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Post by Lord Bebop on May 26, 2009 19:00:45 GMT -5
I agree on both accounts....... Kassian is a intriguing prospect but their are going to be some nice talent available at 18. I wouldn't mind Gainey getting creative and getting a few more picks in a deep draft. Especially in the top two rounds. Perhaps trading rights to a UFA or two would work; namely Komisarek. At 18 we'd have trouble getting something more useful than Kostopolous. Certainly not a Tavares. We don't have any pick in the second round and by the third were looking at the donut selection in Tim Hortons at 3:00am. Lucky to get a jelly filled D-man. Someone mentioned that we can go after RFA's like Kessel. Even if we don't get him, it puts the Bruins up against the cap. Boumeister? One of the top three UFA's? This is the year where the free agent market is better than the draft. After Tavares and Hedman the drop off is considerable and the chance of finding a late round Ryder is up there with finding a diamond ring on the platform of the Atwater Metro after all the other NHL GM's have passed. There really isn't much drop off as some well known scouting reports don't even have Tavares and Hedman going #1 and #2. I think this draft is very solid and feel we can pick up a very good player with the 18th pick. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 26, 2009 21:16:35 GMT -5
I would even be comfortable trading down a few spots and getting someone's first and their second rounder...as there are some nice gems that will still be available in the second as well. Of course, if there is someone they are targetting with the 18th, then they will go out and get him.
Interesting draft. Can hardly wait.
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Post by BadCompany on May 27, 2009 9:05:28 GMT -5
www.hockeydb.com shows him playing for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL (same team as Danny Kristo). I don't know much about this league. Can anyone enlighten me? It's not a bad league. More of a NCAA feeder-league than a pro-style league. In other words it prepares players for the NCAA game, and not the AHL or NHL style game (as the major junior leagues do). I don't think that's a particularily bad thing, if you ask me, but that's just my opinion. A lot of good players have been coming out of there of late, and it's become a legitimate option for kids looking for a hockey career. I'm really starting to get high on Leblanc actually, but I think we'll have to trade up if we want to get him. He's rising on most draft charts, and I think he may even be a surprise pick in the top 10. I doubt he makes it past Columbus, so if we want him I think we'll have to trade up to at least 14th overall. EDIT: Just to add to this, we drafted Max Pacioretty and Andrew Conboy out of the USHL. Other drafted USHL players inlcude Kyle Okposo, Matt Carle and David Backes... |
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Post by Boston_Habs on May 27, 2009 9:41:16 GMT -5
The USHL has really taken off in the past 10 years. Historically, good American players would play in the prep school leagues in New England or the Midwest before going on to the NCAA. Or they would play a few years in prep school and spend a year in the Canadian junior leagues to get more games under their belt (Jeremy Roenick did this going from Thayer Academy in Mass to Hull in the QMJHL before playing in the NHL).
Now the USHL is grabbing more kids at a younger age (around 16) and siphoning off more and more high school talent. The obvious benefits are a more competitive league and more games since it's full time hockey. Kids now spend their freshman and sophomore years (9th, 10th grades) in the high school leagues and then then either play in the USHL for their junior and senior years (11th, 12th grades) or just their senior years to maximize their draft potential. This is what Danny Kristo and Max Pacioretty did.
This is one of the reasons why a few eyebrows were raised when we drafted David Fischer in the 1st round out of high school. The kid was Mr. Hockey in Minnesota high school, but the reality is that most kids who are REALLY good are playing in the USHL by the time their senior year comes around. Maybe Fischer just wanted to stay in school and live at home (hard to blame him) but he could have been playing more games in a more competitive league. He was still drafted in the 1st round so it worked out for him, but his progress in the NCAA has been quite slow.
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Post by Patty Roy on May 29, 2009 19:48:21 GMT -5
I have seen a number of the scouting lists, and Leblanc is anywhere from 10 to 30th. My guess is he definitely goes in the top 20.
Im sure the Habs have seen plenty of him this year so i trust their opinion on him one way or the other. I still like Kassian, Carter or Kreider for our pick, but i wouldn't at all be dissapointed if we went with Leblanc.
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Post by Patty Roy on May 29, 2009 19:53:31 GMT -5
I would even be comfortable trading down a few spots and getting someone's first and their second rounder...as there are some nice gems that will still be available in the second as well. Of course, if there is someone they are targetting with the 18th, then they will go out and get him. Interesting draft. Can hardly wait. The Islanders have #26, #31 and #37. If we could get 2 of those picks for #18 id do it. We could draft a Jordan Caron at #26 and look at guys like Zach Budish, Eric Gelinas, Dylan Olsen and Ethan Werek with the 2nd round pick. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 29, 2009 20:25:57 GMT -5
I would even be comfortable trading down a few spots and getting someone's first and their second rounder...as there are some nice gems that will still be available in the second as well. Of course, if there is someone they are targetting with the 18th, then they will go out and get him. Interesting draft. Can hardly wait. The Islanders have #26, #31 and #37. If we could get 2 of those picks for #18 id do it. We could draft a Jordan Caron at #26 and look at guys like Zach Budish, Eric Gelinas, Dylan Olsen and Ethan Werek with the 2nd round pick. Exactly, taking Caron at 18th is too high but they could convert that pick into two future NHLers with a trade with Garth. I am sure a few GMs are looking to get one or more of those many NYI picks from them come draft weekend. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 29, 2009 20:32:31 GMT -5
I have seen a number of the scouting lists, and Leblanc is anywhere from 10 to 30th. My guess is he definitely goes in the top 20. Im sure the Habs have seen plenty of him this year so i trust their opinion on him one way or the other. I still like Kassian, Carter or Kreider for our pick, but i wouldn't at all be dissapointed if we went with Leblanc. Kassian leaves me wanting more for some reason. I was underwhelmed at the U-18. Carter is flying a little below most radar screens in part due to a little injury this season, his hunched skating style, and the fact he needs playmakers on his line so that he can shoot, shoot, shoot. Kreider I like but he is the rawest of the bunch in that group around when we will be picking due to playing in Prep school in NE USA. He can already skate like an NHLer though and he has good skills against his sub-par competition. A big risk-reward pick that has been really gathering a lot of interest the last few month. If Glennie is still on the board, I hope we are all over him. Point is, there will be a few off the chart picks in the top 17, so we likely will have a very decent prospect fall into our laps with that 18th pick. There likely will be a few of the Swedes, and they are a talented bunch this draft. |
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Post by BadCompany on May 30, 2009 8:21:33 GMT -5
Personally, as I said above, I'd rather trade up to make sure we get a guy that we want, like Leblanc. I'm not a big fan of trading down for extra second round picks because I do think there is a bit of a drop-off from guys like Holland, Leblanc, Carter and Kreider, to guys like Caron, Budish, Werek and so on... I'd hate to end up with two serviceable NHLers, when we could have had one above-average guy...
Unless, of course, Timmins disagrees with me and says there is no difference between 18 and 25-35... But then why would he disagree with me? Nobody EVER disagrees with me.
Having said that, like everybody else in the universe I'd like to get into that second round too... but I would try to trade up from the third round, as opposed to trading down from the first round. We have two third round picks, including a high one, and a package of one of those picks, with say Halak, should be pretty enticing to a team like the Islanders. Or heck, even to a team like Detroit or Dallas...
In my dream world I'd like to get either Leblanc or Kreider in the first round, and then find a way to move up into the second round to get a falling Simon Depres (much like we got a falling Guillaume Latendresse way back when)...
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Post by NWTHabsFan on May 30, 2009 11:02:46 GMT -5
BC, your plan is a good one in that it does not give up that 18th that should render a pretty darn good player IMO. They key to being able to convert current assets into a second rounder to get one guy from the next tier is the whole darn ownership issue getting resolved soon so that our GM does not have his hands tied. Some of the pending free agents might be of interest to some GM for a draft pick...I would be having those discussions now. Alas, I fear we may see a huge stable of pending UFAs generate very little in return for us come this draft. I sure hope I am wrong.
As for that Atlanta third rounder, it is worth something as it is the 65th pick overall and hopefully one of the potential second rounders fall into our laps with that pick. However, there are a lot if interesting projected second rounders that should have Timmins talking to Gainey to see what he can do to get his hands on a second round pick somehow. Hope it happens. Like you say, a combo of a Leblanc and a big guy like Budish in the second round would be a wonderful haul combined with what TT and his team are able to mine out of those other picks. This is a pretty deep and good draft and should favour teams like the Habs who have not scaled back on their scouting.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 8, 2009 22:06:13 GMT -5
Well, some posters on other sites are doing this...so here is my version just for our lovely board here. My top picks for each of the Habs seven choices this month in the draft. The three picks are in no particular order of favourites.
1st round (18th)
- Scott Glennie (Brandon) 6'0" 185, offensive forward with some flair, plays in my fave league!
- Louis Leblanc (Omaha) 6'0" 180, good skilled forward with some grit, had to keep him on my list due to the local flavour factor
- Chris Kreider (Andover, USHS) 6'2" 200, the high risk-huge reward pick if TT goes for the fences with this pick - this kid has serious wheels and lots of skill
3rd round (65th - from Atlanta)
- Philippe Paradis (Shawinigan) 6'2" 200, physical player with skill and good work ethics, average skater but gets where he needs to
- Ben Hanowski (Little Falls, USHS) 6'1" 195, all time Minnesota HS points leader with 405, fast release, plays in tough areas, but skating could get better, Assoc Press Minnesota player of the year, Mr Hockey finalist (but not the winner this year)
- Brandon Pirri (Georgetown, OPJHL) 6'0" 165, speedster with skill and a heavy shot, works hard, but needs to add bulk and get stronger - off to NCAA so that will interest the Habs as they can sit on him longer than the 2 years for a CHL draftee
3rd round (79th)
- Ryan Howse (Chilliwack) 5'11" 195, quick skater with good shot and plays with a nasty edge
- Brian Dumoulin (Jr Monarchs EJHL) 6'3" 200, a combo of size, strength, good shot and aggressive defender - untapped upside perhaps
- Alexander Fallstrom (Shattuck's St Marys) 6'2" 192, Swedish power forward who came to the US to learn the NA game, plays a rough and tumble game with skill and heart, passed over last year but won't happen again
4th round (109th)
- Michael Cichy (Indiana USHL) 5'11" 190, speed, soft hands and good vision, could get a bit bigger
- Benjamin Casavant (PEI) 6'0" 215, big body, smart player, power forward, not the smoothest skater
- Anders Lee (Edina USHS) 6'2" 209, Minnesota high school hockey, football and baseball star who also held a speed skating record, has committed to the NCAA for hockey not football so he is all the rage again, another Mr Hockey finalist with a combo of size, speed and skill
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 8, 2009 22:20:11 GMT -5
The later rounds, the crystal ball gets really, really fuzzy from here on in (as if my last "picks" were not fuzzy enough).
5th round (139th)
- David Savard (Moncton) 6'1" 200, a solid two way defender, whose game took off this season offensively and going from a -21 to +29 this season
- Chris DeSousa (Niagara) 5'9" 198, the kid is a tank with a niche for going to the tough spots to score, a real pest with a great shot
- Curtis McKenzie (Penticton BCHL) 6'2" 192, combo of skill, grit and willingness to drop the mitts, committed to NCAA and played in the World Junior A's in Camrose last fall (saw him there)
6th round (169th)
- Nate Schmidt (St Cloud Cathedral USHS) 6'0" 197, good offensive defender who played for the US in a U-17 tourney
- Igor Bobkov (Magnitogorosk RUS-2) 6'4" 192, tall, athletic goalie with great reflexes who was top goalie at the U-18s in Fargo in April, but the Russian factor is alive and well, that may make him available late and worth a late round gamble
- Daniel Delisle (Totino Grace USHS) 6'4" 222, a huge body, hard working team captain, good offensive numbers, another Mr Hockey finalist
7th round (199th)
- Jeremy Price (Nepean CJHL) 6'1" 175, good two way defender with good offensive skills, committed to the NCAA, needs to add bulk, moved way up in rankings from mid-term
- Gabriel Dumont (Drummondville) 5'9" 170, small buzzbomb whose coming out party was the Memorial Cup, this kids works hard each shift
- Marshall Everson (Edina USHS) 6'2" 190, teammate of Anders Lee and put up the same numbers but does not get the same hype, good skater with great hockey sense and also a Mr Hockey finalist (there were ten of them by the way, and Nick Leddy an undersized offensive defender won - he likely will go second round)
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 10, 2009 17:09:07 GMT -5
Very good read NWTHabsFan......
Alot of Habs fans seem to be on the Louis Leblanc bandwagon. I'm just not sold on him though. There's alot of good scouting reports on him that give him rave reviews but the couple of times I saw him I was not impressed.
I was leaning towards Jeremy Morin but have to admit I never saw him play. But the reports I heard on him is he is right up there with the top forwards in the draft when you talk about goalscoring talent.
Carter Ashton I like as well. Big who plays good in front of the net. His goalscoring has come around this season potting 30 in WHL. Versatile,able to play all the forward positions. Skating has improved tremendously from last season,making it a strength. Great character. Son of Brent Ashton (15 years in NHL).
And I really never put much thought into Alexander Fallstrom til I read your thoughts. Seems like I pretty good pick up in round three. He brings some good skill and energy. Thanks again!!!
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 10, 2009 19:41:13 GMT -5
JJ, here is a nice article on Fallstrom. A good read. Seems a guy who would fit the Habs needs very well. Seems like very good value with third or fourth round pick IMO. www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=397050 |
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Post by BadCompany on Jun 11, 2009 12:57:00 GMT -5
I won't go seven rounds, but here is who I like for the first round:
1) Louis Leblanc, C. It's just too nice of a fit. Offensively gifted center, good skater, defensively reliable, extremely coachable, great character, hard worker, local boy, fluently bilingual to the point where you can't tell what his first language is, life-long Habs fan... What's not to like? Granted, he's not a monster center, but he should play at a more than respectable 6'0, 185-190lbs. I keep reading that we only want him because "he's a local boy" but why is it that just about every ranking service out there has him ranked ahead - in some cases way ahead - of where we are supposed to be picking? Shouldn't we be happy that somebody like that fell to us? People will make an unfair Angelo Esposito comparison, but I think the difference is that Esposito was falling all year, whereas Leblanc seems to be rising... Personally I think we will have to trade up if we really want to get him.
2) Chris Kreider, C/W. The bigger, faster version of Leblanc. The only knock against him is the league he played in, which was vastly inferior to any other prospect out there. Thus it's hard to tell how well he would play against better caliber players and teams. Allegedly one of the best skaters in the draft, also has excellent size. But then, so did Benoit Pouliot, another player who seemingly came out of nowhere in his draft year. Is he the next Patrick Marleau, Chad Kilger or Benoit Pouilot?
3) John Moore, D. Yes, another defenseman. I am not one of those who believes we have "too many defensemen already." We've lost Komisarek, Emelin and Valentenko, and O'byrne has seriously regressed. That's four defensemen right there. Throw Subban and McDonagh into a hypothetical Lecavalier trade and suddenly that defense depth doesn't look so good. It's not an immediate, do-or-die concern, but if Moore is deemed the best player available I certainly wouldn't cry if he was our pick. Good size, and more importantly a great skater. Great shot, good offensive instincts, raw defensively, which is to be expected considering that until recently he was a forward. Real potential for a home run here, if you ask me.
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 11, 2009 15:57:26 GMT -5
JJ, here is a nice article on Fallstrom. A good read. Seems a guy who would fit the Habs needs very well. Seems like very good value with third or fourth round pick IMO. www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=397050This is a paragraph in that article that caught my eye............ Quote: "Alex is a big, strong, strapping player," said Tom Ward, the Shattuck coach. "He's kind of a rough-and-tumble power forward in the Tomas Holmstrom mold (of the Detroit Red Wings). He has a chance to become a great player because he's very intelligent. He doesn't play exclusively on a line with (Haula), but when he does, it's exciting to watch." Real interesting player!!! I won't go seven rounds, but here is who I like for the first round: 1) Louis Leblanc, C. It's just too nice of a fit. Offensively gifted center, good skater, defensively reliable, extremely coachable, great character, hard worker, local boy, fluently bilingual to the point where you can't tell what his first language is, life-long Habs fan... What's not to like? Granted, he's not a monster center, but he should play at a more than respectable 6'0, 185-190lbs. I keep reading that we only want him because "he's a local boy" but why is it that just about every ranking service out there has him ranked ahead - in some cases way ahead - of where we are supposed to be picking? Shouldn't we be happy that somebody like that fell to us? People will make an unfair Angelo Esposito comparison, but I think the difference is that Esposito was falling all year, whereas Leblanc seems to be rising... Personally I think we will have to trade up if we really want to get him. 2) Chris Kreider, C/W. The bigger, faster version of Leblanc. The only knock against him is the league he played in, which was vastly inferior to any other prospect out there. Thus it's hard to tell how well he would play against better caliber players and teams. Allegedly one of the best skaters in the draft, also has excellent size. But then, so did Benoit Pouliot, another player who seemingly came out of nowhere in his draft year. Is he the next Patrick Marleau, Chad Kilger or Benoit Pouilot? 3) John Moore, D. Yes, another defenseman. I am not one of those who believes we have "too many defensemen already." We've lost Komisarek, Emelin and Valentenko, and O'byrne has seriously regressed. That's four defensemen right there. Throw Subban and McDonagh into a hypothetical Lecavalier trade and suddenly that defense depth doesn't look so good. It's not an immediate, do-or-die concern, but if Moore is deemed the best player available I certainly wouldn't cry if he was our pick. Good size, and more importantly a great skater. Great shot, good offensive instincts, raw defensively, which is to be expected considering that until recently he was a forward. Real potential for a home run here, if you ask me. 1) Some say that Louis Leblanc would be a steal at 18 but I wouldn't be surprised to see players dropping as some teams go off the board as it's a pretty deep draft. He's pretty talented player according to most scouting reports and his size is average(assuming he adds a few pounds) so no need to hold that against him. Competative player from what I heard. 2)I don't mind Kreider either. Talented player that can absolutely fly. perhaps a player we can trade down in the order and still have a chance of getting. 3) I have a hard time thinking they will draft a d-man in the first round. They surprised me before so who knows. John Moore is a great skating D, should end up having solid size but didn't get much press before the draft. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jun 11, 2009 19:18:33 GMT -5
At 18 we'd have trouble getting something more useful than Kostopolous. Certainly not a Tavares. We don't have any pick in the second round and by the third were looking at the donut selection in Tim Hortons at 3:00am. Lucky to get a jelly filled D-man. Someone mentioned that we can go after RFA's like Kessel. Even if we don't get him, it puts the Bruins up against the cap. Boumeister? One of the top three UFA's? This is the year where the free agent market is better than the draft. After Tavares and Hedman the drop off is considerable and the chance of finding a late round Ryder is up there with finding a diamond ring on the platform of the Atwater Metro after all the other NHL GM's have passed. There really isn't much drop off as some well known scouting reports don't even have Tavares and Hedman going #1 and #2. I think this draft is very solid and feel we can pick up a very good player with the 18th pick. #1 pick is a player to build a franchise around. A game breaker that immediately improves the team. #2 pick is a very good player who will start right away and help whatever team he goes to. #3,4,5 will probably start right away but will not have an immediate impact on their teams performance. Long term they will be very good players. #6-14 are good serviceable prospects that will one day make it to the NHL roster of the team that picks them. - after that there are players that might one day play in the NHL and be good. We can do better in the free agent market. Unless we get Tavares or possibly even Hedman, we won't have a player that is better than the ones we already have in Hamilton or Subban. No immediate impact. Any manager who doesn't grab Tavares will not hold his job for long. "Tavares doesn't skate well?" Wayne Gretzky was considered too small when he broke into the NHL. Wayne wasn't the fastest, strongest, hardest shot, fighter, checker or any single attribute. Tavares broke the record for OHL career points, dominated international Jr. tournaments, produced hilight reel goals. The kid is a phenom. That's why Brian Berque is covering his ass by showing leafs fans that he did everything he could to get him. There are guys like Streit, Ryder and Robitaille hidden in late rounds in evry draft, but #1 is the closest thing to a sure thing. I see a big dropoff after #1. |
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Post by gy on Jun 11, 2009 21:20:40 GMT -5
I hope the first pick is a centre, just so long as he doesn't turn out to be another Eric Chouinard. I'd also be disappointed if he isn't better offensively than Kyle Chipchura. Actually, I'd settle for a player at any position who's obviously above the mediocre category.
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 13, 2009 8:26:42 GMT -5
There really isn't much drop off as some well known scouting reports don't even have Tavares and Hedman going #1 and #2. I think this draft is very solid and feel we can pick up a very good player with the 18th pick. #1 pick is a player to build a franchise around. A game breaker that immediately improves the team. #2 pick is a very good player who will start right away and help whatever team he goes to. #3,4,5 will probably start right away but will not have an immediate impact on their teams performance. Long term they will be very good players. #6-14 are good serviceable prospects that will one day make it to the NHL roster of the team that picks them. - after that there are players that might one day play in the NHL and be good. We can do better in the free agent market. Unless we get Tavares or possibly even Hedman, we won't have a player that is better than the ones we already have in Hamilton or Subban. No immediate impact. Any manager who doesn't grab Tavares will not hold his job for long. "Tavares doesn't skate well?" Wayne Gretzky was considered too small when he broke into the NHL. Wayne wasn't the fastest, strongest, hardest shot, fighter, checker or any single attribute. Tavares broke the record for OHL career points, dominated international Jr. tournaments, produced hilight reel goals. The kid is a phenom. That's why Brian Berque is covering his ass by showing leafs fans that he did everything he could to get him. There are guys like Streit, Ryder and Robitaille hidden in late rounds in evry draft, but #1 is the closest thing to a sure thing. I see a big dropoff after #1. No knock on Tavares but some have Duchene as the best forward available. Don't count out Hedman as he may take longer but he has the potential of becoming a huge presence on the blueline(Lidstrom type presence). It depends on what your needs are and what your looking for. Your list would be ideal in a perfect world but there is no cookie cutter approach because every player is different and some players take longer to develope. Teams draft according to potential after all. Saying that I fully expect Tavares to be #1 overall due to the fact that Tavares comes with huge hype and will help the Islanders with their ticket sells. An area they sorely need help with. But I still feel Montreal has a great opportunity to select a potential stud in this very deep first round and deep draft as a hole. Should be a exciting draft to watch. |
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Post by Anardil1 on Jun 13, 2009 13:17:51 GMT -5
I purchased the Future Considerations Draft Guide this morning. For the $11.00, it is chock full of info, profiles, looks into the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Naturally, there is a mock draft. The first person who can guess who they have us picking gets a ...COOKIE!!
It is only available on line, and you need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader program. I just had a quick look see, it's very highly recommended for anyone who's into the draft.
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 13, 2009 13:39:23 GMT -5
I purchased the Future Considerations Draft Guide this morning. For the $11.00, it is chock full of info, profiles, looks into the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Naturally, there is a mock draft. The first person who can guess who they have us picking gets a ...COOKIE!! It is only available on line, and you need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader program. I just had a quick look see, it's very highly recommended for anyone who's into the draft. Ahhhhh...... Leblanc seems pretty popular pick!?!? |
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Post by gy on Jun 13, 2009 13:54:14 GMT -5
I would even be comfortable trading down a few spots and getting someone's first and their second rounder...as there are some nice gems that will still be available in the second as well. Of course, if there is someone they are targetting with the 18th, then they will go out and get him. Interesting draft. Can hardly wait. That's one way of going. However, I'd prefer to get a player who's reasonably close to being NHL-ready. The Habs don't have the luxury of intense competiton among qualified candidates for openngs at C and D. |
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Post by Anardil1 on Jun 14, 2009 10:16:32 GMT -5
I purchased the Future Considerations Draft Guide this morning. For the $11.00, it is chock full of info, profiles, looks into the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Naturally, there is a mock draft. The first person who can guess who they have us picking gets a ...COOKIE!! It is only available on line, and you need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader program. I just had a quick look see, it's very highly recommended for anyone who's into the draft. Ahhhhh...... Leblanc seems pretty popular pick!?!? You are correct sir! He is the mock draft pick. He's been my personal favourite all year as well. I also wouldn't mind if they chose Kreider, Moore or Holland. I really don't want them to pick Desprès or Kassian with the 18th pick. |
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 14, 2009 11:28:45 GMT -5
Ahhhhh...... Leblanc seems pretty popular pick!?!? You are correct sir! He is the mock draft pick. He's been my personal favourite all year as well. I also wouldn't mind if they chose Kreider, Moore or Holland. I really don't want them to pick Desprès or Kassian with the 18th pick. Not a bad choice in I think. Competative center who is pretty talented. May grow into a pretty good NHL player in time. LeBlanc would likely be a bit of a project though. He needs time and Canadiens fans have zero patience when it comes to prospects. See Price, Latendresse, O'Bryne, Fischer, A.Kostitsyn, S.kostitsyn, etc, etc, etc...................... But if either are still avalable Scott Glennie or Ryan Ellis I wouldn't hestiate to pick either one in that order. It may be wishful thinking that either are available but I think there will be alot of movement in this years draft and I think some players will fall a little lower then they should.... or maybe I'm just dreaming. Scott Glennie i think they would be thrilled to get him here as he is a talented player with good frame. He played well in the playoffs. A solid two way game played with some git that would fit the Canadiens needs. Ryan Ellis i think is a special player who has tremendous puck skills. He has top-3 smarts and skills, but size and skating hurt his draft rating. Perhaps he can overcome these defencies as he has shown good positioning and a willingness to hit despite his size. More realist chance of being there at 18 would be leblanc, shore, morin or josefsson. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jun 14, 2009 23:00:42 GMT -5
You are correct sir! He is the mock draft pick. He's been my personal favourite all year as well. I also wouldn't mind if they chose Kreider, Moore or Holland. I really don't want them to pick Desprès or Kassian with the 18th pick. Not a bad choice in I think. Competative center who is pretty talented. May grow into a pretty good NHL player in time. LeBlanc would likely be a bit of a project though. He needs time and Canadiens fans have zero patience when it comes to prospects. See Price, Latendresse, O'Bryne, Fischer, A.Kostitsyn, S.kostitsyn, etc, etc, etc...................... But if either are still avalable Scott Glennie or Ryan Ellis I wouldn't hestiate to pick either one in that order. It may be wishful thinking that either are available but I think there will be alot of movement in this years draft and I think some players will fall a little lower then they should.... or maybe I'm just dreaming. Scott Glennie i think they would be thrilled to get him here as he is a talented player with good frame. He played well in the playoffs. A solid two way game played with some git that would fit the Canadiens needs. Ryan Ellis i think is a special player who has tremendous puck skills. He has top-3 smarts and skills, but size and skating hurt his draft rating. Perhaps he can overcome these defencies as he has shown good positioning and a willingness to hit despite his size. More realist chance of being there at 18 would be leblanc, shore, morin or josefsson. They are all good picks. Which of those picks is better than Latendresse or Pacioretty? Will they have an immediate impact? I'm not belitteling the importance of the draft, just pointing our that after TAVARES, ok, the top three, the dropoff is huge. Lots of people follow Jesus, not so many the 12 disciples that follow him. |
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Post by Lord Bebop on Jun 16, 2009 15:26:26 GMT -5
Not a bad choice in I think. Competative center who is pretty talented. May grow into a pretty good NHL player in time. LeBlanc would likely be a bit of a project though. He needs time and Canadiens fans have zero patience when it comes to prospects. See Price, Latendresse, O'Bryne, Fischer, A.Kostitsyn, S.kostitsyn, etc, etc, etc...................... But if either are still avalable Scott Glennie or Ryan Ellis I wouldn't hestiate to pick either one in that order. It may be wishful thinking that either are available but I think there will be alot of movement in this years draft and I think some players will fall a little lower then they should.... or maybe I'm just dreaming. Scott Glennie i think they would be thrilled to get him here as he is a talented player with good frame. He played well in the playoffs. A solid two way game played with some git that would fit the Canadiens needs. Ryan Ellis i think is a special player who has tremendous puck skills. He has top-3 smarts and skills, but size and skating hurt his draft rating. Perhaps he can overcome these defencies as he has shown good positioning and a willingness to hit despite his size. More realist chance of being there at 18 would be leblanc, shore, morin or josefsson. They are all good picks. Which of those picks is better than Latendresse or Pacioretty? Will they have an immediate impact? I'm not belitteling the importance of the draft, just pointing our that after TAVARES, ok, the top three, the dropoff is huge. Lots of people follow Jesus, not so many the 12 disciples that follow him. All three have a chance of becoming better but you have to consider we don't know how good Lats or Max Pac are going to be yet either.............so I guess you're of the prerogative to trade the pick? |
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Post by Patty Roy on Jun 16, 2009 21:30:56 GMT -5
This draft reminds me a fair bit of 2003...there are certainly good players to be had at #18, to the point where im not convinced we would benefit much from trading up, unless it gets us into the top 10.
Leblanc, Kreider, Kassian and Ashton are all still at the high end of my realistic "want list"...but i do think there is a chance that one of Moore and/or Glennie could slip to 18 which could make the decision that much more difficult.
That is if we dont trade the pick for LeCavalier in the next 10 days!
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jun 16, 2009 23:25:58 GMT -5
This draft reminds me a fair bit of 2003...there are certainly good players to be had at #18, to the point where im not convinced we would benefit much from trading up, unless it gets us into the top 10. Leblanc, Kreider, Kassian and Ashton are all still at the high end of my realistic "want list"...but i do think there is a chance that one of Moore and/or Glennie could slip to 18 which could make the decision that much more difficult. That is if we dont trade the pick for LeCavalier in the next 10 days! I would even say if we cannot trade up to the top five (and we won't be able to afford the price to do that), then we will gladly take what falls to us with the 18th spot. It is a lot like 2003 in that there are going to be a lot of good NHLers out of this draft. All it takes is a few teams to go off the map a bit (and they will), and we will have a nice draft pick one week from Friday. Like you say though, that little weasle Buttman may slither up to the stage just before Bob does to announce a trade...but I doubt it. |
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Post by Patty Roy on Jun 17, 2009 8:51:41 GMT -5
Fair enough.
Bob McKenzie confirmed as much...its an elite top 5 (Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, Schenn, Kane) and then we see a drop off...but i still like some of the guys in that bottom half of the top 10 (Cowen, MSP, Kulikov). But really they dont interest me to the point where id pay the price to move up.
At this point i'll be a bit surprised if Leblanc is on the board and not the pick at 18. Although it wouldnt be the first time that Timmins and company surprised me at the draft.
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Post by gy on Jun 17, 2009 20:52:33 GMT -5
This draft reminds me of 2004 and 2006, but not of 2007, when the Habs were able to snare McDonagh and Pacioretty without a pick in the top 5 or even in the top 10. I hope Timmins fares better than reeling in Chipchura or Fischer in the first round.
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