2005 NHL Draft

[Disgruntled70sHab]

[Willie Dog]

Jan 30, 2024 16:48:10 GMT -5 Disgruntled70sHab said:

Monster McGuire he of the Big Four in Toronto is wrong again... quelle surprise?

[Andrew]

Good find. There's a take that aged like milk. While McGuire most certainly underestimated Price's ceiling he wasn't wrong about the Habs having so many other needs at the time, including a big body center.

You could argue that Kopitar would have been a better pick, but at least we didn't pick Brule.

[PTH]

As always, looking at positional fit is always easiest, but teams draft the best player available, or at least they should, since you never know what needs will be by the time a guy develops.

McGuire didn't even mention the best reason we can, in retrospect, think Kopitar would've been a better choice: Halak, because, of course, in 2005 it wasn't known that Halak would be a decent NHL goalie as well.

[seventeen]

Feb 13, 2024 16:36:27 GMT -5 PTH said:

As always, looking at positional fit is always easiest, but teams draft the best player available, or at least they should, since you never know what needs will be by the time a guy develops.

McGuire didn't even mention the best reason we can, in retrospect, think Kopitar would've been a better choice: Halak, because, of course, in 2005 it wasn't known that Halak would be a decent NHL goalie as well.

That BPA label, IMO, is misleading. It suggests we know ahead of time who the best player will turn out to be. It would be more accurate to say the team should draft the guy at the top of their list, regardless of position. Maybe Leonard was the next guy on Montreal's list last year, but Reinbacher was close and they went with the rarer commodity, an RHD. That line of thinking is not necessarily wrong, either. If you're building a team with one flaw and a guy second to the top on your list fixes that flaw, they may be the better choice.

[jkr]

Jan 30, 2024 18:51:35 GMT -5 Andrew said:

Good find. There's a take that aged like milk. While McGuire most certainly underestimated Price's ceiling he wasn't wrong about the Habs having so many other needs at the time, including a big body center.

You could argue that Kopitar would have been a better pick, but at least we didn't pick Brule.

I just read Doug McLean's book - Draft Day. He talks about this one & admits it was a big mistake. The pick was even more surprising because McLean reveals that they spent a lot of time with Kopitar and even he(Kopitar) thought the CBJ was going to pick him.

As for McGuire - the comment that the pick was "right of the reservation" could be considered insensitive considering Price's indigenous heritage.