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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 7, 2022 23:53:38 GMT -5
Full disclosure. I watch a fair bit of junior hockey. I may get a tad obsessed about the draft lol. I have seen a lot of these guys play. Some on tv/video, and a few (luckily) live at times.
I am/was a Wright fan. I liked a lot of what he has shown in the past. His 15 yo season was amazing. His 16 yo season only had the U18 games, and he was the captain and was very good. I get the worries about this year. His game went south a lot because of his coach,team, early linemates, and othe factors. I still bet my “pick” of him based on his ability to find that old game and combine it with the more boring game he played last year. He was my pick based on that projection to get it all together, even if it had evaded him a bit. He is with Seattle now, so adios Shane.
As for Slaf. A much bigger risk as he is a winger without a more consistent body of work. Two international tournaments are not chopped liver though. I have watched him at the 2021 WJC, the 2021 Hlinka (I became a huge fan and he was top five for me then), the 2022 Olympic and 2022 WC. He was good. Impressive. He went from 3 to 2 for me at that point. I really was still giving more value to a centre, though. I still liked what I hoped Wright could become over Slaf. A big winger rarely turns out.
Fast forward to now. Slaf is our guy. I like what he brings. There is work to do. I want nothing but success for the big man now that he is part of the team.
Oh, and I have always liked Mesar’s game. With Kulich and Howard still on the table, it was a bit of a debate for me. But darn, Mesar is an exciting winger. The Habs do not have a winger like him. These are fun times ahead.
Oh, and for 33 tomorrow, I am stoked. Beck, Del Bel Belluz, Firkus, Trikozov (we might be able to snag him at 62 now), Warren, and a number of mobile D are still there. Hughes can still knock this out of the park.
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 7, 2022 23:54:00 GMT -5
Duplicate post. Darn lagging internet. I will replace it at some point with something hopefully more insightful. Or not lol.
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Jul 8, 2022 0:15:27 GMT -5
Full disclosure. I watch a fair bit of junior hockey. I may get a tad obsessed about the draft lol. I have seen a lot of these guys play. Some on tv/video, and a few (luckily) live at times. I am/was a Wright fan. I liked a lot of what he has shown in the past. His 15 yo season was amazing. His 16 yo season only had the U18 games, and he was the captain and was very good. I get the worries about this year. His game went south a lot because of his coach,team, early linemates, and othe factors. I still bet my “pick” of him based on his ability to find that old game and combine it with the more boring game he played last year. He was my pick based on that projection to get it all together, even if it had evaded him a bit. He is with Seattle now, so adios Shane. As for Slaf. A much bigger risk as he is a winger without a more consistent body of work. Two international tournaments are not chopped liver though. I have watched him at the 2021 WJC, the 2021 Hlinka (I became a huge fan and he was top five for me then), the 2022 Olympic and 2022 WC. He was good. Impressive. He went from 3 to 2 for me at that point. I really was still giving more value to a centre, though. I still liked what I hoped Wright could become over Slaf. A big winger rarely turns out. Fast forward to now. Slaf is our guy. I like what he brings. There is work to do. I want nothing but success for the big man now that he is part of the team. Oh, and I have always liked Mesar’s game. With Kulich and Howard still on the table, it was a bit of a debate for me. But darn, Mesar is an exciting winger. The Habs do not have a winger like him. These are fun times ahead. Oh, and for 33 tomorrow, I am stoked. Beck, Del Bel Belluz, Firkus, Trikozov (we might be able to snag him at 62 now), Warren, and a number of mobile D are still there. Hughes can still knock this out of the park. We went through a terrible year where our hopes were pinned in losing and a longshot of winning #1 in the draft. We won and now it feels like it was all for nothing. Another very good youngster that we hope will pan out but no superstar #1 overall. feels like Bergevin part deux. Too soon for a final judgement but not another 10 years.... |
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Post by habsorbed on Jul 8, 2022 0:37:43 GMT -5
It sure felt like a WTF moment when I heard Slaf selected. Now I'm really hoping all you folks and me are a bunch of idiots for wanting Wright.
Here's the half-full glass:
1) Slaf was not a dark horse - in fact he was neck and neck with the scouts to be 1st overall;
2) I felt more comfortable as Wright dropped down the draft. If he was such a clear favourite #1, he would not have gone at #4;
3) one has to have some faith that HuGo and crew know what they're doing. Gorts has a good track record and Hughes in particular has a lot of experience with kids and recognizing character and ability;
4) speaking of character, Wright's entitled attitude was off-putting. Kept talking about how proud he was of himself and how much he grew this past year. What's that all about. There was something there that bothered me. Conversely, Slafs seems like a good balanced kid in his interviews; of course why not, given what's happened to him the last year; and
5) I heard one of the talking heads use the name Jaromir Jagr when referring to Slafs: I'll be good with that!
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Post by habsorbed on Jul 8, 2022 0:41:23 GMT -5
Sure glad Wright is in Seattle where we will only see him twice a year and in the Cup finals.
Had to laugh at Wright and Cooley talking how happy they were to be drafted by such "great organizations". Did I miss something?
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2022 0:47:50 GMT -5
We went through a terrible year where our hopes were pinned in losing and a longshot of winning #1 in the draft. We won and now it feels like it was all for nothing. Another very good youngster that we hope will pan out but no superstar #1 overall. feels like Bergevin part deux. Too soon for a final judgement but not another 10 years.... I dunno. This was never the draft for a generational game breaker (thus the term). They have done their extensive due diligence and feel the big winger is better. This is not nothing. I watched a lot of the top three and felt the Habs were okay with whomever they picked. Different skills. Different risks to achieve their ceilings. I wanted Wright. I now embrace the Slaf pick. Oh, and I really like Mesar as he is fast, shifty and skilled. Losing Romy sucks. With Guhle, Harris, Norlinder, Xhejak in the wings on LHD, maybe less so. This is why you draft BPA not need. If you have extra LD, someone may value that in a trade. Don’t pick a crappier player at another position unless it is close. Calling Berg and TT on this a bit. Anyway, my sky is not falling. The team still has a long way to go. The pieces to get there are getting built up though. Another good pick next year, and we shall see. |
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Post by habsorbed on Jul 8, 2022 0:52:49 GMT -5
I'm good with the Romy move. I liked him and enjoyed his hits. But while he may be a top 4 dman and a good protector, his offence is lacking and is no game changer. We have others in the chain who can bring what Romy brings and maybe better. And they ain't all that far behind him.
As for Dach, he's a big boy with lots of potential. Like dmen, big centres often take time to develop. Very likely he hits his stride this year or next. Right now our centres are Suze, Dvo, Dach and Evans. It may mean that Dvo is on his way out. But I'd be happy with all those guys for the next year. I still haven't given up on Dvo, and believe that he struggled last year in the transition to Mtl which often happens with players the year of their trade (see Dubois). Right now we got good size down the middle - hopefully they can show some talent too.
What does concern me about the Dach trade is why the Hawks did it. They gave up on a 3rd overall for a chance at a 13th overall. Is it there new gm is lost, or do they know something about Dach that Huog doesn't? Irreparable wrist?
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Post by PTH on Jul 8, 2022 1:14:44 GMT -5
I'm thinking with Dach and Slafkosky joining, the odds of seeing Anderson dealt tomorrow must be higher than they would be if we had just drafted Wright and kept Romanov (or moved him for a pick for a kid not playing for a year or two). Hughes even mentioned getting "tons of calls" on Anderson in his post-draft presser. Nice way to keep up the pressure on whoever is hesitant to pony up whatever the asking price is.
Hughes also discussed the Romanov-Dach trade, which had been in the works for a while. They even called Barron to get a feel for what kind of person Dach is.
I'd really like to see Petry moved tomorrow. It's the one "Damocles' sword" situation that can be dealt with before camp. And hopefully we'd get a return we might see on the draft sheet as well.
I'm hoping we get some local content with Luneau or Goyette tomorrow, both are seen as early 2nd rounders and fit the profile.
We are now down to 12 picks. I expect the number to get lower still tomorrow.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 1:16:29 GMT -5
Dach is 6' 4", 197lbs, 21 years old. Last season scored 9 G, 17 A, 26 total points, Plus/Minus of -18 Gorton/Hughes said they wanted a mix of picks & young players that have already been developed and we now see what that means on draft night. Already a heavy burden on Dach's shoulders to meet expectations. I expect it's Suzuki as 1st line center with Slafkovsky as LW & peanut on RW. 2nd line with Dach & Anderson at RW & ?? at LW? To give a little background (the little I know)...I liked Dach better than Dylan Cozens back in 2019. Both were considered strong prospects. Dach was picked #3, Cozens at 7 by Buffalo. Cozens played 41 games for Buffalo, where he put up 4-9-13 and -15 in those games. There was no WHL action most of that season, so nowhere else for him to go. The following year he produced 13-25-38 in 79 NHL games for Buffalo. Everyone is happy with his progress. Dach, on a similarly dysfunctional team in 2019/20 did 8-15-23 in 64 games but was only -1 for a pretty poor Hawks team. The following season he played 18 games, was lent to Canada's WJC team where he looked very, very good in the warm up games, was slashed on the hand either in the warm up games or the first tournament game (can't recall which) and missed the rest of the season. The WJC team looked like a winner until he was hurt. Then they looked like crap. The next season, his record was 9-17-26 in 70 games along with -18. For context, if you have any faith in plus/minus, Patrick Kane was -19 in 78 games, and DEbrincat -13 in his 41 goal season. For those pointing out his 30 something face-off percentage, I will ask you to try it with a wrist that hasn't healed fully yet. The numbers, in context, aren't bad at all. I would have loved him on the Habs back in 2019. Yeah, we got Caufield at 15 in the same draft, but ask yourself why Dach would go 12 places higher unless there was some reason for it? He's only 21 and recovered from a wrist injury (calling Jonathan Drouin). If Habs have done their medical due diligence (fingers crossed), this is a good acquisition. |
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 1:20:59 GMT -5
I'm shocked. Juraj must be the guy they think can be a top flight winger and deal with the Montreal media. I'm thinking Wright might have come off as entitled. I got more the impression that he was just a confident guy who knew his abilities. But your point is well taken and some may well think that's what he was/is. |
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 1:24:26 GMT -5
I'm thinking Wright might have come off as entitled. he's never really won anything right? I'm really not sure what to think. Ghule, Harris, Barron and Xhekaj nhl ready? He was on a team with what appears to be poor management. Dis may be able to help more on that point. The fact they've been mediocre despite having Wright on the team makes me think that. The year before, with the Toronto something or others, they destroyed all competition on their way to whatever championship they were eligible for (Metro Toronto?). So he has won something. And there's the U-18's of course, where he put up 14 points in 5 games, captaining Canada to the Gold. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2022 1:37:21 GMT -5
seventeen I agree on Dach. I liked him in the Dub, and really liked him at the WJC (pre injury). Chicago is becoming a bit of a gong show, but I wonder why they would give up on him at only 21. They also dumped DeBrincat for picks and are keeping the old guard (for now). Is there a strategy there? No idea what version of Dach we get, but he is just 21 and has a good track record. It is a gamble for sure, but HuGo have a plan and are rather consistent in their moves fit into said plan. So, pass on Wright, get Dach (big guy with past success and hopeful upside), huge winger Slafkovsky (Armia or a unicorn?), and slick Mešár. I can live with day one. HuGo are not boring. Bring on day two.
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 1:38:06 GMT -5
What do the analytics people say about the other top picks? If would be good to have a comparison rather than just worry about the decisions made. I deleted the data cause it made the posts too long, but I agree on both the Wright and Nemec takes. I wouldn't have been against Habs taking Nemec #1. I thought he was that good at the Worlds. I'm not as sold on the Cooley one because he played a lot with some excellent wingers on the US NDTP team (Nazar was one for a while and MgRoarty another I believe) and I wonder if those guys created more space and time which allowed Cooley to look better than he is. Or maybe it was the other way around. That's the danger with those kinds of combinations. Another example is the Finnish Gold winning WJC team that had Laine, Puljujarvi and Aho as it's top line. Laine and Puljujarvi went 2nd and 4th and Aho lasted until the second round, except it turns out Aho was the real play driver on that line. Surprise. How can you tell which guy is the one creating space and time? Interesting experiment coming up. The U-18 Swedish gold team had a line of Jonathan Lekkeremaki (15), Noah Ostlund (16) and Liam Ohgren (19). Which guy will turn out to be the best? Which guy was the real driver of offense or were all 3 equally responsible? Enquiring minds want to know. |
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 1:45:07 GMT -5
What does concern me about the Dach trade is why the Hawks did it. They gave up on a 3rd overall for a chance at a 13th overall. Is it there new gm is lost, or do they know something about Dach that Huog doesn't? Irreparable wrist? This is the same guy (Davidson( who traded a 24 year old 41 goal scorer (many of his self created), for a 7th pick (Korchinski) and a second and 4th rounder. Seriously? I like Korchinski, but unless probabilities go all to hell and lady lucky not only smiles but practically wraps herself around Chicago, it's a Debrincat for Korchinski trade. That's not enough. Ottawa pulled off a clean bank robbery there. (Caveat - Korchinski turns into Bobby Orr) |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2022 1:46:26 GMT -5
Cooley’s normal wingers were Gauthier and Snuggerud, but they snuck Nazar up there at times on the PP. When Stramel (2023) returned from injury, it was a bit more mixed, but the key top six were fairly consistent. It was a stacked team, so you have to take some of that into consideration. I watched a lot of their third line guys to see if “what could they do with more ice time and better line mates”. I watch stacked CHL teams for this same trend. #betondthestats
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2022 1:49:03 GMT -5
What does concern me about the Dach trade is why the Hawks did it. They gave up on a 3rd overall for a chance at a 13th overall. Is it there new gm is lost, or do they know something about Dach that Huog doesn't? Irreparable wrist? This is the same guy (Davidson( who traded a 24 year old 41 goal scorer (many of his self created), for a 7th pick (Korchinski) and a second and 4th rounder. Seriously? I like Korchinski, but unless probabilities go all to hell and lady lucky not only smiles but practically wraps herself around Chicago, it's a Debrincat for Korchinski trade. That's not enough. Ottawa pulled off a clean bank robbery there. (Caveat - Korchinski turns into Bobby Orr) I am a bit lost as to what Davidson and CHI are doing right now. |
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Post by NWTHabsFan on Jul 8, 2022 1:56:37 GMT -5
I deleted the data cause it made the posts too long, but I agree on both the Wright and Nemec takes. I wouldn't have been against Habs taking Nemec #1. I thought he was that good at the Worlds. I'm not as sold on the Cooley one because he played a lot with some excellent wingers on the US NDTP team (Nazar was one for a while and MgRoarty another I believe) and I wonder if those guys created more space and time which allowed Cooley to look better than he is. Or maybe it was the other way around. That's the danger with those kinds of combinations. Another example is the Finnish Gold winning WJC team that had Laine, Puljujarvi and Aho as it's top line. Laine and Puljujarvi went 2nd and 4th and Aho lasted until the second round, except it turns out Aho was the real play driver on that line. Surprise. How can you tell which guy is the one creating space and time? Interesting experiment coming up. The U-18 Swedish gold team had a line of Jonathan Lekkeremaki (15), Noah Ostlund (16) and Liam Ohgren (19). Which guy will turn out to be the best? Which guy was the real driver of offense or were all 3 equally responsible? Enquiring minds want to know. That Djurgårdens junior line (yes they all played together) was stunning. They did move up and down to the SHL too, but they mainly played together at the U18s. The coach played only 3 lines near the end and did mix the centres a tad, but the Double Ö single L line was the most dominant. Östlund really was the crafty one, Öhgren was the big winger and finisher, and Lekkeremäki was a bit of play driver and finisher. I like this kid. I like this line. Pick more Swedes HuGo. Edit: my last little “get in the draft mood” move was to re-watch the U18 gold medal game to reacclimatize myself with the caliber of this draft. Cooley, Gauthier, Nazar, Snuggerud, McGroarty, Chesley, Hutson, Lekkerimäki, Öhgren, Östlund, Havelid (both twins), Odelius, Salmonsson, the two Peterssons etc. What a lineup for one game. This draft is just fine! |
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Post by Skilly on Jul 8, 2022 7:58:33 GMT -5
I'm not mad we traded Romanov as I think he has peaked performance wise. I just think we could of done better with Wright #13 and #26. Maybe. But the Habs plan as Gorton & Hughes said before the draft was to have a mix of rookie picks and some players that had had development time. Which is what happened. As for Slapovsky he has played in a men's league & had a good Olympics & dominated against not the NHL's best players. But something to keep in mind is that all NHL teams are not composed of elite talent. The top teams have 5 or 6, the majority of the teams in the league not that many. So if Slap plays against a checking line he's already had experience with some of those guys. More random thoughts. Cheers Random thoughts on the World Hockey Championship Slafkovskÿ had 3 goals and 6 assists in 8 games. He actually got those 9 points only in 5 games. France - 2 assists Germany - no points Canada - no points Switzerland - 1 goal Kazakhstan- 1 goal, 1 assist Italy - 2 assists Denmark - 1 goal, 1 assist Finland - no points So even against the C teams of the traditional strong hockey nations he could not put up points. I'm not saying this will translate poorly in the NHL, but to base his rise in the standings on this tournament without diving into the analytics of his points could prove foolhardy as well. |
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Post by Skilly on Jul 8, 2022 8:10:06 GMT -5
Full disclosure. I watch a fair bit of junior hockey. I may get a tad obsessed about the draft lol. I have seen a lot of these guys play. Some on tv/video, and a few (luckily) live at times. I am/was a Wright fan. I liked a lot of what he has shown in the past. His 15 yo season was amazing. His 16 yo season only had the U18 games, and he was the captain and was very good. I get the worries about this year. His game went south a lot because of his coach,team, early linemates, and othe factors. I still bet my “pick” of him based on his ability to find that old game and combine it with the more boring game he played last year. He was my pick based on that projection to get it all together, even if it had evaded him a bit. He is with Seattle now, so adios Shane. As for Slaf. A much bigger risk as he is a winger without a more consistent body of work. Two international tournaments are not chopped liver though. I have watched him at the 2021 WJC, the 2021 Hlinka (I became a huge fan and he was top five for me then), the 2022 Olympic and 2022 WC. He was good. Impressive. He went from 3 to 2 for me at that point. I really was still giving more value to a centre, though. I still liked what I hoped Wright could become over Slaf. A big winger rarely turns out. Fast forward to now. Slaf is our guy. I like what he brings. There is work to do. I want nothing but success for the big man now that he is part of the team. Oh, and I have always liked Mesar’s game. With Kulich and Howard still on the table, it was a bit of a debate for me. But darn, Mesar is an exciting winger. The Habs do not have a winger like him. These are fun times ahead. Oh, and for 33 tomorrow, I am stoked. Beck, Del Bel Belluz, Firkus, Trikozov (we might be able to snag him at 62 now), Warren, and a number of mobile D are still there. Hughes can still knock this out of the park. I guess part of my disappointment is on how we Habs fans have been conditioned over the years. We've been fed that you need to draft top line centres. Then we did. We drafted Galchenyuk and Kotkaniemi. They weren't played at centre and the management fed us the line that they didn't play a 200 foot game and had to work on defense. Fast forward to 2021-2022. I remember an interview sometime in early 2022 where Shane Wright stated he was using this year to work on his 200 foot game even if it affected his offensive production. This kid was listening to Montreal, and it felt he really wanted to be a Hab. So there is finally a centre there for the taking that was being describe as a potential Patrice Bergeron and we pass. I realize this mantra was the old management, but it still comes as a shock to diverge so much from that philosophy. I'm going to be pissed if they don't put him immediately on the top two lines (when he plays), and if they start complaining about his defense and having him work on it on lower lines |
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Post by PTH on Jul 8, 2022 8:27:59 GMT -5
I'm happy I voted outside the box...
I can't help but think of the last time this board reacted so strongly to a Habs top pick: Carey Price.
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Post by CentreHice on Jul 8, 2022 9:47:21 GMT -5
I'm happy I voted outside the box... I can't help but think of the last time this board reacted so strongly to a Habs top pick: Carey Price. Good call. Hughes and Lecavalier were obviously preparing the masses for going against the media/fan consensus. “Patience”, as with most picks, was the message. And Hughes mentioned again that this group is committed to developing players in a positive atmosphere. Certainly appears to be the case with Marty behind the bench. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 8, 2022 10:15:20 GMT -5
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Post by Boston_Habs on Jul 8, 2022 10:28:23 GMT -5
You need to have confidence to go against the conventional wisdom. I hope they are REALLY confident that Slafkovsky will be the more impactful player than Wright. You can't necessarily use the Dach trade to justify picking Slafkovsky ahead of Wright, unless you really think you are coming away with the best player in the trade or you are better off as an organization (i.e. Slaf + Dach > Wright + Romanov). The problem I have is the sample size for Slaf is just so small and we've seen this happen before. I remember the 2003 draft when we picked Andrei Kostitsyn who didn't have a ton of production but had a great showing at the World Juniors. In the end AK was a pretty disappointing player in one of the most loaded drafts in modern NHL history.
Call me old fashioned by I like scorers who score goals or offensive players who get points. Wright had the profile of a guy who can help all over the ice, as a facilitator, set up guy, even if he's a just an average finisher. We know Marty loves high IQ guys who can make quick reads and make plays. Wright seems to be a player like that. And then you look at Kirby Dach's production history in junior and it's just pretty underwhelming. If he wasn't 6'4" and 200 lbs there's no way he goes #3 overall with a total of 137 points in 143 career games in the WHL (0.96 PPG) and his lack of production so far backs that up. Jeez, even Chad Kilger (cringe) had a better junior career than Dach and if that's who end up with then that's a massive whiff for this management team.
They better nail this.
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Post by frozone on Jul 8, 2022 10:56:41 GMT -5
I'm thinking Wright might have come off as entitled. I got more the impression that he was just a confident guy who knew his abilities. But your point is well taken and some may well think that's what he was/is. I didn't see signs of entitlement. I actually see things more on the opposite end... it looked to me like he was extremely nervous. Talking very fast and kinda defensive too. I'll admit though, that I didn't have this opinion before seeing him slide to #4 and started wondering why the heck teams were passing on him. Looking back at an interview that he did when he was 15, he seemed more confident back then imo. He talked about his routines, his diet, his daily schedule... it seemed like his path to #1 OA was so clear. I can't shake the feeling that he probably had a really rough go during covid. He doesn't seem like he's the type of kid that would thrive when his life's meaning is suddenly put on hold without warning. I really wanted the Habs to draft him, but they obviously saw something that made them scared. I still think that he's a special player with a special brain, but maybe he just hasn't been doing well lately. |
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Post by folatre on Jul 8, 2022 11:25:11 GMT -5
Boston, your points are valid. Guys with those kind of physical advantages who cannot even average a point a game in junior almost never become top six NHLers. What bothers me is not so much taking a flier on Dach, rather it is the fact that the price Montreal paid (#13, #66, #99) does not reflect sufficient asset depreciation. In other words, I think Dach's lackluster three seasons was not sufficiently factored into the equation.
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Post by Tankdriver on Jul 8, 2022 11:58:26 GMT -5
I just wonder what NJ wanted for the 2nd pick. When asked last night, Fitzgrald told the media that he was close to trading that pick.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Jul 8, 2022 12:55:38 GMT -5
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 13:35:22 GMT -5
I'm happy I voted outside the box... I can't help but think of the last time this board reacted so strongly to a Habs top pick: Carey Price. Not sure there was a strong reaction here. Almost all of us voted for Wright and many of those votes were early on in the poll. My personal opinion is that Wright may still have the highest upside of anyone in the draft, but that his character and leadership may have been over rated. I didn't give a lot of weight to the recent interview about how he handled the massive criticisms (which happens to potential #1 picks identified as prodigies at 15). Now, I'm thinking that his responses about learning how resilient he was sounds a lot like a canned response. "Talk it over with parents, come up with a response to this question which will come up once everyone hears about shutting off social media". Too much talk about me, me, me. "I deserve to be #1" Honestly? Donald Trump 'deserves' to be in jail. If you think you deserve an accolade, you might want to adjust your attitude. At least that is now my opinion. He also looked like he was sulking during the draft and thats poor optics. He's been the center of attention for many years, on every team (except maybe recently when he's played with Bedard). A sense of entitlement may have set in and I can see that scaring off the Habs. There are questions over Slafs as well, but fewer on the character scale. He was genuinely overjoyed when his buddy Mesar was also picked by Montreal. That may have been deliberate as well by the Habs, in order to have some familiarity for Slafs. Kulich was also there, but he's a Czech. I WANTED a big, skilled centre who could grow with the rest of our 21-ish team and thought Wright could do that. It wasn't just the Habs who had questions, but really, NJ picked Nemec because they needed D, not centres. Arizona may have the answer to Wright dropping because they valued Cooley higher. WRight was then the perfect pick for Seattle. Seattle's a great city. He'll like it there. They also have Costco and Walmart liquor stores, except Wright's too young (US rules)  We got our big, skilled centre, though we have to bring it out of him. Marty is great at instilling confidence and that's all Dach needs. Get ready for the "What's up Dach?" jokes |
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Post by seventeen on Jul 8, 2022 13:44:56 GMT -5
Call me old fashioned by I like scorers who score goals or offensive players who get points. Wright had the profile of a guy who can help all over the ice, as a facilitator, set up guy, even if he's a just an average finisher. We know Marty loves high IQ guys who can make quick reads and make plays. Wright seems to be a player like that. And then you look at Kirby Dach's production history in junior and it's just pretty underwhelming. If he wasn't 6'4" and 200 lbs there's no way he goes #3 overall with a total of 137 points in 143 career games in the WHL (0.96 PPG) and his lack of production so far backs that up. Jeez, even Chad Kilger (cringe) had a better junior career than Dach and if that's who end up with then that's a massive whiff for this management team. They better nail this. I was trying to remember his name (Kilger's), because that's who I thought of when Philly picked Cutter Gauthier. Thanks Boston. |
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Post by Andrew on Jul 8, 2022 13:58:21 GMT -5
Like most of us I wanted the center, but here we are. Time to go all-in on Slaf and Dach and have faith in the new regime, their vision, and ability to identify and develop talent. Slafkovsky is certainly an imposing figure, looking like a cross between Tommy Shelby and Ivan Drogo towering above Habs brass accepting his jersey. The pick was surprising, but also not - given that he'd surpassed Wright as consensus #1 among many draft pundits.
I'm ok with the Dach trade(s). Romanov's combination of enthusiasm, mobility and physicality will be missed, but he's pretty average defensively and the offensive abilities just aren't there. His ceiling is middle pairing at best IMO. Flipping him for a mid first rounder is acceptable return.
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