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Galchenyuk vs. Leblanc?


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So with the draft coming up, consensus is that Galchenyuk will be Mtl's pick at number 3 because we need a #1 center going forward. Now, this is interesting because in anticipation of the draft, it seems that our #1 need has gradually shifted from a big number one center to just a number one center. I think this has to do with the fact that unless we want to risk Grigs, who could leave us with a Kovalev-sized headache, the only other option at center is Galchenyuk. Now, I agree we need a big, physical center (just as much as every team), but if there is no such center to be had, should we be really be saddling Galchenyuk, a modest 6'1, with the same expectations?

The main reason I bring this up is because while we don't have a big center in the system, we do have skilled centers. Mainly I'm looking a Leblanc, who seemed to satisfy everyone's hopes for a top center a mere two years ago. Has he disproved he has that capability already? With extremely limited ice time on the Habs, playing on the bottom lines, we have seen great promise in his skill and smarts. I for one can still seem him maturing into a fantastic offensive center, and at only 1 inch shorter than Galchenyuk. Not that we are hurting for a center immediately, as Pleks in doing fine and is in his prime years, while the younger Desharnais has defied expectations. DD may or may not be a flash in the pan, and even if he's not, his size might not be desirable to build around in the long haul, but it's pretty obvious Pleks and DD will be our top two centers out of camp next year and probably all year long, so Leblanc has time to develop steadily.

While I realize that yes, to be ranked in the top 5 means Galchenyuk might be the overall better player and more of a sure bet in the long run at center, we would be picking him at the expense of losing a top 6 winger in Forsberg, which is something we are sorely lacking, size or no size. I'm just wondering if picking Forsberg and letting Leblanc, Desharnais and Eller mature while Pleks leads the way might make for a more balanced offense in the long run rather than just having one great center and a bunch of good ones that we don't have room for in offensive roles.

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Even with the Bulldogs in desperate need of Centres last season, Leblanc played RW in Hamilton.

He's being groomed as a winger, not a centre at this point.

Happens all the time, kid gets drafted as a centre, ultimately ends up as a winger in the pro game.

He doesn't win enough faceoffs at Centre, his footspeed is just average, not great, and he's more a goal scorer than a playmaker, plus he engages on the boards..... formula for a winger IMO.

Having too many centres and not enough wingers is never a problem, its a pretty easy conversion from centre to wing... .the other way is much more difficult.

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So with the draft coming up, consensus is that Galchenyuk will be Mtl's pick at number 3 because we need a #1 center going forward. Now, this is interesting because in anticipation of the draft, it seems that our #1 need has gradually shifted from a big number one center to just a number one center. I think this has to do with the fact that unless we want to risk Grigs, who could leave us with a Kovalev-sized headache, the only other option at center is Galchenyuk. Now, I agree we need a big, physical center (just as much as every team), but if there is no such center to be had, should we be really be saddling Galchenyuk, a modest 6'1, with the same expectations?

The main reason I bring this up is because while we don't have a big center in the system, we do have skilled centers. Mainly I'm looking a Leblanc, who seemed to satisfy everyone's hopes for a top center a mere two years ago. Has he disproved he has that capability already? With extremely limited ice time on the Habs, playing on the bottom lines, we have seen great promise in his skill and smarts. I for one can still seem him maturing into a fantastic offensive center, and at only 1 inch shorter than Galchenyuk. Not that we are hurting for a center immediately, as Pleks in doing fine and is in his prime years, while the younger Desharnais has defied expectations. DD may or may not be a flash in the pan, and even if he's not, his size might not be desirable to build around in the long haul, but it's pretty obvious Pleks and DD will be our top two centers out of camp next year and probably all year long, so Leblanc has time to develop steadily.

While I realize that yes, to be ranked in the top 5 means Galchenyuk might be the overall better player and more of a sure bet in the long run at center, we would be picking him at the expense of losing a top 6 winger in Forsberg, which is something we are sorely lacking, size or no size. I'm just wondering if picking Forsberg and letting Leblanc, Desharnais and Eller mature while Pleks leads the way might make for a more balanced offense in the long run rather than just having one great center and a bunch of good ones that we don't have room for in offensive roles.

I don't remember Leblanc ever being labled as a top end #1 centre - unless it was by the french media or the dillusional RDS franco boosters. Everything I read about was Leblanc was that he could be a top 6 or a solid third liner and not someone who was a clear can't miss future #1 centre.

Having said that my gut tells me that we should be going with Grigo not Galchenyuk.

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As much as i want Gally, i have a feeling that will be Columbus' pick. The Russian factor will not deter them away from him and i believe their D is in better shape then their top 6. Plus if they are banking on giving away Nash at the draft, and unless they get some nice hardware in return, i don't think they have a blue chip prospect in forwards. Jenner and a few dozen NCAA players? Hockey's Future has them mostly rated as C or D level success chances.

My money is that they are passing on Murray and going for C instead of a winger, given Commodant's logic above. Who knows, maybe they are going for Grigs.

Do you think Timmins will pass on Murray/

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As much as i want Gally, i have a feeling that will be Columbus' pick. The Russian factor will not deter them away from him and i believe their D is in better shape then their top 6. Plus if they are banking on giving away Nash at the draft, and unless they get some nice hardware in return, i don't think they have a blue chip prospect in forwards. Jenner and a few dozen NCAA players? Hockey's Future has them mostly rated as C or D level success chances.

My money is that they are passing on Murray and going for C instead of a winger, given Commodant's logic above. Who knows, maybe they are going for Grigs.

Do you think Timmins will pass on Murray/

It's hard to say what Columbus might do. There is alot riding on the Nash situation. Whether a deal gets done before or after the draft, they must have something in mind what they want in return. It seems to me that they need more help up front than on D, so selecting a forward at the draft is probably more likely.

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I think Leblanc could be a good centre, but like many prospects before him, the Habs for some reason lack the patience to let him play the position long enough to master the skills required, and instead let him play wing, which tends to be a simpler game as far as defensive responsibility goes, which is a shame, because Leblanc seems to be a smart, defensively reliable player. Hopefully the new regime has the smarts to at least let Eller develop as a centre, I think he has the skills and size to be an excellent 2nd line centre. As for Leblanc vs Galchenyuk, I believe Leblanc will be more in the mold of a Kirk Muller guy, maybe he won't put up Mullers numbers, but similar in that he's more of a plugger and a shooter than a playmaker, not a pure offensive talent at all. Galchenyuk has that pure offensive skill that we need (Grigs does too), which is why he'd be better suited to duty as a first line centre. In fact, if we manage to draft Galchenyuk, and he is ready (although that is doubtful, as he missed so much time this year), we would have an interesting group at centre this year, as he could slot into that 2nd/3rd centre role, moving DD to the wing, perhaps. It will be interesting to see how Therrien deals with the centre position this year.

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I don't see this as a comparison at all. As mentioned Leblanc may have the hockey smarts but he lacks the footspeed, and I would say play making ability to be a top 2 center on any team. He is being groomed as a RWer and rightfully so.

As for the draft so many questions. You know Montreal wants galchenyuk because he spent 2 days here last week being shown the city and what not. Galchenyuk wants to come here and we want him. Question is whether Columbus takes him first. If Galchenyuk is gone at 2 then I would not be surprised to see MB possibly move down in the draft. Drop from 3 to somewhere between 7-10.

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I don't think we'll drop at all. I think we'll grab Forsberg if Galchenyuk is gone.

I really have this gut feeling Grigorenko is a dark horse pick who'll exceed expectations. I envision a Kopitar type of career and his stock has dropped around the draft just as Kopitar's did during his time.

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No comparison between the 2. Leblanc is mostly playing RW and is a solid 2 way player who may get you 40-50 points in time with the right linemates.

Galyenchuk and Grigerenko have top center talent. Who knows if they will become top end players but the talent is there.

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I really have this gut feeling Grigorenko is a dark horse pick who'll exceed expectations. I envision a Kopitar type of career and his stock has dropped around the draft just as Kopitar's did during his time.

People are acting like he's going to be Angelo Esposito. I have very strong doubts on that. I see him becoming a lot like Alex Semin. Incredibly talented but also goes invisible and can be frustrated at other times. Not the guy you really want to take to war with.

Galchenyuk and Yakupov seem like, "take to war" kind of players.

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I don't think we'll drop at all. I think we'll grab Forsberg if Galchenyuk is gone.

is a done deal; we will get Forsberg and Columbus will grab Galchenyuk, which is a smart pick for them.

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is a done deal; we will get Forsberg and Columbus will grab Galchenyuk, which is a smart pick for them.

Why? They have a young Brassard, Jenner, Johansen.....center is not where they need help. They need wingers and still some D as they have limited prospects on the horizon.

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Why? They have a young Brassard, Jenner, Johansen.....center is not where they need help. They need wingers and still some D as they have limited prospects on the horizon.

Because Galchenyuk will be the BPA at 2 and Nash trade will deal with roster issues. Draft does not address roster issues normally, a prospect can take years to develop (especially with goalies/d-men or NCAA guys).

I hope we get Galchenyuk, but i bet (guess) will be Yakupov-Galchenyuk-Forsberg.

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A blogger from Columbus says they like Forsberg and don't have much interest in Yakapov? They had some issues with russians and Yakapov reminds them of a few they drafted.

I find that hard to believe but Forsberg #2 to Colunbus wouldn't surprise me. Bigger need for wingers the blogger said.

Who knows, i won't even be able to watch it.

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A blogger from Columbus says they like Forsberg and don't have much interest in Yakapov? They had some issues with russians and Yakapov reminds them of a few they drafted

Ignore it. Truth is, Columbus has had more trouble with Canadians than Russians but nobody will ever make a story out of that.

Columbus has met and spent time with Yakupov.

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Because Galchenyuk will be the BPA at 2 and Nash trade will deal with roster issues. Draft does not address roster issues normally, a prospect can take years to develop (especially with goalies/d-men or NCAA guys).

I hope we get Galchenyuk, but i bet (guess) will be Yakupov-Galchenyuk-Forsberg.

True but typically those players are later picks. In the past 5-6 years how many top 5 picks have jumped right to the NHL. DIdn;t look it up but there are many examples.

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True but typically those players are later picks. In the past 5-6 years how many top 5 picks have jumped right to the NHL. DIdn;t look it up but there are many examples.

Sure but even then, you shouldn't expect a huge impact from a rookie either. The Jeff Skinner is rare.

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True but typically those players are later picks. In the past 5-6 years how many top 5 picks have jumped right to the NHL. DIdn;t look it up but there are many examples.

13 of past 20 straight to NHL top 5 picks, but which of 13 were impact players, few because their teams are almost all bottom dwellers and 1 player cant change that. Also because their teams are so shitty is a main reason they can even crack lineup.

Which is why Timmins/Bergevin both said exact same thing yesterday (and majority say); the position a prospect plays and current roster needs is mostly irrelevant when picking at draft, skill-character-drive are main factors; period.

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So what is the consensus projections for LL currently? 2nd liner winger?

I would guess so? He just seems too smart/high hockey IQ or however to put it, too not end up top 6 in a couple more years.

They always said he was a fitness freak and very driven kid and now they say he has been working with skating instructor everyday, so he seems to kalso know his own scouting report main weakness, of needing skating improvement and added muscle.

Last summer he was rehabbing all summer, missed training camp and still held his own when called up. So with a full year training i expect him to be 1/2 step quicker and stronger along the boards.

As a wingman for Eller (who also was rehabbing last summer/no training camp last year) and maybe Gallagher can fill other wing to have a nice 3rd line (unlikely as Moan/White may be other winger?)

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Leblanc and Eller sound like a great line.... with proper development... 2nd line point production while shutting down the opposition's best line.

best of luck with your radio gig tonight sir.

cheers

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