Modifié 10 mars 2023 à 20 h 34
Quoting: JeffGorton
Habs need Elite players. Cause right now Caufield and Hutson and maybe Guhle are our elite prospects. Defence isnt even that much of a need. You have 6 guys and 3 of them can or are elite already in Matheson (playing like a #2 d man), Hutson, and Guhle. Harris, Barron and Mailloux can fill out the top 6
Now for forwards. Caufield is the only elite player. Suzuki is a 2nd line C, Dach can be the 3rd best player on the 1st line and Slaf is a 60 point player max. farrell, roy and beck are good depth pieces but nothing over 55-60 points on a career year. Thats 6 of the top 9 (you need 9 good forwards to win a cup, not only 6). And they need 1 more elite forward, and 1 good top 6 guy. Dubois can be the good top 6 guy and Benson would be the final elite forward.
Dvorsky is a 2nd line player but 3rd line on a cup team
Reinbacher is like Mailloux or Barron quality so a waste of a pick
Its better to draft the elite player at 5 and trade the 12 (or draft Leonard or Cristall) to complete the forward group
Caufield isnt our only Elite player he's just our only Elite Goal Scorer.
Elite Playmakers have just as much value in the NHL as Goal Scorer's go through droughts without one but a Elite Playmaker will always find Goal Scorers to feed.(even if lesser skilled ones)
Suzuki may never be 100% player but he's every bit as likely to be the first habs since Kovalev to hit 80 pts in a year.
Dach is a clear cut 2nd line Center who can as you said be the 3/3rd guy on the top line giving MTL their best top line since 1993.
Farrell is an Elite Playmaker as per Coach Nicholas and MSL at rookie camp as they just gushed over Farrell.
Doesnt matter which goal scorers you stick on his line the both Produce. On PP this is especially vital as he helps create a 2nd PP that's a real threat.
He's everything Drouin was suppose to be without any of the hype he got.
A player can have Elite Skilset's without being Elite overall.
Being an Elite Goal scorer like Patrik Laine doesnt make him a complete player as he's on ice for more goals against then he is when goals are created.
So when we have a Josh Roy and Sean Farrel play together strengthening eachothers weak points it makes whatever Center is leading them very lucky by proxy.
I mean outside that Hutson is our only other Elite Skill guy and the rest of our top forwards are Gallagher level role players in the middle 6 with some guys like Teasdale and Condotta who are 2/3rds of our future 4th line with RHP IMO.
Defensively there's Hutson who's elite but as a offensive puck moving defensman and like Subban his defense is sketchy at the best of times. But a Future Norris Trophy guy.
Ghule is one of those multiple time future All Star level guys but i wouldnt call any part of his game elite , just extremely well rounded, mature with good leadership qualities.
Barron is a 2nd pair guy who's a good playmaker with an OK shot. Will need a Harris 200ft guy to make it all about Barron jumping up offensively.
Harris is a good 200ft Joel Edmundson type support guy. Need more guys like this in our forward group.
Xhekaj is a good Orlov type #5 Defensman who steps up into a top 4 role when injuries happen. If he ever gets some accuracy on that slapshot though,that might change.
Kovacevic is a shot blocking stay at home D with good reach and positioning . Not quite a 200ft player but solid in NZ and DZ.
Mailloux is your perfect guys to be on bottom pair with Xhekaj as Special Teams is where he makes his money. He could turn into a Petry type but those odds are long.
Struble is a good well rounded Francis Boullion type Gym Nut who's much stronger then he looks. Plays both sides and is an overall well rounded Defensive D for the bottom 4 as he's versitile.
Trudeau , Beaudin , Engstrom and Norlinder are darkhorse's but could bump one or two of the above mentioned D out.
Beaudin's chemistry with Barron on PP was Dynamic , Trudeau plays with a spark on Defense that reminds me a big of how Kaberle ,Norlinder is a longshot but Hedman's Brother thinks he'll make it over here and he trained him in Europe, but so far small ice's speed has hurt his offensive timing thus far. Engstrom is likely the only 1/4 who could push himself into the middle of a Deep defensive depth pool as he's a Darnell Nurse / Zdeno Chara/ Nik Lidstrom level Workout Nut who speand sun up to sun down non stop training. His coach had to force him to take nights off as he was Training with the team , with the Junior team and by himself from when they opened till the evening . The dedication has shown as he's 2nd in SHL rookie scoring behind Bystedt after skating for his countries U20 team as 2nd pair RD(as a Left shot)
The rest of our D are the longest of shots
Tournigy might be the only one worth mentioning as after Junior rather then hit the ECHL or AHL fighting for minimal minutes. He left for the Slovak liiga at age 20 so he could continue to grow with meaningful minutes while learning the defensive side to his predominately offensive game. IF he has any games for MTL it will be when he's 24-25 and again long shot odds on that like 100-1
Right now we need a Undisputed #1 RD .
Short of that we need a RD who long term can complement Ghule.
Reinbecher i dont think is going to be that guy IMO as he's built to play a Erik Johnson or Karl Alzner style top 4 role .
They even warn in his scouting done expect much "Flash its more substance" explaining he's more of a Defensive minded guy.
Bonk on the other hand is projected more like a Josh Gorges type who will find his success by covering the butts of Offensive Dmen so they can produce more in the OZ.
Ghule when Savards there and can trust his partner jumps up deep into the play crashing the net like a Forward sometimes even . But when Savard on IR that all stops .
Guys like Bonk could really help him hit that next level. While we hoped Barron would adapt and join Ghule ,they need different things and share the need to be the best player on their line offensive to succeed.
While on Paper Reinbecher >Bonk
IMO the difference isnt that big as the risk of Reinbecher like Norlinder just not adjusting well to Small ice is a reall risk.
Bonk on the other had Grew up playing hockey in both Czechia and Canada following his dad's career demands until it ended then moving back to Canada .
Biggest question about Bonk is how long to pack on some muscle as he's big and lean with like 7 inches on Caufield but only a few pounds of muscle.
Given Boullion has helped a lot of guys become a lot stronger and bigger like Phil Danault , i have faith he'll work just fine here.
Important thing is his biggest flaws are fixed by training and putting him beside guys who produce otherwise being a defensive defensman is as redundant as Eddy has been in these meaningless games.