe Armstrong]

Grant is just (MOD) who happens to have some knowledge about prospects due to his relationship with Timmins

which happens to make his opinion infinitely more valuable than any of the posters on here...

 

[LastWordArmy]

To be fair every scout who ever lived makes many of these mistakes. He also made statements that were a little over zealous more as an over reaction to the ocean of asinine comments directed towards him.

The best scouts in the world have opposing view points on many prospects. They often unanimously agree on their assessment of skill sets but developmental projection and pro translatability are the points of contention.

I am not saying that Grant is or is not a good scout but I think that his name has been unfairly smeared on this board.

Everyone makes mistakes. The arrogance in how he defends his picks is what is annoying. We make mistakes too. I don't claim to be perfect and I don't think any scout should be held to a standard of perfection.

The arrogance in the way he attacked my opinion on McCarron is why I bring it up again today. The absolute arrogance that stated he was a great pick and was going to be an impact NHLer and we didn't know what we were talking about in our criticisms. That he was the perfect player for the Habs and would have a big career and anyone who thought otherwise was a terrible scout, etc...

It's that arrogance that is why Grant gets a bad name.

 

[AntiCHrice]

A lot of people need to grow up on this board but we don't see the same mob effect. Yes he was disrespectful sometimes but he's far from being alone in these parts. McCarron that was what...6 years ago? And people are still beating that dead horse. It seems there are a lot of grudge bearers around. Grant used his real name on this board, he didn't have to do that. How many can say the same thing?

 

[habsfan891]

which happens to make his opinion infinitely more valuable than any of the posters on here...

I think the opinions on here are more valuable but to each their own.

 

[Mrb1p]

Seider isn't making it to 15. He has all the tools and showed out against men in the WC. Plus he's a RD. Any ranking that has him making it to 15 or lower should be tossed out the window.

Stop with the RD myth already

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Stop with the RD myth already

What's the myth, RDs are rarer than LDs and thus have a more premium value. This is just a straight fact.

 

[Vachon23]

What's the myth, RDs are rarer than LDs and thus have a more premium value. This is just a straight fact.

When you look at the elite groupe, they are way more RD then LD

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

What's the myth, RDs are rarer than LDs and thus have a more premium value. This is just a straight fact.

Of the top 60 in points the past 2 years, RD have a slight advantage. I believe it was 27 rhd to 23lhd

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Of the top 60 in points the past 2 years, RD have a slight advantage. I believe it was 27 rhd to 23lhd

Does this mean they are less valuable somehow?

 

[Saxon]

Does this mean they are less valuable somehow?

I think the point is, it doesn't make them MORE valuable.

 

[WinterLion]

I think the point is, it doesn't make them MORE valuable.

RD definitely have more value. They are harder to find. It does seem to be evening out slowly though. If you think you are getting a special player, I don't think it matters too much though... later in the draft you get better value taking LD's as many seem to slip a bit.

 

[Saxon]

RD definitely have more value. They are harder to find. It does seem to be evening out slowly though. If you think you are getting a special player, I don't think it matters too much though... later in the draft you get better value taking LD's as many seem to slip a bit.

If you read the posts above, they are presenting the opposite as fact.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

I think the point is, it doesn't make them MORE valuable.

Well the league disagrees.

 

[Saxon]

Well the league disagrees.

Well I can't speak for the league, so I'll have to take your word for it. Personally I'd rather deal with factual evidence than opinion.