HF Habs: Your Thoughts on the 2022 Class

[Pompeius Magnus]

I like the first 5 picks quite a bit , I'm confident we'll get at least a couple pros there. The other 6 picks are harder to really gauge ATM, but they went with guys with at least some immediate potential . No vague super long term high school projects or completely out of left field picks , which is nice for once. Engstrom is the true wild card for me, I didn't scout him at all, I need to do my homework and watch some videos in the next few days.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Not sure about the players, but I do like the philosophy. They went for BPA and high upside players, even in their big trade. They clearly value size, skill and IQ.

Picking a direction. Also with speed/skill in smaller(ish) Mesar and Beck

 

[yoteshot]

Pronman gave the Habs the top grade (A+) for their draft out of the 32 teams. Seattle 2nd at A.

 

[Vachon23]

As much as I hate the 1st pick, I need to say that I like what they did after

 

[Lshap]

Where’s the “I’m not sure how we did” slot?

Our big moves (including the trade) are high risk/high reward moves. It’s not what I’d do with a first overall but he could be amazing so…

That's how I feel – it's like being asked which lump of clay will make the best sculpture. The people with all the information whose jobs are to select the right prospects usually get it wrong, so our opinions have as much value as random guesses.

 

[MtlSars]

I don't really like it so far... I hated it yesterday so at least time can win me over.

I was floored they drafting the big LWer, I can see how he fits with our first line perfectly but that's just not enough to pass on a center. If you saw something in Wright you didn,t like then pick Cooley but not the big LW with 2 good tournaments and hideous liga stats.

Then came the Dach trade, I'm not a believer or a fan of this reclamation project.... we've been burned many times here by 3rd overalls...... Better believe in MSL magic but I'm nauseated to lose Romanov....and that just about guarantees Guhle sees no AHL time.

Mesar I like more than most here and like the pick at 26th, the guy has talent and speed to spare and for a late 1st he does project as a top 6 player and I think he will surprise most of you down the line.

Owen Beck started the day pretty bad for me. He's as vanilla a pick as they get. Not a bad one just..........salt and pepper, when there was still habanero and cilantro available on the board.

Lane Hutson at 62nd........boy did you salvage this quite a bit. Homerun pick. LOVE IT! I have faith in the kid...NCAA is a good route for him too.

Rohrer I'm not familiar with but heard good things on this forum and looks promising at his spot.

The rest can only surprise me

But the biggest thing for me after all this is......we still didn't clear any cap room. We still have Petry, Anderson, we have Dadonov, Gallagher, Armia, Drouin, Hoffman, Byron ... we can't even play our 1st overall....what gives....

Can we even sign Rem Pitlick? We can move Poehling to the LW but we can't even graduate Ylonen.......

Oh well, we're accustomed to mediocrity I guess.....2023 is a better one right? we're still in that race for a top 5 pick....

 

[Takeru]

Cautiously satisfied?

I can see some merit for most of the first few picks, some more than others (hello Hutson).
At least there are no obviously low upside picks a la McCarron/Tinordi.

But it'll take a couple years before I can say. Been burned like that too many times after the draft with all the supposedly amazing shiny new toys we'd drafted, only to end up with a single 3rd liner.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

[bcv]

Not really a good endorsement I don't think.

 

[MtlSars]

That just about confirmed we messed it up....

We get A+ , have you seen what Buffalo did?

Washington, Carolina, Columbus killed it too. I like Nashville's draft quite a bit as well

 

[Schooner Guy]

We got four legit top 40 players with our first 4 picks. We got several very offensively skilled players. Players taken from the 3rd round on are all in crap shoot territory. Hopefully our Euro combine helped us uncovered a future NHLer.

I also think turning Romanov into a big Center with upside who was recently a top 3 pick was brilliant.

 

[Takeru]

Overall, I'm satisfied.

They took more overagers then I thought they would.

Nurmi: LD (20)
Davidson: C (20)
Tourigny: RD (20)

All must be signed within 2 years including majority of the rest of class. Only player who doesn't is Engstrom.

2024 there is going to be a lot of prospects to sign.

Happy with Slafkovsky pick. Rest of class: Mesar, Hutson, Beck, Guindon, Rohrer all bring speed, skill & work ethic.

The overall theme of the players they chose: the willingness & ability to attack the middle, compete for pucks all over the ice and score goals.

Hopefully, with that many competitive players, they don't end up fighting each others for pucks

I can see the value in targeting such profiles. If a few of them pan out, we'll be tougher to play against than with Drouin types.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Corey Pronman of The Athletic gives Habs the highest grade for this year's draft.

Montréal Canadiens: A+​

The host team brought in the most talent into their organization at the draft floor in my eyes. They started off by grabbing the best player in the draft in Juraj Slafkovsky. They then added highly skilled players in winger Filip Mesar and defenseman Lane Hutson, a two-way forward in Owen Beck, and with a high quantity of picks they selected various guys later on who I believe at least have a chance to play. I think this is a draft that could produce at least two or three NHL players for the Habs — and ones who can make a difference.

I'm satisfied.. there's a lot of risk involved here but its much better than drafting athletes who can't play hockey which is what happened for most of the Bergevin regime.

Love moves:
Dach trade
Filip Mesar
Lane Hutson
Cedrick Guindon

Cautiously optimistic:
Juraj Slafkovsky
Vinzenz Rohrer
Adam Engstrom
Owen Beck

Understand why:
Davidson
Tourigny

Need more info:
Groteau
Nummi

Very well separated.

 

[Takeru]

What matters isn't the grade you get right after Draft day ends.

It's the grade you're getting a few years down the line.

Hopefully our A+ doesn't fall to an F...

 

[MarkovsKnee]

That just about confirmed we messed it up....

We get A+ , have you seen what Buffalo did?

Washington, Carolina, Columbus killed it too. I like Nashville's draft quite a bit as well

I'm not as high on Carolina's draft at all. Only one I really like is Forsmark, and also Grudinin. They went big on Russians, and who really knows when they come over. A lot of risk in their draft.

But, yes, Buffalo had a really good draft, as did Washington. Columbus' 1st round was great.

Anaheim did well too. They also went big. Their first 5 picks are massive. Size upfront is back.

 

[L4br3cqu3]

In a few years the Bergevin/Timmins era will seem like the 'good old days.'

I have zero confidence in this management team.

Dach is a freaking bust.

We still need a 1C. STILL!!!!

Wow

 

[Goldenhands]

Top line play driving PF for 1st OV.

Seth Jarvis like player at 26th OV.

Smart talended center with high motor early 2nd.

High end puck moving defenseman late 2nd.

Romanov for Dach.

Thats a very productive 2 days for the org. going foward. Imagine if Dach reaches the next level in the upcoming years, wow, Hughes could look like a genius.

Loved Romanov, but kid is a quality 2nd pairing defenseman, what we already have in the system. Habs still need a top pairing defenseman and hopefully another quality center in the upcoming draft.

 

[Andrei79]

Picking a direction. Also with speed/skill in smaller(ish) Mesar and Beck

Exactly. And they've acquired a big C with skill on too of a big winger with skill, two things the organization has been unable to do for decades. We'll see how they end up obviously.

 

[Milhouse40]

We did and got the 3OA from 2019. Its like moving up. I just hope we can do better with this 3rd OA than the other 3 that have been on the habs recently.

And we moved to that 3OA from which pick actually?

I was talking about moving up from 26 to 21 for example or from 33 to 25.......the other one was a trade and I was purely about the draft, picks.

 

[Miller Time]

draft is always a crap shoot.

what I like about this draft (even though I was far more in favor of going with Wright vs Slaf), is that the picks completely match the stated direction and approach HuGo have been communicating since day 1... including the in-season moves to get the extra first and 2nd, and the Dach trade (which i'm still on the fence on, as a trade, because I'm a big believer in Romanov having room to grow into a legit top-pairing/#1 dman)...

after years of MB saying one thing, then doing another, flip flopping ad nauseum... in these few short months HuGo have already shown the clarity of vision and approach that good leadership need to have.

The skill we added, the mix of size/skating/hockey iq, the balance of high-floor and high risk/reward picks... i like it.

If they show the same level-headed and focused approach to building an elite player development pathway within the organization, so that these prospects are given every opportunity to be supported in reaching the NHL and maximizing their potential, the future is very bright.

Happier with this draft then i've been in a long time.

also great to see that in a few months, a competent GM was able to actually take a "build via the draft" approach by adding first-round pick(s), AND adding a future potential #1 or #1B RH C with size... turns out it isn't all that hard lol

 

[Schooner Guy]

Just finished reading scouting reports on our draft picks. It’s clear that this regime prioritizes a good blend of speed, tenacity, offensive creativity and hockey IQ. Compete level is a common theme amongst them all. I can’t wait to be a speedy and skilled team that plays smart and doesn’t give opponents any time to breathe.

 

[MXD]

Hutson and Rohrer kinda salvaged a bucketful of meh.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

at least i didn't have to stare at stupid Timmins or Bergevin's faces

I feel we missed out on having Timmins here tbh. I think we have a better draft with him.

 

[Goldenhands]

The funny part with the Romanov/Dach trade is that Chicago used that 7th OV pick to draft.... Kevin Korchinski!!

I didnt see it coming personally, the guy isnt very good at defending and his shot isnt a threat, projects more like a 2nd pairing defenseman, Hawks have become a joke of an organisation IMO.

 

[Schooner Guy]

The funny part with the Romanov/Dach trade is that Chicago used that 7th OV pick to draft.... Kevin Korchinski!!

I didnt see it coming personally, the guy isnt very good at defending and his shot isnt a threat, projects more like a 2nd pairing defenseman, Hawks have become a joke of an organisation IMO.

Blackhawks may now be the worst organization in sports. I can’t believe they let the Leafs off the hook on Mrazek. Now Duncan Keith retires today and the Blackhawks have to absorb the cap hit. Haha!

Karma for covering up the crimes of a sexual predator.