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Non-Rocket Habs Prospect tracker


Commandant

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2 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

Here are some of the 50 contracts coming to an end this season:

Lindgren,

Frolik,

Verbeek,

Pezzeta,
Lucchini,

 

Doesn't Ikonen have more upside than the players above?

 

Leguerrier and Gorniak haven't played much, Ruchheinski neither. THe other prospects do not need to sign this year and with the draft being such a lottery with most players hardly playing: I's say Ikonen is signed.

 

Specially with Weal, Vejdemo, Mete and Fleury needing to clear Waivers next year. They will either be moved or traded freeing up slot(s)

 

Of those five you listed, I'd put Ikonen ahead of Verbeek and Pezzetta in terms of NHL upside.  Frolik is a fringe NHL guy and Lucchini has shown some ability to produce in Laval and I'm not sure Ikonen would.  I can't really compare him to Lindgren since he's a goalie.

 

Will any of them be back?  Probably not but let's look at who will be replacing them:

 

Caufield

Harris

Fairbrother

Harvey-Pinard (if he gets an NHL deal)

 

That's four out of the five spots taken right there.  If there's a taxi squad next season again (I doubt it but you never know), then Frolik's spot is filled by him or someone else.

 

You mention Weal, Vejdemo, Mete, and Fleury as well.  If Mete is gone, they'll have a new Mete to take that spot on the depth chart.  Same for Weal and Vejdemo; I don't see Weal being back but they'd be wise to bring a veteran AHL guy to replace him and Vejdemo is a bit of a toss-up.  Fleury is probably in the NHL due to being waiver-eligible so they'd be wise to bring a right-shot D in to take his place. 

 

It isn't just how many expiring contracts there are but what roles are going to be filled.  If someone leaves, more often than not they're getting replaced by someone that's similar and Ikonen doesn't really fill any of those gaps.

 

I can't sit here and say unequivocally that there's no room for him.  But I can say that he does not appear to be an NHL-calibre prospect anymore.  Injuries have done him in.  I don't want to see an NHL contract slot used on someone that doesn't appear to be an NHL-calibre prospect.  As Commandant noted above this post, a college free agent would make more sense if there's some perceived upside.  I would say there are several of those out there that have more upside than Ikonen at this stage of their respective careers.

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I think we've beaten this to rest.

 

I am not arguing that we sign him, but if we did make room for Verbeek and carried Juulsen for a while, I would not be surprised if they sign him; of course, this will depend if he shows some sign that he still has the competitive spirit he had and also if he shows that there is the potential for progress.

 

He is not showing that right now, but he still may

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2 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

I am not arguing that we sign him, but if we did make room for Verbeek and carried Juulsen for a while, I would not be surprised if they sign him; of course, this will depend if he shows some sign that he still has the competitive spirit he had and also if he shows that there is the potential for progress.

We're not seeing that potential from here. If the Habs' scouting team sees him as still having that potential (we don't know), he might have a chance at a contract. But it's definitely a long shot now.

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

He just became deadline trade bait.

 

21 minutes ago, DON said:

You dont think it was a joint agreement between him and the Habs?

 

 

Unless he is staying in school because of a deep commitment to taking a shot at the NCAA championship it may not bode well ... 

HOWEVER ... I believe Marc-Olivier Beaudoin is correct that the Habs will still have the advantage of being the only team that can burn a year of his ELC after he graduates as I think that only undrafted NCAA "graduates" can sign in-season

 

 

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48 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

 

 

Unless he is staying in school because of a deep commitment to taking a shot at the NCAA championship it may not bode well ... 

HOWEVER ... I believe Marc-Olivier Beaudoin is correct that the Habs will still have the advantage of being the only team that can burn a year of his ELC after he graduates as I think that only undrafted NCAA "graduates" can sign in-season

 

 

 

 

That makes perfect sense to me as other teams can only sign him after the NHL season is over while the Habs can sign him right after the college season. I would think the Habs would only trade him if they think they couldn't sign him next year. They went through the same thing with Poehling. 

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1 hour ago, GHT120 said:

 

 

 

Unless he is staying in school because of a deep commitment to taking a shot at the NCAA championship it may not bode well ... 

 

Apparently he and his family put a significant amount of importance on education. Even in his draft year he said the plan was to do all 4 years of university. The fact that he considered changing that plan this year does suggest Montreal had a compelling argument.

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14 minutes ago, Trizzak said:

Apparently he and his family put a significant amount of importance on education. Even in his draft year he said the plan was to do all 4 years of university. The fact that he considered changing that plan this year does suggest Montreal had a compelling argument.

He’s getting a business degree on a full scholarship, and that will help him find a second career after hockey — a smart choice given that it’s impossible to know how long his NHL career will be.

 

The Habs say Jordan remains committed to coming to Montreal, let’s hope that’s true.

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1 hour ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

.. I would think the Habs would only trade him if they think they couldn't sign him next year ...

OR ... the trade was right

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46 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

He’s getting a business degree on a full scholarship, and that will help him find a second career after hockey — a smart choice given that it’s impossible to know how long his NHL career will be.

 

The Habs say Jordan remains committed to coming to Montreal, let’s hope that’s true.

 

Is it really a smart choice to stay on scholarship?  Financially who cares about the scholarship, when your signing bonus alone could be invested and pay for that one year of school when you are ready to finish up?  And you have one extra year of earning money at professional hockey player's salary. 

Scholarships are great when you are making middle class money.  When you are getting a big signing bonus and 100k in the AHL, and up to 1 million in the NHL, not so much of a big deal. 

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3 minutes ago, Commandant said:

Is it really a smart choice to stay on scholarship?  Financially who cares about the scholarship, when your signing bonus alone could be invested and pay for that one year of school when you are ready to finish up?  And you have one extra year of earning money at professional hockey player's salary. 

Scholarships are great when you are making middle class money.  When you are getting a big signing bonus and 100k in the AHL, and up to 1 million in the NHL, not so much of a big deal. 

Expect it is less the scholarship and more some combination of wanting to complete his degree, enjoy the university experience and try to "finish the job" vis-a-vis the Frozen Four

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1 minute ago, GHT120 said:

Expect it is less the scholarship and more some combination of wanting to complete his degree, enjoy the university experience and try to "finish the job" vis-a-vis the Frozen Four

 

Oh I agree. There has to be other factors. 

 

For pro athletes there are way more factors than just a scholarship.  The money in turning pro is more than enough to finish your education in summer school or after your career is over.  But "Stay in School" is a nice slogan so we don't look at it that way. 

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1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

He’s getting a business degree on a full scholarship, and that will help him find a second career after hockey — a smart choice given that it’s impossible to know how long his NHL career will be.

 

The Habs say Jordan remains committed to coming to Montreal, let’s hope that’s true.

 

Let's hope that is the case, he seems like a bright young guy who takes his education seriously. 

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3 minutes ago, Neech said:

 

Wouldn't this tank his trade value? 

 

That's what I thought. Any team trading for him has a brief window of opportunity to sign him after the next college season so why would you give up much for a guy who could be a free agent.

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11 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

That's what I thought. Any team trading for him has a brief window of opportunity to sign him after the next college season so why would you give up much for a guy who could be a free agent.

 

Sabres gave up a third rounder for Jimmy Vesey and then couldn't get him signed. 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rangers-trade-forward-jimmy-vesey-sabres-pick/

 

Rangers gave up a 2nd round pick for Adam Fox.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hurricanes-trade-defence-prospect-adam-fox-rangers/

both were much closer to UFA.

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

Scholarships are great when you are making middle class money.  When you are getting a big signing bonus and 100k in the AHL, and up to 1 million in the NHL, not so much of a big deal. 

A year at Northeastern (without a scholarship) would likely cost $60-70K, about the same as you would get paid in the AHL (less taxes and living costs).

 

If you make the NHL and get paid $1M+, sure. But aren't we consistently saying that no prospect is a sure thing, you simply can't tell whether any given college prospect will become an NHL regular? If the team can't count on that, how can the players themselves?

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54 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

A year at Northeastern (without a scholarship) would likely cost $60-70K, about the same as you would get paid in the AHL (less taxes and living costs).

 

If you make the NHL and get paid $1M+, sure. But aren't we consistently saying that no prospect is a sure thing, you simply can't tell whether any given college prospect will become an NHL regular? If the team can't count on that, how can the players themselves?

 

His signing bonus alone is likely higher than 60-70K.  

Take the signing bonus money... invest it and it covers your education either during summer school or after your career is done. 

 

Now you have an extra year pro, to end your ELC sooner and negotiate a better deal, and a year of development in the AHL towards making the NHL.

Worst case scenario, he stays in the AHL for 2 years, does absolutely nothing, he's hurt, and no one gives him a second contract, his career is done. 

Even in this scenario, he still has the signing bonus money in the bank and it will pay for a year of school.

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1 hour ago, Commandant said:

 

Sabres gave up a third rounder for Jimmy Vesey and then couldn't get him signed. 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rangers-trade-forward-jimmy-vesey-sabres-pick/

 

Rangers gave up a 2nd round pick for Adam Fox.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hurricanes-trade-defence-prospect-adam-fox-rangers/

both were much closer to UFA.

 

Good point. I think Jordan Harris has progressed to the point where I don't think the Habs would accept anything less than a 2nd rounder. I think the Rangers were pretty confident that Fox would sign with them. I hope the Habs can sign Harris next year.  

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2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

That's what I thought. Any team trading for him has a brief window of opportunity to sign him after the next college season so why would you give up much for a guy who could be a free agent.

 

I believe that a team acquiring him might have the opportunity to try and convince him to not return to Northeastern next fall (technically do not the habs also) on the off chance that he might sign with another team ... and, if Harris still went back that "brief window of opportunity" would also be Harris' only chance to burn a year off his ELC, so a strong-ish incentive

 

NOT saying Harris will be traded, just looking at the options

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2 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

 

I believe that a team acquiring him might have the opportunity to try and convince him to not return to Northeastern next fall (technically do not the habs also) on the off chance that he might sign with another team ... and, if Harris still went back that "brief window of opportunity" would also be Harris' only chance to burn a year off his ELC, so a strong-ish incentive

 

NOT saying Harris will be traded, just looking at the options

 

True, you need to look at the options.  I would think Harris wants to burn a year off his ELC. That could only be with the Habs or a team that owns his rights so definitely an incentive to sign with a team that owns his rights as you stated. Getting rid of that 1 year can mean a lot of money if he progresses well. 

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