Habs Drafting under Marc Bergevin

[JGC21]

I watched TSN: That's Hockey last night and their analysts pretty much tore up the moves that MB has made this summer with MTL and called them "directionless" and "desperate". That's certainly up for debate but another thing they said was that MTL's drafting over the past few years has been terrible. This got me thinking, since MB was brought in - what do the Canadiens have to show for it in terms of drafting?

The short list:

Galchenyuk

Hudon

McMarron

de la Rose

Fucale

Lehkonen

Andrighetto

Reway

Scherbak

Lernout

Juulsen

Sergachev

What do people think? Has the drafting been poor? Should we have more from our 2013 draft class in the NHL? Is our player development poor? From my point of view I like the players that Timmins and his crew have drafted. However, I'm no expert on player development and I'm willing to be patient on guys like McCarron, Lehkonen and Scherbak.

[kaos]

Like every other GM I guess there are hits and misses and a shit ton of luck (good or bad)

2012...Galchenyuk falls to 3rd o/a.

2nd round Habs draft Colberg who while never playing in NHL is flipped at deadline for Vanek..so that's positive. They also drafted Dalton Thrower who hasn't panned out. Not many in that 2nd round have. Perhaps Chris Tierny or Colton Sissons were better picks.

3rd round. Tim Bozon. Bad luck. Meningitis. Coulda drafted Colton Paryako, Shayne Gostisbehere, Fredrick Anderson or Jimmy Vesey. Slim picking after that.

2013 draft

1st Round...Shea Theodore over Mike McCarron? Still probably need another few years to decide.

2nd round...De la Rose, Fucale and Lehkonen. De LA Rose has most games played of any 2nd rounders that year. We'll find out about Lehkonen. Fucale could be a bust. Coulda drafted Nick Pecan and Madison Bowey.

3rd round took Connor crisp and Svenska Andrighetto. Coulda had Anthony Duclair. Not many other worthwhile names

2014 draft

1st Round took Scherbak. Coulda had Ho Sang or Brendan Lemieux or Nickolas Goldobin.

Had no 2nd rounders.

[kaos]

Looking threw the drafts since 2012 it's hard to tell I guess. Alot of 2nd rounders and after are just starting to appear in the NHL. Montreal actually seems above average.

Sure it'd be nice to have the Gostisbehere or Paryako or Duclair...but really at that point it's more luck then skill I'd say.

It's not like one team is steady drafting top talent all over the draftboard. Teams are just randomly hitting on talent here and there.

[Meller93]

For a show to tip the picks since 2012 I feel like it's an incompetent show. We've drafted after 20 each year besides this year, and this year out pick is getting quite a bit of hype. Personally I think our drafting has been above average, if not too 10 considering our draft position. I see all of our 1st rounders as having NHL careers, and great value picks in Hudon, Lehkonen, Bitten. Drafting is the last complaint I'd have.

My only complaints so far have been a few signings and a trade... ?

Edit: Rip the picks* if tip confused anyone

[Guest Stogey24]

Big year for Habs management. That's for sure. Many career's are on the line.

It's ashame really. Bergevin was handed one of the best cores in the nhl, and yet hasn't be able to add the missing pieces to make this team a bonafide contender.

We're now banking on Beaulieu to play top minutes, because we sure as hell know Markov can't do it anymore(even though Therrien will try). Our centre depth is the same it's always been, left wing depth is a joke, and our bottom 6 is probably one of the softest in the league.

We're suppose to be a quick transition team, but now we've just traded our best outlet passer for a heavy weight D-man, who's biggest asset is a clapper from the point.

We just gave out 4 million dollars to a "character player" who couldn't crack 40 pts last year playing on a stacked Chicago team. How will he fare on an offensively challenged team?

Im tellin ya man, it's like Bergevin gets this bye because he's a good looking guy who dresses well and seems to say the right things. I think we've all be hypnotized into believing he's a good g.m.

[DON]

Big year for Habs management. That's for sure. Many career's are on the line.

It's ashame really. Bergevin was handed one of the best cores in the nhl, and yet hasn't be able to add the missing pieces to make this team a bonafide contender.

We're now banking on Beaulieu to play top minutes, because we sure as hell know Markov can't do it anymore(even though Therrien will try). Our centre depth is the same it's always been, left wing depth is a joke, and our bottom 6 is probably one of the softest in the league.

We're suppose to be a quick transition team, but now we've just traded our best outlet passer for a heavy weight D-man, who's biggest asset is a clapper from the point.

We just gave out 4 million dollars to a "character player" who couldn't crack 40 pts last year playing on a stacked Chicago team. How will he fare on an offensively challenged team?

Im tellin ya man, it's like Bergevin gets this bye because he's a good looking guy who dresses well and seems to say the right things. I think we've all be hypnotized into believing he's a good g.m.

And which draft pick are you debating about?

[JGC21]

Big year for Habs management. That's for sure. Many career's are on the line.

It's ashame really. Bergevin was handed one of the best cores in the nhl, and yet hasn't be able to add the missing pieces to make this team a bonafide contender.

We're now banking on Beaulieu to play top minutes, because we sure as hell know Markov can't do it anymore(even though Therrien will try). Our centre depth is the same it's always been, left wing depth is a joke, and our bottom 6 is probably one of the softest in the league.

We're suppose to be a quick transition team, but now we've just traded our best outlet passer for a heavy weight D-man, who's biggest asset is a clapper from the point.

We just gave out 4 million dollars to a "character player" who couldn't crack 40 pts last year playing on a stacked Chicago team. How will he fare on an offensively challenged team?

Im tellin ya man, it's like Bergevin gets this bye because he's a good looking guy who dresses well and seems to say the right things. I think we've all be hypnotized into believing he's a good g.m.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, I truly do. But there are plenty of threads on this board to discuss the Subban/Weber trade, the Shaw signing, the lack of of depth at centre, when MB should be fired, etc. etc... To be honest, I'm kind of sick of it which is why I started a new thread to talk about something else.

Going back to my original post, I'm surprised a top-rated hockey show like 'TSN That's Hockey' would have analysts saying how bad the Canadiens have drafted recently. They have guys like Bob McKenzie and Craig Button who are really good at evaluating players but they were nowhere on the screen last night. Has MTL really drafted more poorly than the other teams in the past 5 years? I guess TSN thinks so.

[Guest Stogey24]

Why even mention the part about TSN saying the moves Bergevin made this Summer are directionless and saying it's up for debate, if you didn't want it discussed in the thread you created.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I actually think the left wing depth is good but just isn't ready yet. Hudon, Lehkonen, and Carr all have 2/3 potential. Maybe Hudon brings it this year.

[DON]

I appreciate your enthusiasm, I truly do. But there are plenty of threads on this board to discuss the Subban/Weber trade, the Shaw signing, the lack of of depth at centre, when MB should be fired, etc. etc... To be honest, I'm kind of sick of it which is why I started a new thread to talk about something else.

Going back to my original post, I'm surprised a top-rated hockey show like 'TSN That's Hockey' would have analysts saying how bad the Canadiens have drafted recently. They have guys like Bob McKenzie and Craig Button who are really good at evaluating players but they were nowhere on the screen last night. Has MTL really drafted more poorly than the other teams in the past 5 years? I guess TSN thinks so.

Is the off-season and the smarter talking heads are on vacation, they likely just grabbed a couple Leafs fans off the street to fill in.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

It's probably too soon to tell whether the drafting of the past few seasons has been disastrous. The real issue here is that Dumber's credibility took a massive hit with a blockbuster trade that everyone and his dog could see was pure stupidity. The result of his loss of credibility is that every decision he makes is now being regarded in the least charitable light possible. It's a case of piling on - typical 'pack journalism.' Only to be expected after a move exposing Dumber as the dumbest GM in hockey (except maybe for Jim Benning).

[Guest Stogey24]

I actually think the left wing depth is good but just isn't ready yet. Hudon, Lehkonen, and Carr all have 2/3 potential. Maybe Hudon brings it this year.

Ya, that's true. Hudon could end up being an impact player

Habs scouting staff aren't magicians. It's tough picking in the 20's every year with your first pick.

[dlbalr]

Going back to my original post, I'm surprised a top-rated hockey show like 'TSN That's Hockey' would have analysts saying how bad the Canadiens have drafted recently. They have guys like Bob McKenzie and Craig Button who are really good at evaluating players but they were nowhere on the screen last night. Has MTL really drafted more poorly than the other teams in the past 5 years? I guess TSN thinks so.

I read somewhere that the analyst for that segment was Dave Feschuk - he writes for the Toronto Star and probably has little to no background about Montreal's prospects so I wouldn't put much stock into what was said.

In terms of the draft classes under Bergevin:

2012 - Galchenyuk, maybe Hudon - Considering the Habs were picking 3rd in most rounds, this one's a bit of a disappointment in that they only got one legitimate NHL'er and one possible guy. I know two NHL players equals a good draft class but when you're picking top-3, I'd want to see one more quality player. Not bad, but probably should have been a bit better.

2013 - Lacking in star quality but they should have a few quality NHL players out of the bunch. I think it's a solid draft class, though Fucale is starting to concern me somewhat.

2014 - Way too early to call considering most players from this class are just turning pro-eligible. I'm not as down on Scherbak as many seem to be and Lernout looks like he could be a decent third pairing d-man. Evans could be a sleeper as well.

2015 - Also way too early to call. I liked the Juulsen pick and still do, Vejdemo improved a bit last year and could be an interesting project, while Bourque I think was a steal at that spot. Getting two quality NHL'ers out of this group could still be a challenge though.

2016 - I graded the draft as a B+ a few weeks ago...nothing has really changed since then.

[John B]

I'll start off by saying that I think Montreal's drafting and development is about average. Montreal's prospect pool doesn't look that great right now, but I think it's because they are feeling the effects of some of the deadline trades that have occurred over the past few years. The 2016 draft marked the 3rd straight year without a second rounder, and until this year's draft the Habs have been drafting towards the end of each round since 2012. The Hockey News has the Canadiens ranked 23rd and a C+ grade in their 2016 Future watch issue. Last year they were 14th and B grade. They also had 4 players ranked in the top 75 prospects in the league (McCarron 47, Juulsen 62, Scherbak 66, De la Rose 75).

Every team has their share of busts (some more than others obviously) and there are a lot of different reasons for it. I think it's hard to choose who to blame when a player busts. Was it a poor choice by the scouting staff? Was it poor development in the organization? Who knows what went wrong when a highly touted kid doesn't pan out. That said, I'd like to see the Habs make improvements to both their scouting and development departments. Teams should always be looking for ways to improve and should never be satisfied with their results. Unless you're winning the cup every year and all your draft picks make the NHL. Of course that is not realistic, but never the less it should be the goal.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

A big problem with figuring out Habs drafting is we've seen guys like McCarron and DLR in the NHL at a young age struggle. Neither are done developing (De la Rose is closer) so they feel like busts or bad picks because we've seen them in the NHL and they didn't explode like we might have hoped.

[illWill]

I'm not sure why Montreal would get a bad rep for drafting recently when they've been selecting in the 20's mostly since MB was hired. Galchenyuk was a great pick at 3 despite there being questions surrounding him at the time and Sergachev at 9 fell into his lap. Other than that fairly steady drafting so far in my opinion and also too soon to tell. There are plenty of teams that have been drafting higher that have had less success in that time period.

[DON]

http://awinninghabit.com/2013/06/30/a-look-at-trevor-timmins-record-at-helm-of-montreal-canadiens-draft/

http://www.allaboutthehabs.ca/an-examination-of-trevor-timmins-drafting/

http://relentlessineptitude.blogspot.ca/2013/08/trevor-timmins-is-best-talent-evaluator.html

couple bits on Timmins

I think he has done an OK job drafting, better than average is likely safe to say.