2024 NHL Entry Draft

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

Watched some of the Saginaw/London game during the intermissions of the Oiler game. Great to see Beck score a couple. 

 

However was also really impressed by Sam Dickinson, what a terrific skater.  I will not be surprised at all if he is the 1st defensemen taken in the draft. I know the last thing the Habs need is a left D but if they did I would be all over this guy. I see him being a stud top pairing defensemen. He will go early. 

[alfredoh2009]

1 hour ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

Watched some of the Saginaw/London game during the intermissions of the Oiler game. Great to see Beck score a couple. 

 

However was also really impressed by Sam Dickinson, what a terrific skater.  I will not be surprised at all if he is the 1st defensemen taken in the draft. I know the last thing the Habs need is a left D but if they did I would be all over this guy. I see him being a stud top pairing defensemen. He will go early. 

yes, 17 year old Dickinson stood out more than Parekh, if that is the Parekh up to be drafted this year 

[tomh009]

Scott Wheeler posted his final top 100 draft rankings this morning.

 

Tier 1: Celebrini

Tier 2: Demidov, Levshunov

Tier 3: Buium, Parekh, Dickinson, Eiserman, Catton, Silayev, Helenius, Lindstrom

Tier 4: Iginla, Yakemchuk, Bransegg-Nygard, Hage, Sennecke, Connelly

 

That's a big tier 3!

[tomh009]

If Demidov is gone by the time the Habs pick, my bet is on Hughes picking either Catton or Helenius. Smarts, not size.

[DON]

8 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

yes, 17 year old Dickinson stood out more than Parekh, if that is the Parekh up to be drafted this year 

The big kid who can really skate, seems sure to go in top 10 or 5.

 

Parekh was on Wheelers all star choices;

My (mock) tournament All-Star Team ballot
F: Owen Beck (Saginaw Spirit/Montreal Canadiens)
F: Kasper Halttunen (London Knights/San Jose Sharks)
F: Easton Cowan (London Knights/Toronto Maple Leafs)
D Zayne Parekh (Saginaw Spirit/2024 NHL Draft)
D Oliver Bonk (London Knights/Philadelphia Flyers)
G: Michael Simpson (London Knights/free agent)

 

Saginaw Spirit stun London Knights to claim 2024 Memorial Cup: Which prospects shined? - The Athletic (nytimes.com)

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, tomh009 said:

Scott Wheeler posted his final top 100 draft rankings this morning.

 

Tier 1: Celebrini

Tier 2: Demidov, Levshunov

Tier 3: Buium, Parekh, Dickinson, Eiserman, Catton, Silayev, Helenius, Lindstrom

Tier 4: Iginla, Yakemchuk, Bransegg-Nygard, Hage, Sennecke, Connelly

 

That's a big tier 3!

 

I haven't seen Levshunov play but to rate him higher than Dickinson then he must be tremendous. There has to be at least 1 defensemen taken before the Habs draft. Top pairing defensemen aren't easy to find. 

[DON]

Postering or not; Waddell already noted he is looking towards adding a forward at 4.

Hope not, but see in a few weeks.

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

17 minutes ago, DON said:

Postering or not; Waddell already noted he is looking towards adding a forward at 4.

Hope not, but see in a few weeks.

 

I can definitely see Columbus adding a forward, I think Anaheim and Chicago will look hard at the defensemen available  but I am just guessing. Teams like to keep that information secret for obvious reasons. 

[DON]

Who should the Canadiens select with the fifth overall pick? (habseyesontheprize.com)

 

Mitch Brown video montage of board battles by Iginla are pretty impressive fo sure!

 

 

These fellas going with Iginla over Lindstrom at 5 (bit older mock);

 

[Helmethead]

Knowing my luck Hughes is gonna take another Dman and give me a second draft day aneurysm in a row. 

[DON]

Was noted that the Habs interviewed or met with Iginla 4 times this year.

Someone wondered, was it that they had more questions/concerns about him than others?

Or the opposite, that they really like him and simply double-checking, being diligent?

 

Curtains rise on 2024 NHL Scouting Combine | Montréal Canadiens

June 3-7
Teams can interview players one-on-one.
June 5
Medical assessments are to run concurrently with interviews. Players cannot participate in physical testing until they clear their medical screening.

June 8--tests

 

"Canadiens vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, general manager, Kent Hughes, and directors of amateur scouting, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov are among those expected to be on site south of the border representing the CH."

[GHT120]

27 minutes ago, DON said:

Was noted that the Habs interviewed or met with Iginla 4 times this year.

Someone wondered, was it that they had more questions/concerns about him than others?

Or the opposite, that they really like him and simply double-checking, being diligent?

 

Curtains rise on 2024 NHL Scouting Combine | Montréal Canadiens

June 3-7
Teams can interview players one-on-one.
June 5
Medical assessments are to run concurrently with interviews. Players cannot participate in physical testing until they clear their medical screening.

June 8--tests

 

"Canadiens vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, general manager, Kent Hughes, and directors of amateur scouting, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov are among those expected to be on site south of the border representing the CH."

The $64,000 Question is:  How often have they met, will they meet, with the various top prospects?

[Commandant]

29 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

The $64,000 Question is:  How often have they met, will they meet, with the various top prospects?

 

Interestingly enough, the Basu/Godin podcast talked about this today.  The Habs are one of the most active teams in interviewing prospects.  They figure that the Habs will have interviewed over 100 draft prospects this year (and most of those were several times).  They interview everyone they can.  Last year, they were one of very few teams to interview Connor Bedard even after Chicago won the lottery.  The idea is two fold.

 

1) they think the interviews are very valuable and want to know as much each player as possible in order to set draft boards. 

2) they also think that getting info on players they won't draft is valuable in case there is an opportunity to trade for them later

[JoeLassister]

11 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Interestingly enough, the Basu/Godin podcast talked about this today.  The Habs are one of the most active teams in interviewing prospects.  They figure that the Habs will have interviewed over 100 draft prospects this year (and most of those were several times).  They interview everyone they can.  Last year, they were one of very few teams to interview Connor Bedard even after Chicago won the lottery.  The idea is two fold.

 

1) they think the interviews are very valuable and want to know as much each player as possible in order to set draft boards. 

2) they also think that getting info on players they won't draft is valuable in case there is an opportunity to trade for them later

Yeah. I guess they can always ask Bedard questions about other players too, like who was the toughest players he had to play against, who had the best attitude in the locker room  (CHL and WJ), etc.  

[DON]

12 hours ago, GHT120 said:

The $64,000 Question is:  How often have they met, will they meet, with the various top prospects?

They had met with many kids (as Ben pointed out), but i think some other top ones it was noted as being visited twice by Habs, not 4 times.

And obviously they are meeting with all top prospects, except Demidov i assume (maybe remotely?)?, this week in Buffalo. 

 

[DON]

Yakemchuk seems an interesting prospect, 30g, big shot, RH & physical. But already with Mailloux & Reinbacher already, it dont make sense.

 

How good is this d-man?

 "...Norris contender and elite offensive player Quinn Hughes had 29 points in his draft season; Buium had 49."

 

2024 NHL Draft defense class tiers: Ranking the top blueliners available - The Athletic (nytimes.com)

 

"Tier 1
Artyom Levshunov, Michigan State
Tier 2
Carter Yakemchuk, Calgary
Anton Silayev, Torpedo
Zeev Buium, Denver"

[Commandant]

I wrote on Yakemchuk last night (published this morning).

 

His offensive game is great, but skating is an issue, discipline is also an issue, takes a lot of penalties, gets caught up the ice looking for goals, gets out of position looking for hits.  Thats all gotts get cleaned up and why i wouldnt go near him at 5

[DON]

In the 20-26 range, if keep pick or move up a bit.

Who would be good forward targets to add, in that range?

Boisvert, Hemming, Hage, Nygard, Greentree, Parascak, or maybe Connelly (skilled but off-ice issues, so unlikely has the character?)? 

[JoeLassister]

Can already tell you that the Montreal medias will go crazy for Boisvert.  6'2'', 180, from Trois-Rivières... They will build him up like they did with Louis Leblanc.

 

[DON]

1 hour ago, JoeLassister said:

Can already tell you that the Montreal medias will go crazy for Boisvert.  6'2'', 180, from Trois-Rivières... They will build him up like they did with Louis Leblanc.

 

How do the local media treat Matheson Joe?

Does he get scrutinized moreso than other Habs?

 

Anyways, from reports Boisvert is a hard hitting physical kid and supposedly a good option in 20-30 range.

[GHT120]

5 hours ago, JoeLassister said:

Can already tell you that the Montreal medias will go crazy for Boisvert.  6'2'', 180, from Trois-Rivières... They will build him up like they did with Louis Leblanc.

 

As a Trifluvien I can get behind Boisvert

[DON]

24 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

As a Trifluvien I can get behind Boisvert

I cant imagine Hughes would mind a PR boost.

(but like most, i expect the pick to be packaged with a young-d for something good). 

[GHT120]

30 minutes ago, DON said:

I cant imagine Hughes would mind a PR boost.

(but like most, i expect the pick to be packaged with a young-d for something good). 

I honestly don't think HuGo will prioritize a PR boost over BPA ***IF*** they keep the pick.

[JoeLassister]

14 hours ago, DON said:

How do the local media treat Matheson Joe?

Does he get scrutinized moreso than other Habs?

 

Anyways, from reports Boisvert is a hard hitting physical kid and supposedly a good option in 20-30 range.

Pretty well actually. He's still the go-to guy for interviews and stuff, but given that he had some quite good seasons so far, it's all good for him.  But he came here later in his carreer.  I'm much more worried for guys that get drafted in the first 2 rounds or so. 

 

But even later drafted players, they all come with ridiculous expectations and media go completely crazy all the time.

 

For exemple, last season, in the late night panel show and on the radio, they were discussing about how they could play Joshua Roy on the 1st line on a regular basis. 

I remember Michel Bergeron, live after Frederic St-Denis'  VERY FIRST GAME, saying that it was obvious for him that St-Denis should get Emelin's spot in the top 6.   ONE GAME, where St-Denis finished -1 and took 2 minor penalties. 

 

It's always like that with young local guys.  More often then not, it's sad. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

15 hours ago, GHT120 said:

As a Trifluvien I can get behind Boisvert

 

"Trifluvien" I had to look that word up. I am always learning new words on this site which is great, usually from CC but sometimes from others.  LOL