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Post by skunk on Jun 26, 2007 16:59:02 GMT -5
Habs did pretty much what I expected in the draft, and were quite logical about their draft. I had them taking a left shooting defenseman with the first pick and a left winger with the second. But I thought they would go Petrecki and Pacioretty in the first round. I thought that Petrecki had more upside than McDonagh. I also really liked Alex Plante, but he went much earlier than projected. Glad they didn't draft Esposito, it would have been such a media circus in Montreal for the next few years. I don't think he will be a star player, more of a Yannick Perreault type of forward. Certainly the team addressed it's most pressing organizational needs with the two first round picks.
Subban was completely out of left field, and those types of picks tend to stay in left field. He seems like a cross between Trevor Daley and Shawn Belle, to reach for a couple of Afro Canadian defensemen who came along with the reputation of having great tools and not much of a tool box. Daley seems to be doing well, although the jury is still very much out on Belle.
Oliver Fortier doesn't excite anyone, but he seems to have the speed to succeed in the new NHL. Yannick Weber was a great pick in my opinion. He had an exceptional season for a rookie playing his first season in North America. He was one of the better defenseman at the WJC, even though he didn't get the attention of many of the other draft eligible prospects who played there. Also it was his second appearance, which puts him ahead of the likes of Pat Kane, James Van Reimsdyck, Sam Gagner, Karl Alzner, Alexei Cherpanov, Jakub Voracek, etc.
Fifth round brought a couple of big project players out of Minnesota who will have all the time they need to develop or fade in the NCAA. There is absolutely no way to project Sjelstadt and Conboy, but the fact that they were recruited by college teams means they at least have a chance.
Nichlas Torp is an intriguing pick considering that the was the top rated Euro defense prospect (7th overall), despite playing less than 60 games over the past three seasons in Sweden (due to injury). He sounds very much like Alexei Emelin, average sized but extremely physical, with better than average puck skill. In previous drafts the 7th rated European prospect would usually be drafted near the end of the first round, and I can't see that the gap has widened that much.
Finally, Scott Kishel, a very productive Minnesota high school defender who falls into the same category as Conboy and Sjelstadt, off to college and show us what you can do over the next four or five years.
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Post by duster on Jun 26, 2007 18:14:47 GMT -5
I'd anticipated that a defenseman (McDonagh) and a two way forward would be taken in the first round and, indeed, that's what happened. I was, however, mildy surprised that the #22 pick wasn't parlayed into an extra second rounder.
I think the quality of the draft is reflected by the high number of defenseman chosen by the team. Perhaps some who are more knowledgeable can correct me, but it seems that the approach was when in doubt, choose a defenseman with preference given to players who can develop in a more or less leisurely fashion.
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Post by skunk on Jun 26, 2007 19:04:33 GMT -5
I don't know that there is any rhyme or reason regarding position in the draft. In 2005 Montreal drafted only one defenseman (in the 7th round), but over the past two drafts they have taken 10 of them out of 16 total picks. I think they just go by their list for the most part. The odds of players taken outside the top 75 or so having much effect are minimal in any case.
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Post by montreal on Jun 26, 2007 23:19:14 GMT -5
I talked to one person that follows the USHS much more then I do and he loves the Stejskal pick, says to keep an eye out for him. Hits like a truck and hits often, is a team player that does whatever he can to help his team and he's very smart, A student that's going to the ivy league. I look forward to seeing him next year with Wyman. He did't care for Kishel as much, says he's skilled with the puck but needs a lot of work and must get stronger.
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Post by skunk on Jun 27, 2007 13:13:56 GMT -5
Yannick Weber seems to be the closest prospect to playing in the NHL to me. Similar to Mathieu Carle from last year's draft. Both have late September birthdates, and both play a mature game with few flaws. Nichlas Torp is similar to Pavel Valentenko from last year, and I think there is a decent chance he could make the same huge steps in the coming season. Torp should play in the SEL next season, and hopefully stay healthy. He is as physical as Valentenko and Emelin.
Ryan McDonagh is following in the footsteps of David Fischer, and the two could form a decent defense pairing down the road, since they seem to have complimentary assets. Both are described as good all round players without a single outstanding quality, but both are considered to have lots of upside, probably due to the level of competition they have played at. Fischer didn't show much reason that he deserved to be a first round pick in his freshman NCAA season, hopefully McDonagh does better.
Max Pacioretty pretty much duplicated the performance of last year's top power forward prospect, Kyle Okposo, in the USHL a year later. Okposo had a great freshman season with the Golden Gophers, and there is every reason to think that Patch will come close to matching that for the Wolverines.
As for P.K. Subban, I think the Habs will probably just let him do his thing for the next couple of years with a view to molding his game once he turns pro. The advantage of junior hockey is that the kids get to play a lot and try out different things on ice to see what works and what doesn't. It is much closer to "pond hockey" (especially the OHL and LHJMQ) than the NCAA or European professional leagues. Olivier Fortier just needs to grow. A lot.
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Post by habmeister on Jun 27, 2007 14:35:55 GMT -5
Yannick Weber seems to be the closest prospect to playing in the NHL to me. Similar to Mathieu Carle from last year's draft. Both have late September birthdates, and both play a mature game with few flaws. Nichlas Torp is similar to Pavel Valentenko from last year, and I think there is a decent chance he could make the same huge steps in the coming season. Torp should play in the SEL next season, and hopefully stay healthy. He is as physical as Valentenko and Emelin. Ryan McDonagh is following in the footsteps of David Fischer, and the two could form a decent defense pairing down the road, since they seem to have complimentary assets. Both are described as good all round players without a single outstanding quality, but both are considered to have lots of upside, probably due to the level of competition they have played at. Fischer didn't show much reason that he deserved to be a first round pick in his freshman NCAA season, hopefully McDonagh does better. Max Pacioretty pretty much duplicated the performance of last year's top power forward prospect, Kyle Okposo, in the USHL a year later. Okposo had a great freshman season with the Golden Gophers, and there is every reason to think that Patch will come close to matching that for the Wolverines. As for P.K. Subban, I think the Habs will probably just let him do his thing for the next couple of years with a view to molding his game once he turns pro. The advantage of junior hockey is that the kids get to play a lot and try out different things on ice to see what works and what doesn't. It is much closer to "pond hockey" (especially the OHL and LHJMQ) than the NCAA or European professional leagues. Olivier Fortier just needs to grow. A lot. welcome to the board, you seem to have some interesting opinions, where are you located, do you watch a lot of games live or are you going off of "scouting reports"? as far as weber and torp i don't have a good enough handle on them. why are you so confident on weber being able to make sure a quick jump for being such a late pick? i guess i'm just wondering how you saw something that scouts missed. looking forward to your response!
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Post by skunk on Jun 27, 2007 16:23:36 GMT -5
Weber has the most high level experience of all of their picks. He has one year in the Swiss senior league, and two WJC tournaments under his belt already. He was one of the best performers in the strength tests at the combine. Plus he seems very mature and intelligent for his age. A combination of those factors make him seem like the most NHL ready prospect they drafted.
McDonagh still has to answer a lot of questions coming out of high school hockey. Pacioretty almost as many, with just one USHL season and precious little international competition to speak of. Subban is young, and his game needs a LOT of refinement before an NHL team would trust him on the ice. Fortier is physically immature and might have trouble handling the mental pressures of pro hockey, especially in Montreal. The two most likely candidates to reach the NHL within the next 3 years would be the Europeans, Weber and Torp, in my opinion.
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Post by skunk on Jun 28, 2007 11:36:15 GMT -5
Habs made out like bandits at the draft according to the pre draft rankings at NHL Draft Buzz Blogspot, which seems like a reasonably well informed scouting site. They had Ryan McDonagh going #7 overall, Max Pacioretty #18, P.K. Subban #31, Nichlas Torp #39, and Olivier Fortier #50 in their two round mock. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by Habfaith on Jun 28, 2007 12:32:13 GMT -5
Wow, that is seriously impressive. Thanks for that.
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Post by skunk on Jun 28, 2007 22:52:29 GMT -5
You could probably consider Ryan Russell and Janne Lahti as part of this draft as well. Russell was acquired for a 7th round pick just before the draft, and Lahti is a player they might have used a late round pick on if they hadn't been able to sign him to a free agent deal.
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Post by Forum Ghost on Jun 28, 2007 23:36:27 GMT -5
Wow, thanks for the great insight skunk. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/grin.png) I thought that the Habs had a good draft, but your comments make that belief a lot more reassuring.
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