Aside Beaulieu, a good cast of players for the AHL in Hamilton.
Why not let the Bulldogs select their own players. It could not be worse.
And what was the idea to trade our third pick for two 4th round picks ? Better take the most talented than two less talented players.
Timmins is notorious for finding gems in late rounds, if he felt the difference between picking in the 3rd round and trading down for an extra 4th was minimal, I trust his decision in this case.
Timmins is notorious for finding gems in late rounds, if he felt the difference between picking in the 3rd round and trading down for an extra 4th was minimal, I trust his decision in this case.
Pretty sure he wanted Pageau and whiffed on the gamble.
Am I doing this right? Denver will have the following d-men next year:
Out of the returnees: Donovan/Lee/Makowski/Philipps/
And as freshmen: Mayfield/Didier/Laleggia
Now, that's 7 d-men. And you guess that as a freshman, Mayfield has the upper hand, so a battle for #6 between Didier and Laleggia? Though if the coach ask you to come....you probably have a guaranteed spot so it shouldn't be no biggie.
Donovan turned pro which is why Didier is going there in the fall instead of 2012. So they will have,
upperclassman- Lee, Phillips and Wrenn
lowerclassman- Makowski, Mayfield, Didier, Laleggia and Bennett is listed as F/D so looks like he can be used at forward.
It's going to be a young defense and they lost their goalie (and I assume Team Canada's wjc lost their goalie as well since I heard it might be season ending) so that's a huge blow. DU is going to be in tough, losing 3 of their top 4 scorers plus one of the top goalies in the NCAA. But watching Kristo/MacMillan face Didier should be fun games to catch.
Player Position Selection # HP Rank (1-100)
Nathan Beaulieu Defense 17 8
Josiah Didier Defense 97 N/A
Olivier Archambault Center 108 N/A
Magnus Nygren Defense 113 N/A
Darren Dietz Defense 138 N/A
Daniel Pribyl Center 167 N/A
Colin Sullivan Defense 198 N/A
Day 1: I have not been a fan of the Habs prospect management the last few years, but they got great value here and I have nothing but praise for Montreal in this draft. Nathan Beaulieu has the raw tools to possibly be a first pairing defender and you usually don't get that at 17.
The Rest: Josiah Didier was a prospect I heard tagged as a potential sleeper prior to the draft with good physical tools and mobility but his hockey sense needs to come. Olivier Archambault is a former first overall pick in the QMJHL who's a fast skater but I don't see enough hockey sense or physical game to really like his pro prospects. Magnus Nygren was an interesting pick as a 1990 birthdate who showed impressive offensive abilities in limited SEL time this year though the defensive game needs to come somewhat. Daniel Pribyl took a step forward this season and showed an impressive skill set for a player his size. I heard praise on high schooler Colin Sullivan earlier in the year as an excellent skating blueliner who's decent defensively but doesn't have much offensive upside.
Summary: The Habs got some intriguing names after their first, but most likely this draft ends up simply being the Nathan Beaulieu class with his success or failure defining it although there's an decent chance for one of the sleepers to hit.
I put a draft review article up on my site. After a couple days, it sounds like we got some interesting picks, which isn't bad considering we had only 1 pick in the top 96. While I was hoping we would draft a goalie, we sorely needed some D prospects so glad to see that was addressed, having Beaulieu, Emelin, Tinordi, Bennett and Didier looks like some nice depth plus we'll see what Diaz can do. I really like the Avtsin like pick of Pribyl and at least Archambault if he can get on track sounds like he could be at worst a nice addition to Hamilton in couple years.
I believe the Habs swung for the fences in this edition.
They went with guys with athletes, raw talent with loads of untapped potential.
And I can't blame the Scouting Staff for going with this type of mentality.
It has become so easy nowadays to get decent NHLers in your lineup with UFA at 27 y.o., waivers after 3 years pro and the offer sheet mecanism.
And I might add that it's become relatively easy to get cheap role players.
So if you are to integrate talent to your lineup via draft, might as well go for the higher ceiling, to the detriment of "safer" picks.
Overall, considering our draft position, pretty satisfied.
B
Was in NYC so couldn't follow the draft with my Iphone. But found out from my son that my daughter's ex-school collegue Pageau had been drafted by the Hens. Was pissed. And only to find out here that the Habs were next in line to draft him. Double pissed. Montreal should have pulled a Latendresse and trade up for the kid. He will be something else. You watch and see: solid kid, great attitude, nice skill set, only knock is his size, IMHO. I love him, because I know his personality. And that goes a long way in making or breaking a hockey player.
Happy for Beaulieu pick. The rest, I don't know them, I don't care for now. But very pissed about Pageau. ****.
