nahh we did the right choice to take david. didn’t need another undersized winger but i still really wanted to have him. Honestly I knew it was always between Reinbacher and Leonard. Hope we can get one of the best fowards this draft.

no need.
its never a bad move to draft the top defensemen.

Do i like Benson over Reinbacher? 100% in EA sports 10/10
When applying MTL's needs vs what was available. . . Not so much.
Im not saying Reinbachers my guy, i feel we coulda drafted a Project player later
I didnt see the upside of him being built today for the NHL if he wasnt capable of playing at that level for atleast 2-3 years
That said Reinbacher outside Michkov fits what we needed.

I mean its hard to say that with Leonard available but we got Florian Xhekaj playing the same role who is bigger, meaner and a better Goal Scorer IMO
Both are on a 2-3 year path to the NHL and Leonard will turn Pro first but Florian in our system wont be far behind
So Michkov was the only one that really hurt to not choose over Reinbacher in the top 10
Everyone else is the same level of project player or has less upsides in that top 10 , so i get it.

Will i crap on Reinbacher? Nope
Its a Carey Price learning moment i'll own
Like the Majority i wanted Halak to stay over Price for a number of reasons that all add up to short term vision.
I own it because everyone knows me as a Huge Carey Price fan and i am but business is business and sometimes the deal you dont make is the best move you can make.
Doesnt mean i shouldnt own my Error with Reinbacher who ill support from roughly day 7 on lol

Reinbacher will come into play just as our Young D are get Paid for their continued role now as our Vets
He could step in beside Lane Hutson and put MTL over the top in 2025-26 or might need a year in the AHL to settle.
But when he joins he'll be a 22+ minute guy capable of doing it all but likely becoming an Erik Johnson type
Which to some people sounds bad but they built a solid Dcore around that guy in COL and he was a key leader for a long time there for a reason

And in 3 years ypu would be complaining about all the smurfs in the top 9

A little early for this no?

this is high up there for one of the wildest takes on this website... florian xhekaj a better goal scorer than ryan leonard? what in the world

sadly we have too many small guys already so size matters more to the habs now than to other teams. We have RHP, Gally, Caufield, Farrell, and Hutson and Mesar as well as Newhook. Just too many.

Florian Does it from all the high Pressure Area's
So maybe Better is a Bold statement i know in all likely hood 99/100 Leonard will squash Florian
That said I like the type of goals Florians getting from within 5 feet of the net while drawing penalties and causing havoc
Unlike his Brother Arber he's not a Protector per say he's a Pest who says he molds his game after the Tkachuk's and Tom Wilson
He's Defensively Responsible , Only Fights if its needed he knows there's others to handle it and that they need him on the PK not in the Penalty box
TBH i expected when he from that extra 2 inches and packed on muscle that he'd get more brutish but really its just increased his reach and defensive stick work in shooting lanes.
I mean 6'2 174 lbs you figure it will take a while for the Powerforward to fill out but like his brother he hit 19 and sprouted 2 inches and 16lbs since the draft sitting 6'4 190lbs as per Bulldogs OHL site

He'll be 210 by next years camp and likely sent back down to junior for a final year
But i expect he'll make the same kinda impression his brother did early on

For us he's ideal for a number of reasons
He might actually hit the NHL before Leonard
That said we're coming top 6 Pest to Middle 6 Pest
I just like that Florian is a complete 200ft player who like Perry prides himself on drawing people into dumb penalties

Honestly - that being very optimistic... almost delusional at this point. But damn, I hope you are right.

time will tell, but i think leonard gets to nhl much sooner and is an impact goal scorer/pest much more in the ilk of the tkachuks than florian will ever be

yeah i agree with this, but also hold out hope. feel like florian will be more of a chris stewart than a corey perry tho

31 goals 55 point in 57 games after just 11 goals in his first 30 games and he is still heating up maybe a bit too much
Leonard 25 goals 48 points in 34 games and still heating up to playing in a tournament as the top teams top non Goaltender related Player to determine the Division 1 Winner and who's going to the Frozen 4 Aprill 11-13th i believe it was

Leonard has maybe 4-6 games left in his playoffs if he wins the NCAA title so he might his 30 goals
Xhakaj has 25 left plus 4 round tournament for playoffs and the possibility of a 4 team Memorial Cup Tournament
Dude's gonna score 50 goals this year at the pace he's going since Switching to the Center Position for the first time since Peewee

I love Leonard, i do wish i had him .. he's that good.
But i feel like you should take a harder look at Florian Xhekaj as nearly 3 months later he not only maintained that pace he's accelerated
He's done so while switching to a harder position for the first time in years and thriving there even more then on Wing.

Plus like Arber Xhekaj he has that Big Slap Shot he can lean on and although its not 107MPH like Xhekaj's
But its still a heck of a shot that neither of them had unlocked before joining the OHL's Bulldogs.

Dude... there is a big step between the NCAA and the OHL... Leonard would have 70 in the OHL.

The fact that Leonard > Xhekaj doesn't mean that Xhekaj is bad... they are not at the same level.

That explains the high volume of NCAA players jumping over to the NHL directly . . .O wait
I guess thats mostly Junior players from Canada doing that Historically , isnt it ?


Its why Matthews went to Europe, Kane came to Canada to play most famously for former 1st OA picks
They chose Canadian Junior or Pro's in Europe because NCAA doesnt prepare a player to jump straight to the NHL for a 82 game season + playoffs
NCAA has its use and purpose as the path for the player who's growing into his role a little slower just look at the Barron Family
Morgan failed to make the cut for QMJHL so he went BC where a lot of the Collegiate Scouting for Canadian Players goes through before finding a USHL team which got him a NCAA Offer.
Justin made the QMJHL first shot playing 4 years as a top guy and ending his Tenure as the Captain of their Hometown Halifax Mooseheads.

Morgans first NHL game ? 2020-21
Justins first NHL games ? 2021-22
3 years Younger and basically made it to the NHL at the same time

Not all Canadian Junior Players obviously can jump to the NHL like Suzuki or Xhekaj
But i felt the Barron's illustrate Perfectly the difference in paths and their timelines

Doesnt mean NCAA bad it just means CHL>NCAA when it comes to NHL Ready Prospects and IMO provides a higher Quality of Superstar
I'll put our McDavid, Crosby, Gretzky ext against any top 3 NCAA players

yeah listen, not taking anything away from florian and his solid CHL season, but what leonard is doing in the NCAA (granted he's playing with Smith and GP) absolutely makes him the better player and it's not even close

I watch Fowler Leading the Entire NCAA in basically every Goalie Stat and the team i see infront of him is Great!
They're #1 over Hutsons Boston U in a Rivalry thats easily the best one in all sports right now , i get it
He's good for a player who plays no long road games or playoff series and prioritizes School and Life over Hockey
In the CHL Hockey is Life and 10 month seasons is the goal not the variable and that if you're lucky your country will call and you'll play 11/12 months that year.

NCAA is a Finishing league to touch up your weak area's while growing into your body
They Neglect to provide a NHL Lifestyle so its Culture Shock to NCAA talent turning Pro
Its why Patrick Kane went to Canada and Matthews to Europe as they wanted to Start in the NHL the next year not just get drafted and left to develop

brady made the jump just fine... leonard will be like him or better

This is fair as WSH is playing low enough like OTT was he might be able to hang on
Brady Tkachuck also was there watching his Brother in Canadian Junior on one of the most Dominate CHL Memorial Cup/Playoff runs of Tkachuk-Marner on their Memorial Cup run. He knew Full Well the type of Conditioning Required and had a brother he ruthlessly competes with to push him to it .

Im sure Leonards brother prepared him just as hard and showed him where the bar was , But like Brady im sure he'll pass him . . . lol