HF Habs: 2024 NHL Draft Thread

[26Mats]

Indeed, this year was the right one to take a defenseman...

We'll see in the end...

 

[Zilo44]

Hot trending prospect and one of the youngest in the draft. I think this is a big factor. If there was no trade (incentive to move down) and Demidov was gone, Iggy is my pick.

No offense to Lindstrom or Catton but I really like Iggy's progress. Solid height/weight for one of the youngest in the draft. Should max out around 6'-1" and 200 lbs. Good skater, good goal scoring ability, good energy, plays a solid north/south game.

Martin St-Louis and Lecavalier both played against Iggy. I’m sure these two guys will want him

 

[Habs Halifax]

Agree but 5th is too early for him imo. Maybe if they trade back

I'm warming up to Helenius. I do think we trade to 8-10 range but that will depend on the incentive. Would hurt if we trade down, miss on Iggy and he becomes just as good or better than his father and we end up taking a bust.

What is the expectation to get from trading 5 to 8-10? A early 2nd rounder? Not sure that is worth it guys.

Martin St-Louis and Lecavalier both played against Iggy. I’m sure these two guys will want him

Yeah, he's my pick today. I really like the hot trend combined with his early age. Just take Iggy and call it a day.

Work at moving the late 1st and early 2nd for our top 6F search. Dach/Newhook type move.

 

[waffledave]

Why can't I select Zeev Buium?

Because Anaheim will take him.

 

[Habs Icing]

Do you think we might see the NHL have an emotional overreaction to Connelly's boneheaded 5 minute major, and he could fall all the way to the Winnipeg pick?

I still wouldn't take him. His boneheaded antics have moved from off-ice to on-ice situations.

 

[Doublechin]

Personally, I'd be completely undecided, I might lean Buium/Parekh personally for now. To consider Buium, I'd try to set things in motion and land the Devils 10th pick by trading Xhekaj, our Jets picks and a prospect like Mesar.

If this works, I immediately draft Buium at 6, if it fails I consider Parekh, the idea of Parekh and Hutson running a PP keeps popping in my head and tbh it might be something else.

There's also the fact that Parekh might play in the Mem cup and Sennecke has the playoffs to finish so certain things might change.

Only other name I'd consider is Iginla, it all comes into perspective, can I land the Devils 10th pick by trading X, if yes Buium is the pick and at 10 I might be lucky enough to get one of Sennecke/Iginla/Catton/Helenius

If I can't get a trade done then I'm having a long debate between Parekh/Iginla/Sennecke

 

[WeThreeKings]

If I had to guess

We know we aren't getting Celebrini

They'd have
Demidov
Lindstrom

In that order.

After that it gets murky, but I think you'd look at Iginla/Sennecke as the next tier for them. Progression curve, big moments in the playoffs, play on the inside, skilled, driven, have average to above average size.

After that I think it'd be Helenius/Catton.

Then Eiserman sits in the back end of that as a last resort from a trade down.

Only defenseman that moves the needle for them is Levshunov and he won't be there.

 

[FrankMTL]

I wouldn't be shocked to see Kent Hughes and company watching the Oshawa-London series live. It would give them a chance to see Sennecke and Dickinson as well as Marrelli and O'Reilly who can be late 2nd/3rd round options.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I'd still take Berkly Catton.

If they have him off the board because of size concerns which is kinda lol to me but whatever since he's barely shorter than Tij and punched his lights out.

Then it's Sennecke ahead of Iginla.

 

[NotProkofievian]

I still wouldn't take him. His boneheaded antics have moved from off-ice to on-ice situations.

Good...goooood...we want this thought out in the universe.

 

[the valiant effort]

Leaning Iggy Jr, but no matter what I'm confident we're adding a big piece

The added appeal of Iggy Jr. is Iggy Sr. He's had a few years of rest and could likely come back for a couple of 40 goal years with us, rippin' snipes from the RW circle through these sieves

Is it a coincidence that I never see names visible in polls anymore?

 

[Habs Halifax]

Chance to get Demidov

Would be nice. We do have the Jets 1st to use. This draft will be wild. BPA is wide open from 2-10 and each team's draft board will be different.

 

[Frankenheimer]

I would trade fifth if we are guaranteed two picks in top 15. And that means a three way trade from the get go. The logical target is SJ second first.

Mtl 5th to Calgary
Cgy 9th + Vancouver 1st to Montreal
Vancouver + Winnipeg first for SJ second first (14th overall)

But I wouldnt make this trade unless its locked in from the get go. I would not trade down and then wait to see if we can acquire the SJ pick.

However I prefer the idea of drafting best D available and trying to acquire Zegras with remaining draft capital and add ons.

 

[Tuggy]

Assuming these are what's left after the top 4 then I'm fine with any of Catton, Sennecke or Iginla.

I think there is a decent chance HuGo moves the pick either up or down.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If I'm Chicago I'm picking a D all day long. They take longer to develop and they need to set up the cornerstones of their future top 4. They'll still be horrible next year and there are several stud forwards in the 2025 draft by the looks of it.

They should be taking their franchise defenseman at 2. Korchinski and Vlasic aren't close to 1s. They risk turning into the Leafs.

Hey at least you didn't have to be nervous about your guy getting picked from 2-4 only to have them pass on your guy.


Or maybe it's just that rush offense is most tailor made for highlights? He's great in the offensive zone too lmao

Well, I tried to tell you guys for a month that they were not picking Michkov. Y'all didn't wanna listen!

We are definitely going to miss out on him.

I don't think it's definitive.

Lindstrom has the better shot, but other than that and being more filled out (bad thing?), why do you prefer Lindstrom over Sennecke? Their skating is close, though I prefer Sennecke, but what sets Sennecke apart is his hands and vision. It’s just on another level compared to Lindstrom who’s got hands of stone and blinders on while Sennecke has some of the best mitts and offensive vision in the draft. To me it’s just what gives Sennecke much more upside. Lindstrom is big, mean and can really rip pucks, but Sennecke is just a much more well rounded offensive package in a physical 6’3” frame himself.

Lindstrom's shot and growth in the beginning of the season. His playmaking game was starting to come along. I do have them close though, but Lindstrom also has that nastiness and physical element to his game that Sennecke doesn't have. I wouldn't be surprised if maybe Sennecke rounds out to be the better point producer of the two, there's just less concerns on how Lindstrom would translate to the NHL playoffs.

I like both a lot.

I've been saying this. The rumbling last year was that this year draft would be D heavy. And it is.

Early predictions of next year draft looks full of forwards in the top half.

This is the year to draft your top franchise Defenseman and next year you get your Forward.

Yeah and a year before last year's draft you'd be salivating at getting Cam Allen on your RD.. and at the beginning of the year we all thought Eiserman would be the 2nd player off the board.

It's way too volatile to hinge your hopes on next year. Plus, there's still no right shot defenseman in this class who profile the way Reinbacher does. You can make an argument that Tij Iginla and Ryan Leonard are not that different from one another. Moreover, Catton is gonna go in the same range as Zach Benson or Seth Jarvis. Those opportunities are a lot easier to come by then getting a rangy, big, right shot defenseman with an elevated hockey sense and complete defensive game while being a transition monster.

Well, Chicago fans seem to want Demidov and not a D. Think that forward is far more of a priority.

Demidov would be their new Panarin.

Fans always want forwards.

Whichever D are picked, I'm just saying Lindtrom and Demidov will be gone before 5.

All it takes is Silayev and Levshunov to go top 4 and relative to Bob's list that seems likely as they, with Demidov, have the most support for that. I wouldn't throw in the towel but it's still scary.

If the Habs pass on Sennecke, how far could he fall? Could the habs trade up to get him in addition to someone else at 5?

One scout has him top 5, two others in the top 10, I don't see him being available outside of the top 10.

Do you think we might see the NHL have an emotional overreaction to Connelly's boneheaded 5 minute major, and he could fall all the way to the Winnipeg pick?

I think it will drop his stock a bit but regardless the Habs aren't taking the swastika joker, bad kid, bad teammate, public athletic hit piece in the first round. Molson would be very clear about that, the Mailloux thing is what pushed him to really consider letting go of Bergevin as he didn't like the heat, the damage to the brand, or the shareholders aversion and threatening to pull funding.. not gonna invite the Jewish community in Montreal to be enraged over selecting Trevor Connelly.

 

[habdynasty]

Iggy all the way. Don’t make the same mistake they made with missing out on Tkachuk.

 

[Habs Icing]

Someone earlier on this thread said we don't have 3 Nicklas Lidstrom and I got a good chuckle.

Seriously, I don't know what Guhle/Hutson/Xhekaj have done for us to not even consider Buium/Dickinson if Demidov and Lindstrom are gone at 5.

BPA is one way to go.

Another is PBTIT (player best to improve team). What is the difference between Reinbacher and one of the RH studs or Guhle and one of the LH stars? Now compare that with the difference between Iginla/Sennecke/Catton/Eiserman and our fourth-best forward (after Suzuki, Caufield and Slaf).

I say the team is vastly improved with the forwards.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Demidov or Lindstrom

 

[General Fanager]

I'm warming up to Helenius. I do think we trade to 8-10 range but that will depend on the incentive. Would hurt if we trade down, miss on Iggy and he becomes just as good or better than his father and we end up taking a bust.

What is the expectation to get from trading 5 to 8-10? A early 2nd rounder? Not sure that is worth it guys.



Yeah, he's my pick today. I really like the hot trend combined with his early age. Just take Iggy and call it a day.

Work at moving the late 1st and early 2nd for our top 6F search. Dach/Newhook type move.

Nope, id want more. Id target a team with 2 1st rounders and see if they would trade both for the #5 Lets see how bad Calgary wants baby Iggy

Or make the easy play and just take BPA at #5 and try to wheel and deal with next years 1st and Win and Calgarys 1st. There are also several Habs Dmen that will likely be available.

 

[morhilane]

If the Habs pass on Sennecke, how far could he fall? Could the habs trade up to get him in addition to someone else at 5?

Not far. Sennecke had a vote at 5 and 7 on Bob's survey rankings. Another one at 10. Very low chance he's taken outside the top 10 at this point.

As a note, I always found that Bob's list is delayed, in the sense that it feels he did the survey months before he reveals it so riser/faller trends haven't fully kicked in so kids going up and down are still in movement. In other words, some scouts aren't done checking their stuff when asked.

Really, if the Habs gets another top 15 pick, it's to take Catton.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Yes but we also need to make it worth our while to give up 5 for 8/9/10. Teams have to give us a great piece to make that jump

If we trade back from 5 to 8/9/10 I’d want that piece to be able to be packaged to get back into top 20 for someone dropping

I would trade fifth if we are guaranteed two picks in top 15. And that means a three way trade from the get go. The logical target is SJ second first.

Mtl 5th to Calgary
Cgy 9th + Vancouver 1st to Montreal
Vancouver + Winnipeg first for SJ second first (14th overall)

But I wouldnt make this trade unless its locked in from the get go. I would not trade down and then wait to see if we can acquire the SJ pick.

However I prefer the idea of drafting best D available and trying to acquire Zegras with remaining draft capital and add ons.

if we could get 9 & 14 I do that in a heartbeat unless somehow Demidov dropped to 5

 

[Habs Icing]

Good...goooood...we want this thought out in the universe.

Sarcasm?

I'm having trouble figuring out the tome of the post.

 

[26Mats]

Well, Chicago fans seem to want Demidov and not a D. Think that forward is far more of a priority.

Demidov would be their new Panarin.

If I were Chicago management, I would go BPA, and not draft for need.

 

[jaffy27]

Makar himself was ranked close to 15th overall on several lists in his draft year. Colorado picking him at 4 was a considered a reach at the time.

Seider was the same…..posters need to understand that teams go off THEIR scouts, not Bob’s.

Bob’s list is a nice barometer but isn’t The Ten Commandments where it’s etched in stone!

 

[jaffy27]

Pick BPA with both picks.

Don't pass on Buium because we have Matheson and Huston.


Makar was hard to rank, he played in a relatively obscure league, the AJHL.

You’re assuming Habs have Buium higher on their list then Demidov or Lindstrom?

You know, it could be that their scouting group is split on 3-4 players and in this case would naturally pick for need