tomh009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Best player available, please, drafting for immediate need rarely works out ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 2 minutes ago, tomh009 said: Best player available, please, drafting for immediate need rarely works out ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meller93 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 To me it seems we’ll have a choice between Michkov, Carlson, and Smith. Personally I’m happy with whichever of them makes it to 5 Michkov is a first overall talent in some drafts. Russian factor is the only thing holding him back from an east top 3 pick, pushing Fantilli for 2. And a DAMN good #2 pick. That at 5, even with the risk, is incredible imo. Carlson on the other hand seems to be a safe pick. A complete package, who will see the NHL within 2 years. Big body. Similar player to Fantilli in many ways. Would be an incredible pick at 5. Smith I see as the guy who falls to us. He’s one of the slickest players in the draft. Incredibly deceptive, top notch vision, boggling creativity, with a good shot to boot. Offensively, the potential is sky high. The concern is his overall defensive effort. Will he be a one dimensional guy, or evolve into a genuine 1C? I’ll be happy with either. Might have to go Carlson if I had my pick, because while he’s safe, he’s still got incredible potential 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 2 minutes ago, Meller93 said: Smith I see as the guy who falls to us. He’s one of the slickest players in the draft. Incredibly deceptive, top notch vision, boggling creativity, with a good shot to boot. Offensively, the potential is sky high. The concern is his overall defensive effort. Will he be a one dimensional guy, or evolve into a genuine 1C? I think it'll be Michkov that'll be there for us at 5, but like you, I'd be thrilled to get a potential superstar talent and wait 2-3 years for him to come over. Ending up with Dvorsky or Benson would seem a bit second tier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Button thinks Montreal should take Dvorsky. He is also one of the youngest guys in the draft. It will be interesting to see how far Michkov falls. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/button-habs-should-target-dvorsky-to-play-behind-suzuki-with-fif~2682538 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Meller93 said: Smith I see as the guy who falls to us. He’s one of the slickest players in the draft. Incredibly deceptive, top notch vision, boggling creativity, with a good shot to boot. Offensively, the potential is sky high. The concern is his overall defensive effort. Will he be a one dimensional guy, or evolve into a genuine 1C? Ya, i am not sure he has the backchecking/defense for a top six centre in the NHL; but he racked up the points, is skilled and scouts seem smitten with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: Button thinks Montreal should take Dvorsky. He is also one of the youngest guys in the draft. It will be interesting to see how far Michkov falls. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/button-habs-should-target-dvorsky-to-play-behind-suzuki-with-fif~2682538 tehehe, thx for that link. I figured I had seen it but I saw a different vid w Button saying the Habs should take Dvorsky. Button basically says exactly what I have been saying. I'm pretty sure that I was the 1st person here to mention Dvorsky and it was primarily due to his size. Since then he did have a really good tourney. The problem is that you can only have so many small players on 1 team and the Habs already have enough. Plus, Cole and Nick w another small winger would make no sense. Interestingly, it sorta sounds like Dvorsky could be as talented or more so than Slaf. He was playing in Swedish U16 @ 14 yrs old and getting 1 point per game. Those Swedish leagues are superior to the leagues that Slaf was in at the same age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neech Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Old Marinaro sauce had an interesting discussion with three different scouts about our #5 pick and the rest of the top 10. Woodlief is sky high on Michkov, while McCagg loves Dvorsky. Definitely makes me more optimistic about landing a star with our pick. (scouts start around the 40 minute mark) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 https://theathletic.com/4501177/2023/05/09/pourquoi-le-cinquieme-choix-au-repechage-est-un-casse-tete-pour-le-canadien/ Michkov is seen as Russia's top prospect at the draft since Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were the first two players chosen in 2004. He was named the U18 World Championship MVP at the age of 16, a tournament largely reserved for 17-year-old hopefuls. He had previously just collected the most points by a 16-year-old player in the history of the MHL, the Russian junior circuit. And this year, after SKA St. Petersburg loaned him out to Sochi in December, he averaged almost 16 minutes and had 20 points in 27 games, helping him to achieve the highest points-per-game average by a player playing his 17-year-old season since the KHL's inception in 2008. Would seem pretty hard dumb to pass on this kid at 5, not matter the politics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Assuming the draft was not rigged (I am not entirely convinced) ... if the Habs had lost their 2 games against Chicago, two other wins and switched an O/T loss to regulation (9 points) they would have had Chicago's "slot" in the draft lottery ... so thank you Sam Montembeault (whose career season I think had the most to do with those 9 points). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 7 minutes ago, DON said: https://theathletic.com/4501177/2023/05/09/pourquoi-le-cinquieme-choix-au-repechage-est-un-casse-tete-pour-le-canadien/ Michkov is seen as Russia's top prospect at the draft since Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were the first two players chosen in 2004. He was named the U18 World Championship MVP at the age of 16, a tournament largely reserved for 17-year-old hopefuls. He had previously just collected the most points by a 16-year-old player in the history of the MHL, the Russian junior circuit. And this year, after SKA St. Petersburg loaned him out to Sochi in December, he averaged almost 16 minutes and had 20 points in 27 games, helping him to achieve the highest points-per-game average by a player playing his 17-year-old season since the KHL's inception in 2008. Would seem pretty hard dumb to pass on this kid at 5, not matter the politics. Nick Bobrov has strong KHL ties (3 years as Director of NA Scouting for SKA St. Petersburg. Michkov's team) so he should have some good intel on whether getting Matvei out of Russia could be a problem, and if that is not an issue what it would take to get him out of his contract early, be it for next season, 2024 or 2025 (which year would be ideal is another question). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 And i guess Hughes is familiar with Smith also, as a young kid anyways. He had Smith for three years as coach of the Boston Junior Eagles from 2018-21 and is well aware of what he’s capable of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 1 hour ago, DON said: Would seem pretty hard dumb to pass on this kid at 5, not matter the politics. It's not a question of not liking Russia or Russians. But he has a KHL contract now, he has to do his military service, and given the Russian political situation (and their ongoing invasion of Ukraine), it's impossible to predict when he would be able to move to the NHL. That's a real risk, and not just a personal preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHT120 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 14 minutes ago, tomh009 said: It's not a question of not liking Russia or Russians. But he has a KHL contract now, he has to do his military service, and given the Russian political situation (and their ongoing invasion of Ukraine), it's impossible to predict when he would be able to move to the NHL. That's a real risk, and not just a personal preference. As I said above, hopefully Bobrov will be able to provide some useful intel if the Habs have to make a decision on MM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Michkov will be interesting. Good points about the Habs having a little more intel with Bobrov on their staff. When asked about Michkov, Hughes said they had to gather more information. Of course Hughes won't tip his hand. It might make it easier to trade up if a team in the top 4 is high on Michkov knowing they could get him at 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 37 minutes ago, tomh009 said: It's not a question of not liking Russia or Russians. But he has a KHL contract now, he has to do his military service, and given the Russian political situation (and their ongoing invasion of Ukraine), it's impossible to predict when he would be able to move to the NHL. That's a real risk, and not just a personal preference. I agree, it is the risks beyond the player and the Hab’s control that makes this a risky pick. More risk and uncertainty than the Hutson pick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Minister Koivu Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 We are likely coming out of this draft with either Michkov or Smith and that is pretty exciting! Unless HuGo go waaaaay outside the box or perhaps if Fantilli drops to us for some reason. I wish it was late june 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredoh2009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 Isn’t the Russian kid small and light ? I don’t care but it seems HughGort likes big kids like Slafkovsky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said: Isn’t the Russian kid small and light ? I don’t care but it seems HughGort likes big kids like Slafkovsky Slafkovsky is very visible but they have drafted smaller players, too. I think they're looking for skill and potential first and foremost, it's not size above all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_Boagalott Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 1 hour ago, alfredoh2009 said: Isn’t the Russian kid small and light ? I don’t care but it seems HughGort likes big kids like Slafkovsky He is, and he does. However, Michkov has apparently gained 10 lbs. His more recent stats say he is 170 lbs when he previous said 160. Ironically, the Russian factor may not be as bad as people think. He is a top Russian prospect, and Putin does love Hockey and their top Russian stars. Unlike any other prospect, Michkov has heavy support from his government. i.e. its not easy gaining 10 lbs in a short period of time, so it seems like he is getting Olympic/body building like support from the Russian government. Putin wants him to be a star like OV and be the next pride of Russian hockey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 I don't know if this will have any effect on the Michkov situation but I am just thinking out loud. One thing I know for sure is that Putin would absolutely love to see Ovechkin break Gretzky's record. There is no doubt about that. That won't happen next year. Do they want to make it more difficult for Russian players to play here? Maybe there is no correlation but who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 2 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said: Unlike any other prospect, Michkov has heavy support from his government. i.e. its not easy gaining 10 lbs in a short period of time, so it seems like he is getting Olympic/body building like support from the Russian government. Putin wants him to be a star like OV and be the next pride of Russian hockey. I just saw your post after I posted mine but I agree. I think there is less risk with Michkov than many think. It might be a great opportunity if he drops to 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 23 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: I don't know if this will have any effect on the Michkov situation but I am just thinking out loud. One thing I know for sure is that Putin would absolutely love to see Ovechkin break Gretzky's record. Or else he may want to keep them at home in order to try to have KHL rival NHL. (A lost cause, I think.) The challenge is that Putin is not predictable, and no one else in Russia has any power. We can all speculate, but there is no question that there is a significant risk. How big is that risk, and how much can they accept, that's a question each team will need to answer independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habs Fan in Edmonton Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 6 minutes ago, tomh009 said: Or else he may want to keep them at home in order to try to have KHL rival NHL. (A lost cause, I think.) I highly doubt that scenario. The opportunity to declare that a Russian is the greatest goal scorer of all time is too good to pass up. The KHL will never rival the NHL. Best case scenario by far is that we get some peace in the world and we don't have to discuss stuff like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomh009 Posted May 9, 2023 Share Posted May 9, 2023 5 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said: Best case scenario by far is that we get some peace in the world and we don't have to discuss stuff like this. Yes, indeed. Alas, I don't think that'll happen before the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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