DON

I think you are correct and only took mcCarron because he would surely have gone before 34. Love the Rose, Fucale and Lehkonen picks. Crisp was a total unknown and was pulling for one of Kujawinski/Hayden/Bjorkstrand @71. Gregoire may be a good underrated find and was Fucale's teammate @ U18s last summer and Hudon's teammate this year ( not that means much). Both the smaller euro's both have done well at international tourys for Slovakia/Swiss and Andrighetto lit up the Q this year and i assume headed stright to Hamilton?

All your Hab picks look fine; I would go with Klimchuk @25th, Poirier, Compher, Eric Comrie, Fasching, John Hayden/Jordan Subban (whichever might still be there @86th.

Sure. And i hope so. Beaulieu has lots of skill and talent, but defense will likely never be his strong suit. I might even try the opposite of a Markov move and put Beaulieu on the wing? Wont happen, but just a thought.

You think Beaulieu is good defensively? He may be improving in Hamilton, but still a long way to go and he needs to hit the weight room hard also.

So you feel a bit better about draft depth than normal eh. I love the whole 25-34-36 grouping for Dudley-Timmins and crew to get at least 2 kids they are fairly high on. Is such a crapshoot, last year both Thrower and Lukas Sutter seemed very safe 2nd round picks and both sort of regressed/had bad years and Dietz now looks like he has worked his ass off and could do well as a pro.

Seems flipping through past 2nd rounds, to have 8 or 9 of 30 make NHL is best could expect and only 5 or 6 make it in off years. So if Habs could hit on 1 of the 3 would be about right? But on paper, still seems to be a fair number of very good looking kids to pick from in 30-60 range.

so basically this draft should produce at about historic average, 63% 1st round NHL success, 25% for 2nd and 12% for rest?

didnt know that and i think he could be a pretty good player also, but i am sure Dudley is just a bit better judge of that than I

Who knows how Habs feel about Kristo? Geoffrion won the Hobey baker and still seemed just a marginal NHLer. So maybe Kristo was a 56th pick for good reason and would be almost identical to Tinordi trade where Habs gave up 27th and 57th pick for 22nd? To me, Kristo seems like he should be a productive winger down the road, but maybe Timmins is really keen on some mid-1st rounder ranked kid? And Flames were not afraid to trade down last year, so with 3 picks a trade to add a 2nd may look good to Feaster?

So it may be a very similar deal Timmins swung with Tinordi, swapping #27 + 2nd rounder for #22 from Phoenix. And would basically be #25+Kristo for Flames #22 pick; if and only if a Mantha, Morin or the like is still on the board after 21?

sure and you have him at 49, which seems bout right, i just mean he played very well as a rookie and showed a bit of a good all round game and wouldnt be a bad choice @ 55.

i get the stacked team thing (a la an overrated Max Domi with London), but the danish kid seems to be defensively OK as well and dont think he was on "the big line" to collect that many garbage points. But really seem so many solid looking kids available right into 3rd round, Timmins, Dudley and crew cant miss hitting on a solid player or 2. And Kujawinski is just one of several big forward types that most Habs fans are calling for, which is fine. I still dont buy bigger is better for forwards, bigger is slower for sure (same as not many big ball players could ever be a base stealer) and are many average sized players who tear up the NHL every year. But a stay at home d-man like a Santini, Heatherington or a Diaby wouldnt hurt one bit to pick in 2nd/3rd round.

Oliver Bjorkstrand seem like also could be good option at 55? Seemed very impressive as a WHL rookie, very similar to Bozon's 1st year.

I am a fan of an underrated Klimchuck (better than Lazar from what i have seen, or maybe flip a coin on those 2) , you have him at 32nd, i like Compher as well, but you would prefer Compher due to being more gritty than Klimchuk? I would of thought Compher would be more early-mid 2nd round pick? Never saw Emilev Poirier play, but should he be a target for Habs in 2nd round, on paper seems to a promising local boy for Habs?

Subban was 17th on Habs roster in PK ice time/game. His defense is improving, but still a bit lost in own end and soft on puck. Trading Subban at least wouldnt create a hole in the offensive d-man dept and obviously coming back would need to be an All Star forward. Habs were rolling along fine with Diaz and Markov on the PP, while Pernell was trying to squeeze more $$ from Habs. And with Nygren, Bennett, Dietz, Beaulieu in the farm system, why not. I simply think Subban's value to a struggling franchise couldnt be higher and what other big ticket asset do Habs have to offer for a quality return? Will he be traded, not likely, but i would consider it for sure.

I know Subban is one of top 10 d-men in league; however, if #99 can be traded at his peak and Boston can trade a MVP, i simply do not see Subban as untouchable.

Sure, skills wise Subban may be best since #19, no argument Also cant tell character, which is why i basically asked "does he show it to you?" i simply dont see it and if was traded tomorrow for a top six scorer that would be fine by me. And no i dont think he does give it all every night, he dosent block shots, unless you call the flamingo an attempt. He also is outworked in the defensive zone and I wouldnt have him kill penalties, would you? And he still seems a "Me first" player and not future captain material. But if he signs a long term deal, that also would be fine by me, i am just not a big fan of his and i really dont think his teammates are neither? But again i could be out to lunch?

Constant quality Bergevin seems to be needing is character, which a player who fights with numerous teammates during practice, seems to be lacking wouldnt you say? What is the Habs deepest aspect, defense. So you can afford to trade defense to strengthen top 6, eh? Does Subban show any real leadership qualities? Not that i can see. So if a Columbus or Oilers come with a sweet offer, you would at least have to consider it. And equating 3 Hall of fame d-men to Subban is a bit far-fetched at this stage isnt it?

25-34-36 is a nice group to pick from and a threesome of Erne-Poirier-Klimchuk would suit me.

I think slim chance of even getting Morin at 25th and i wouldnt take a defensive d-man in the first round anyways. With any of the 2nd round picks you could find a big quality defensive d-man. And you can also wait till 3rd to 5th round, look to the WHL and grab a jumbo d-man project like; Keegan Kanzig 6'7" 240lb, Mitchell Wheaton 6'4" 230lb, Mark McNulty 6'6" 190lb or a Jared Hauf 6'5" 215lb. Will any ever be able to skate well enough for pros, that is the big question?? But maybe one is a Craig Ludwig or Rick Green type that would be Carey Price's best friend and a slow but smart crease clearer.

hopefully he does well, in Columbus, San Jose or wherever he gets traded to in next year or so.

Morin still in need of, better puck skills, skating, positioning and is several years from NHL ready if footspeed can ever even be at a prolevel, otherwise he could just be an OByrne or Andy Sutton type pylon? Not worth trading up for, when there will be numerous big or physical d-men, such as, Jonathan Diaby, Santini, McCoshen or a Bowey available. And a Klimchuk, Poirier, Erne or other skilled forward is what should be targeted for at 25th.

thanks again, although Timmins correctly says, size isnt a big consideration, I am always curious what correct #s are for these kids.

no way am i saying the Dane will be an All Star like Jones will surely be, just that a #1 vs a 2nd rounder seen as equals by coachs was surprising. But d-men take so long to develop to be impact players, whereas a Drouin/MacKinnon will both be battling for rookie of year and be difference makers within 2 years, while Jones will still be adapting/learning pro-game. And by the time he fully develops he will be just in time to test free agent market. Cory Locke/Nigel Dawes = Max Domi

Go Wings go! Still not sure why Slepyshev and Makarov both went undrafted and no one tossed in a 6th or 7th round pick for them? Petan outproduced Horvat and Domi combined at mem cup? Not bad Super job with kid profiles once again sir, but Klimchuk at 32 and Lazar at 20? He and Lazar are very equal, i would even favour Klimchuck as a Hab. Drouin still #1 by me and seemingly QMJHL & CHL voters as well, not a chance i would use a #1 pick on a d-man, Doughty was about the only d-man taken in top 5 lately worth the pick. Bjorkstrand (who also looked very good at mem cup) was voted an equal rookie to Jones in Portland and he is rated in 2nd round. Another Dane in Montreal wouldnt hurt.