Great chance to compare Hab first round picks to their peers

[beckham]

Most of the first round draft picks from the 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, and 1999 draft will be playign in the AHL this season. Good chance to compare Hainsey, Komisarek, Higgins, Kostitsyn to the other guys drafted ahead and behind them in their respective draft years. Even 1997 top pick Jason Ward may end up there along with a few others from that draft.

[beckham]

So far, so bad on the AHL comparisons. Kostitsyn not looking too good compared to Brown, Parise, Kesler, Burns, Bergeron, etc. Higgins not looking great compared to a lot of the 2002 picks either. Komisarek hurt, Perezhogin suspended. Hainsey struggling.

[puck7x]

Originally posted by beckham

So far, so bad on the AHL comparisons. Kostitsyn not looking too good compared to Brown, Parise, Kesler, Burns, Bergeron, etc. Higgins not looking great compared to a lot of the 2002 picks either. Komisarek hurt, Perezhogin suspended. Hainsey struggling.

The "team" is struggling (especially offensively) , not the players. Its pretty simple really. Danis is playing great, why not mention that?

And Perezhogin is doing decent in the RSL.

[montreal]

Originally posted by beckham

So far, so bad on the AHL comparisons. Kostitsyn not looking too good compared to Brown, Parise, Kesler, Burns, Bergeron, etc. Higgins not looking great compared to a lot of the 2002 picks either. Komisarek hurt, Perezhogin suspended. Hainsey struggling.

What's the point of compairing them anyways? What's done is done and it's not about what kind of numbers they are or aren't putting up now, but in 2-6 years from now from the '00 to '04 picks.

It seems like the Habs will always bring their prospects along slowly. Although I have been concerned about Hainsey for the last 2 years, and Hossa this past year, I really started to wonder about his future. Both are very skilled though, so they will get their chances no doubt.

If you take all the 1st rounders from '00 to '04, out of Hainsey, Hossa, Komisarek, Perezhogin, Higgins, Kostitsyn and Chipchura, the Habs have a lot of chances to get one right. I'd even say they will get at least 2 very good NHLers. I think Komisarek is a lock to be at least a very good 3rd pairing defensemen (at worst) but more importantly, he'll bring a solid physical presence that the team sorely lacks. Higgins and Chipchura I think will both be in the NHL, as they could be solid role players at worst imo. That still leaves a lot of skill from Kostitsyn, Perezhogin, Hossa and Hainsey. Assets that hopefully would give some sort of return even if they don't do much, we still should get some kind of return from them via solid AHLers (which is needed in every organization) or some sort of trade bait down the road.

[Habs13]

I'm really suprisedby the numbers Hossa is putting up in Sweden. I had, and Hainsey, down as talented but lazy players, Here's hoping I'm wrong.

[beckham]

Komisarek is definitely a good prospect. They really couldn't go wrong with the 7th overall pick in 2001, though I'm sure glad they didn't take Leclaire. My own choice that year was Toumo Ruutu, but Komisarek wouldn't have been far behind. The previous year I wanted them to take a couple of the big Russian forwards like Frolov and Miknov. Frolov has been great, and the jury is still out on Mikhnov.

I was O.K. with Hainsey, although I preferred Volchenkov as a defenseman. I was really pissed off that they dealt away 3 different second round picks they had prior to the draft which they could have used on Antoine Vermette, who would have been a huge fan favorite in Montreal. It doesn't inspire your confidence in the organization when the players you would have taken (as a casual fan) turn out a lot better than all those paid scouts and execs picked.

Higgins was a decent pick in a poor draft year, but I choked when they picked Linhart in round two. The only player they took after Higgins that made any sense to me was Korneev in the last round. In 2003 I nearly cried when they took Kostitsyn over Dustin Brown, and I'm still cursing over that. Brown stepped right into the NHL as an 18 year old, and this season has 5 times as many points in the AHL in less games than Kostitsyn. Not too mention that he is a better defensive player as well. Corey Locke was the only pick that I was happy about that year.

This year, I was satisfied with Chipchura at 18 overall, since it wasn't a great group. I would probably have gone for Schremp just because I don't think that Kostitsyn will be the offensive catalyst they hoped for. Good buddies Dustin Brown and Rob Schremp would have been fun to watch together.