regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Jul 9, 2024 20:37:54 GMT
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Post by maasart on Jul 9, 2024 21:53:46 GMT
I think roy will get a chance in the top 6 although im not convinced Slaf-Suzuki-CC will start the year as a line. I think that when Demidov is here, we're going to want Slaf-Demi as the wingers on that top line and Ive always felt CC was better suited next to Dach. I know a lot can happen in a few months or a few years. We may trade for a guy like Necas. We may draft someone next year - heck, Hage could end up being a 1st line centre, who knows. But i suspect MSL will experiement, at least in Camp/preseason. It might be a lot to ask of Roy but i could see us starting the year: Slaf - Suzuki - Roy Newhook - Dach - CC Or maybe they flip Newhook & Roy. Either way, i think there's a good chance we see them at least experiment with Slaf-Suzuki and CC-Dach. I think Anderson will come to camp motivated to reset his career, but i dont have high hopes. If we can move Newhook down to line 3 with Gallagher & Armia again, id be ok with that, that was a super effective line down the stretch and makes the sting of both Gallagher's and Armia's contracts far less painful.
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Jul 11, 2024 18:30:27 GMT
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Post by HTL on Jul 16, 2024 14:52:56 GMT
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Post by claremont on Jul 16, 2024 15:06:23 GMT
Good move IMO - fair bit of junior Q, and AHL experience. He got a bit of a raw deal thrust into Columbus after Babcockβs fiasco firing. Heβs got to be far better than Houle. In addition, he was a small player himself without much success but should know what it takes to be a player.
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Post by maasart on Jul 16, 2024 15:35:46 GMT
Good move IMO - fair bit of junior Q, and AHL experience. He got a bit of a raw deal thrust into Columbus after Babcockβs fiasco firing. Heβs got to be far better than Houle. In addition, he was a small player himself without much success but should know what it takes to be a player. Yeah, i think the firing in Columbus was more of a "cant fire the whole team, easier to replace the coach" deals. He has a lot of experience & won AHL coach of the year several years back. Could be a good hiring, especially since we could have up to 8-10 guys on that Laval roster that may be mainstays in the NHL in a few years. This is crucial time for our minor affiliate & im glad to see the team has made what looks like a good choice.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 16, 2024 23:21:46 GMT
It's funny, because given how much emphasis HuGo has placed on character and being able to handle the limelight of Montreal, Filip Mesar really feels like a big miss in terms of their draft record here. One could disagree based on personal preference about whether Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Demidov, Beck, Fowler, Hutson, etc. should have been chosen where they were chosen but they were all players who were in the discussion in those slots and none of them appear to be misses. But when it comes to Mesar, he's faltered on the ice and he's given off a bit of a primadonna attitude off of it. So there's a lot left to be desired there, and he really doesn't fit the usual HuGo M.O.
Personally, I had pushed for drafting Hutson at 26 in the 2022 draft, so it worked out well that we got him much later. But if it wasn't Hutson there, the other players I liked around 26 included Isaac Howard, Seamus Casey, Tristan Luneau, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Elias Salomonsson, Ryan Chesley, and Brad Lambert. I thought the odds were high we would have taken a defenceman (especially a RHD) there and while Mesar was largely ranked as a 1st-round prospect, he really didn't seem like the type of player HuGo would target.
It will be interesting to see if Mesar becomes trade fodder or whether the likes of Byron, Bouillon, and others start to get involved and change the course of his development. Thus far, it's a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that if he's still here, next season will be a big one for him righting his path, and right now he has the same kind of feel to me that Danny Kristo did... lots of talent, but some headspace issues, and not able to keep everything focused.
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Post by maasart on Jul 16, 2024 23:35:38 GMT
It's funny, because given how much emphasis HuGo has placed on character and being able to handle the limelight of Montreal, Filip Mesar really feels like a big miss in terms of their draft record here. One could disagree based on personal preference about whether Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Demidov, Beck, Fowler, Hutson, etc. should have been chosen where they were chosen but they were all players who were in the discussion in those slots and none of them appear to be misses. But when it comes to Mesar, he's faltered on the ice and he's given off a bit of a primadonna attitude off of it. So there's a lot left to be desired there, and he really doesn't fit the usual HuGo M.O. Personally, I had pushed for drafting Hutson at 26 in the 2022 draft, so it worked out well that we got him much later. But if it wasn't Hutson there, the other players I liked around 26 included Isaac Howard, Seamus Casey, Tristan Luneau, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Elias Salomonsson, Ryan Chesley, and Brad Lambert. I thought the odds were high we would have taken a defenceman (especially a RHD) there and while Mesar was largely ranked as a 1st-round prospect, he really didn't seem like the type of player HuGo would target. It will be interesting to see if Mesar becomes trade fodder or whether the likes of Byron, Bouillon, and others start to get involved and change the course of his development. Thus far, it's a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that if he's still here, next season will be a big one for him righting his path, and right now he has the same kind of feel to me that Danny Kristo did... lots of talent, but some headspace issues, and not able to keep everything focused. Agree with all of this. He didnt seem like the perfect choice at the slot (unlike, say, Hage this year who seems like a fantastic pick). I think he's still got a chance to be in our long term plans but he's going to need to step up this year and I agree, the "character" side of things seems a bit off in terms of what HuGo seem to value. Im not quite ready to call him a bust yet but on paper, he looked only marginally better this year than the previous (which is not ideal for D+2) but he was MUCH better in the playoffs so there's some hope there. I think Mesar's biggest issue is that he's not as offensively gifted as he thinks he is & he doesnt play a very good defensive game. If you're a 90 point player in the NHL you can coast but a 40-50 point guy? not so much. So unless he's able to really turn up the offense, which seems unlikely after only scoring 52 points in 45 games in the OHL as a 20 year old - then he needs to work on becoming a better 200 foot player. If he does that, i think he's a top 9 NHLer. He has skills. If he doesnt, then i think he likely gets bounced around multiple teams. I almost think a guy like Rohrer will have a better chance of being in our top 9 than Mesar, despite the latter being a much more skilled player. There's still a recurring rumour of Mesar + Harris + Pick for McGroarty and i wouldnt be surprised if it happened but i think that pick will have to be a 2nd for Hughes to have any interest (I dont think we're giving up a 1st)
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 17, 2024 0:00:24 GMT
It's funny, because given how much emphasis HuGo has placed on character and being able to handle the limelight of Montreal, Filip Mesar really feels like a big miss in terms of their draft record here. One could disagree based on personal preference about whether Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Demidov, Beck, Fowler, Hutson, etc. should have been chosen where they were chosen but they were all players who were in the discussion in those slots and none of them appear to be misses. But when it comes to Mesar, he's faltered on the ice and he's given off a bit of a primadonna attitude off of it. So there's a lot left to be desired there, and he really doesn't fit the usual HuGo M.O. Personally, I had pushed for drafting Hutson at 26 in the 2022 draft, so it worked out well that we got him much later. But if it wasn't Hutson there, the other players I liked around 26 included Isaac Howard, Seamus Casey, Tristan Luneau, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Elias Salomonsson, Ryan Chesley, and Brad Lambert. I thought the odds were high we would have taken a defenceman (especially a RHD) there and while Mesar was largely ranked as a 1st-round prospect, he really didn't seem like the type of player HuGo would target. It will be interesting to see if Mesar becomes trade fodder or whether the likes of Byron, Bouillon, and others start to get involved and change the course of his development. Thus far, it's a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that if he's still here, next season will be a big one for him righting his path, and right now he has the same kind of feel to me that Danny Kristo did... lots of talent, but some headspace issues, and not able to keep everything focused. Agree with all of this. He didnt seem like the perfect choice at the slot (unlike, say, Hage this year who seems like a fantastic pick). I think he's still got a chance to be in our long term plans but he's going to need to step up this year and I agree, the "character" side of things seems a bit off in terms of what HuGo seem to value. Im not quite ready to call him a bust yet but on paper, he looked only marginally better this year than the previous (which is not ideal for D+2) but he was MUCH better in the playoffs so there's some hope there. I think Mesar's biggest issue is that he's not as offensively gifted as he thinks he is & he doesnt play a very good defensive game. If you're a 90 point player in the NHL you can coast but a 40-50 point guy? not so much. So unless he's able to really turn up the offense, which seems unlikely after only scoring 52 points in 45 games in the OHL as a 20 year old - then he needs to work on becoming a better 200 foot player. If he does that, i think he's a top 9 NHLer. He has skills. If he doesnt, then i think he likely gets bounced around multiple teams. I almost think a guy like Rohrer will have a better chance of being in our top 9 than Mesar, despite the latter being a much more skilled player. There's still a recurring rumour of Mesar + Harris + Pick for McGroarty and i wouldnt be surprised if it happened but i think that pick will have to be a 2nd for Hughes to have any interest (I dont think we're giving up a 1st) The other thing I'll say, to be fair to the Habs here, is that there are drafts where almost all of the players available at 26 are marginal. I've said this about Timmins in the past, but he took a lot of flack for "missing" on the likes of Scherbak, McCarron, Tinordi, Beaulieu, Poehling, etc... but when you look at some of those drafts, there are often a lot of busts in those picks that occur near the end of the first round. There are some hits, but the odds of finding a star player there are quite small, so just being able to produce a full-time NHLer is already above average. And so whether you like them or not, the McCarron's, Tinordi's, and Poehling's of the world are doing just fine for where they were chosen. Being able to find a Lehkonen or a Subban or a Markov or a Gallagher later in the draft s really just gravy. And while some can point out that a Kucherov or a Marchand was chosen later on, those are really diamonds in the rough and not the norm. Easy to identify those players in retrospect but if everyone knew about them in their draft season, 30 GMs wouldn't have passed over them.
All that to say that I have low expectations for Mesar, but low expectations is in line with where we chose him. Every guy available at that slot was a project. It also explains why moving up for Hage was a great move, because the fact is that those lower-round choices don't usually amount to much. They're valuable in aggregate if you have multiple darts to throw at the board, but what matters in drafts is how many top 5 or top 10 or top 15 picks you can generate. So any chance you can take to move up a bit usually ends up being helpful. It's why I also usually advocate for taking home run swings and going after those players like Hutson, Cristall, Akey, Firkus, etc. Take your shots at players with star potential and don't sweat it too much if they don't pan out because most players from 25 onwards don't anyways. I'd happily trade Mesar + Harris + a 2nd for McGroarty, because each of those parts lacks big chances of landing a star. The 1st rounder is a different story because in itself, it could end up being more valuable than McGroarty.
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RCAF48
Captain Kirk
Posts: 359
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Post by RCAF48 on Jul 17, 2024 0:02:02 GMT
I didn't like the Mesar pick at the time and haven't changed my opinion. However, Reid Schaefer was the player I wanted and he hasn't progressed that well either.
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Post by claremont on Jul 17, 2024 2:36:24 GMT
It's funny, because given how much emphasis HuGo has placed on character and being able to handle the limelight of Montreal, Filip Mesar really feels like a big miss in terms of their draft record here. One could disagree based on personal preference about whether Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Demidov, Beck, Fowler, Hutson, etc. should have been chosen where they were chosen but they were all players who were in the discussion in those slots and none of them appear to be misses. But when it comes to Mesar, he's faltered on the ice and he's given off a bit of a primadonna attitude off of it. So there's a lot left to be desired there, and he really doesn't fit the usual HuGo M.O. Personally, I had pushed for drafting Hutson at 26 in the 2022 draft, so it worked out well that we got him much later. But if it wasn't Hutson there, the other players I liked around 26 included Isaac Howard, Seamus Casey, Tristan Luneau, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Elias Salomonsson, Ryan Chesley, and Brad Lambert. I thought the odds were high we would have taken a defenceman (especially a RHD) there and while Mesar was largely ranked as a 1st-round prospect, he really didn't seem like the type of player HuGo would target. It will be interesting to see if Mesar becomes trade fodder or whether the likes of Byron, Bouillon, and others start to get involved and change the course of his development. Thus far, it's a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that if he's still here, next season will be a big one for him righting his path, and right now he has the same kind of feel to me that Danny Kristo did... lots of talent, but some headspace issues, and not able to keep everything focused. 1) First I have heard of Mesar having a bit of an attitude or prima dona - That an opinion or where did you read / substantiate that? 2) Agree that Mesar's trajectory has not necessarily been moving up - He should have done a little better with Kitchener in the OHL D+2 year, so this year will be a proving test. He did have a fairly productive WJC tournament. Maybe his Kitchener ice time or fit was an outlier and I hope so on the late maturity / adjustment to North American ice. 3) This was HuGo's first draft year. I only surmised they wanted a synergy / running mate for Slafkovsky as I was quite surprised by the pick. At the time I was pushing for C - Juri Kulich, or C - Firkus, C - Luca DBB given our void at centre. At the time I was not even thinking Lane Hutson - pint sized etc., and he has proven me wrong in spades with his NCAA accomplishments, so freely admit my mistake on that judgement. He is changing my assessment of USNTDP grads. So Yes - Mesar could very well be trade bait (selling low at present on untapped potential). I have the same feeling on Sean Farrell - had promise but yet to move the needle. This year is important for a number of our prospects including my underdog Riley Kidney who possesses similar playmaking traits and has had only 1 pro season, Kidney, who did very well in the QJMHL, I hope gets some ice time under Vincent to see if he can drive the play (so far I have not seen him really do that and plays on the perimeter). Kidney did not get much ice time under Houle as he went with Lias Andersson and other centres for the most part. Kidney could be better suited to a wing but he is not a scorer but more setup. I have doubts that he makes the jump as a 63rd overall pick.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 17, 2024 2:56:03 GMT
It's funny, because given how much emphasis HuGo has placed on character and being able to handle the limelight of Montreal, Filip Mesar really feels like a big miss in terms of their draft record here. One could disagree based on personal preference about whether Slafkovsky, Reinbacher, Demidov, Beck, Fowler, Hutson, etc. should have been chosen where they were chosen but they were all players who were in the discussion in those slots and none of them appear to be misses. But when it comes to Mesar, he's faltered on the ice and he's given off a bit of a primadonna attitude off of it. So there's a lot left to be desired there, and he really doesn't fit the usual HuGo M.O. Personally, I had pushed for drafting Hutson at 26 in the 2022 draft, so it worked out well that we got him much later. But if it wasn't Hutson there, the other players I liked around 26 included Isaac Howard, Seamus Casey, Tristan Luneau, Jagger Firkus, Gleb Trikozov, Elias Salomonsson, Ryan Chesley, and Brad Lambert. I thought the odds were high we would have taken a defenceman (especially a RHD) there and while Mesar was largely ranked as a 1st-round prospect, he really didn't seem like the type of player HuGo would target. It will be interesting to see if Mesar becomes trade fodder or whether the likes of Byron, Bouillon, and others start to get involved and change the course of his development. Thus far, it's a lot of question marks. I have a feeling that if he's still here, next season will be a big one for him righting his path, and right now he has the same kind of feel to me that Danny Kristo did... lots of talent, but some headspace issues, and not able to keep everything focused. 1) First I have heard of Mesar having a bit of an attitude or prima dona - That an opinion or where did you read / substantiate that? 2) Agree that Mesar's trajectory has not necessarily been moving up - He should have done a little better with Kitchener in the OHL D+2 year, so this year will be a proving test. He did have a fairly productive WJC tournament. Maybe his Kitchener ice time or fit was an outlier and I hope so on the late maturity / adjustment to North American ice. 3) This was HuGo's first draft year. I only surmised they wanted a synergy / running mate for Slafkovsky as I was quite surprised by the pick. At the time I was pushing for C - Juri Kulich, or C - Firkus, C - Luca DBB given our void at centre. At the time I was not even thinking Lane Hutson - pint sized etc., and he has proven me wrong in spades with his NCAA accomplishments, so freely admit my mistake on that judgement. He is changing my assessment of USNTDP grads. So Yes - Mesar could very well be trade bait (selling low at present on untapped potential). I have the same feeling on Sean Farrell - had promise but yet to move the needle. This year is important for a number of our prospects including my underdog Riley Kidney who possesses similar playmaking traits and has had only 1 pro season, Kidney, who did very well in the QJMHL, I hope gets some ice time under Vincent to see if he can drive the play (so far I have not seen him really do that and plays on the perimeter). Kidney did not get much ice time under Houle as he went with Lias Andersson and other centres for the most part. Kidney could be better suited to a wing but he is not a scorer but more setup. I have doubts that he makes the jump as a 63rd overall pick.
Re: Mesar... there were stories from the Habs themselves about how Mesar was disappointed going back to junior last year and felt he deserved more of a shot and then some media reported that he sulked about it. Then this summer, there was a Slovak news report where they spoke to Mesar and he stated that his shortcomings came down to his teammates not being good enough. TVA and some other media here picked up the story, saying it sounds like Mesar feels somewhat entitled and thinks he's better than he actually is.
Farrell, IMO, has always been overrated. He's got some skill, but he isn't the type of player who displays a game that suggests he can overcome his lack of size. He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition. I don't have high hopes Farrell becomes a top 6 player, and maybe the best we can hope for here is a poor mans' David Desharnais, whereby he's a substitute depth player. Kidney is another tweener who fails to suggest to me he has a role in the NHL: he's at baseline a skill player, but he's not really good enough to be a regular top 6 player and he doesn't do anything else particularly well enough to be a bottom 6 player either. Conversely, you look at a Beck, who doesn't have top 6 offensive talent but has enough skill to combine with smarts and defensive play to be a 3C. Or you look at RHP or Simoneau, who play with intensity and could carve out a role on the 4th line. Or a Tuch, who maybe lacks finish but at least has some size and power to his game for us to hope he can give us something similar to Armia down the line. Or a Heineman, who has some scoring ability and size and maybe could become a Brian Savage type player if he pans out. I will say that I did have low expectations for Kapanen too though until this past season. He seemed like he was just blending into the background and then really took a leap forward this season. So I guess there's still room for a Kidney to surprise, but as of right now, he's not a top 10 prospect here and his odds remain low.
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Post by claremont on Jul 17, 2024 10:58:05 GMT
1) First I have heard of Mesar having a bit of an attitude or prima dona - That an opinion or where did you read / substantiate that? 2) Agree that Mesar's trajectory has not necessarily been moving up - He should have done a little better with Kitchener in the OHL D+2 year, so this year will be a proving test. He did have a fairly productive WJC tournament. Maybe his Kitchener ice time or fit was an outlier and I hope so on the late maturity / adjustment to North American ice. 3) This was HuGo's first draft year. I only surmised they wanted a synergy / running mate for Slafkovsky as I was quite surprised by the pick. At the time I was pushing for C - Juri Kulich, or C - Firkus, C - Luca DBB given our void at centre. At the time I was not even thinking Lane Hutson - pint sized etc., and he has proven me wrong in spades with his NCAA accomplishments, so freely admit my mistake on that judgement. He is changing my assessment of USNTDP grads. So Yes - Mesar could very well be trade bait (selling low at present on untapped potential). I have the same feeling on Sean Farrell - had promise but yet to move the needle. This year is important for a number of our prospects including my underdog Riley Kidney who possesses similar playmaking traits and has had only 1 pro season, Kidney, who did very well in the QJMHL, I hope gets some ice time under Vincent to see if he can drive the play (so far I have not seen him really do that and plays on the perimeter). Kidney did not get much ice time under Houle as he went with Lias Andersson and other centres for the most part. Kidney could be better suited to a wing but he is not a scorer but more setup. I have doubts that he makes the jump as a 63rd overall pick.
Re: Mesar... there were stories from the Habs themselves about how Mesar was disappointed going back to junior last year and felt he deserved more of a shot and then some media reported that he sulked about it. Then this summer, there was a Slovak news report where they spoke to Mesar and he stated that his shortcomings came down to his teammates not being good enough. TVA and some other media here picked up the story, saying it sounds like Mesar feels somewhat entitled and thinks he's better than he actually is.
Farrell, IMO, has always been overrated. He's got some skill, but he isn't the type of player who displays a game that suggests he can overcome his lack of size. He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition. I don't have high hopes Farrell becomes a top 6 player, and maybe the best we can hope for here is a poor mans' David Desharnais, whereby he's a substitute depth player. Kidney is another tweener who fails to suggest to me he has a role in the NHL: he's at baseline a skill player, but he's not really good enough to be a regular top 6 player and he doesn't do anything else particularly well enough to be a bottom 6 player either. Conversely, you look at a Beck, who doesn't have top 6 offensive talent but has enough skill to combine with smarts and defensive play to be a 3C. Or you look at RHP or Simoneau, who play with intensity and could carve out a role on the 4th line. Or a Tuch, who maybe lacks finish but at least has some size and power to his game for us to hope he can give us something similar to Armia down the line. Or a Heineman, who has some scoring ability and size and maybe could become a Brian Savage type player if he pans out. I will say that I did have low expectations for Kapanen too though until this past season. He seemed like he was just blending into the background and then really took a leap forward this season. So I guess there's still room for a Kidney to surprise, but as of right now, he's not a top 10 prospect here and his odds remain low.
Is the QMJHL becoming an overrated league? Kidney put up two 100+ point seasons. Justin Barron had 3 reasonably solid seasons. Both of them on the bubble. Even though he was a 5th rounder, Joshua Roy put up 2 D+1, D+2 monster seasons and may just be a middle 6 forward for us. Lafraniere took a long time to develop to his lofty selection. I have to think we have to be very careful about not over drafting (at high pick levels), players from this league.
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Post by BigTed3 on Jul 17, 2024 11:46:49 GMT
Re: Mesar... there were stories from the Habs themselves about how Mesar was disappointed going back to junior last year and felt he deserved more of a shot and then some media reported that he sulked about it. Then this summer, there was a Slovak news report where they spoke to Mesar and he stated that his shortcomings came down to his teammates not being good enough. TVA and some other media here picked up the story, saying it sounds like Mesar feels somewhat entitled and thinks he's better than he actually is. Farrell, IMO, has always been overrated. He's got some skill, but he isn't the type of player who displays a game that suggests he can overcome his lack of size. He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition. I don't have high hopes Farrell becomes a top 6 player, and maybe the best we can hope for here is a poor mans' David Desharnais, whereby he's a substitute depth player. Kidney is another tweener who fails to suggest to me he has a role in the NHL: he's at baseline a skill player, but he's not really good enough to be a regular top 6 player and he doesn't do anything else particularly well enough to be a bottom 6 player either. Conversely, you look at a Beck, who doesn't have top 6 offensive talent but has enough skill to combine with smarts and defensive play to be a 3C. Or you look at RHP or Simoneau, who play with intensity and could carve out a role on the 4th line. Or a Tuch, who maybe lacks finish but at least has some size and power to his game for us to hope he can give us something similar to Armia down the line. Or a Heineman, who has some scoring ability and size and maybe could become a Brian Savage type player if he pans out. I will say that I did have low expectations for Kapanen too though until this past season. He seemed like he was just blending into the background and then really took a leap forward this season. So I guess there's still room for a Kidney to surprise, but as of right now, he's not a top 10 prospect here and his odds remain low.
Is the QMJHL becoming an overrated league? Kidney put up two 100+ point seasons. Justin Barron had 3 reasonably solid seasons. Both of them on the bubble. Even though he was a 5th rounder, Joshua Roy put up 2 D+1, D+2 monster seasons and may just be a middle 6 forward for us. Lafraniere took a long time to develop to his lofty selection. I have to think we have to be very careful about not over drafting (at high pick levels), players from this league. I don't think it's overrated so much as it's just become a weak developmental league in the past few years. There aren't a lot of 1st rounders coming out of the Q any more compared to other leagues, and a number of the better Quebec-born players are opting to go to the US to play leading up to their draft year. I don't think anyone believed Kidney or Roy would become top 10 players from their draft year, though when all is said and done, Roy may end up being a 1st rounder in a re-draft. Lafreniere has had a slow start but is doing better of late and may well end up being a top 5 pick from his draft, so again, not sure it signifies he was overrated because of his league.
At the end of the day, there just aren't a lot of superstar players coming up through the Q. It probably says more about the youth development programs in Quebec than anything. But interesting to note that many French politicians in Quebec complain about the Habs not having French stars, as if they're just hanging around out there for us to add for free. The Habs still have a high percentage of Quebec-born players in their organization compared to other teams, they're just aren't a wealth of them around and certainly not game-changing ones.
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Post by graeme on Jul 18, 2024 2:49:24 GMT
He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition.
What was weird about Locke was he actually became quite a productive AHL player, but never really got a shot in the NHL (9 games over 3 seasons). Granted, those 9 games seemed to confirm everyone's theories (1 assist total), but I was always a bit surprised he didn't get more of a shot somewhere.
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Post by maasart on Jul 18, 2024 15:42:42 GMT
1) First I have heard of Mesar having a bit of an attitude or prima dona - That an opinion or where did you read / substantiate that? 2) Agree that Mesar's trajectory has not necessarily been moving up - He should have done a little better with Kitchener in the OHL D+2 year, so this year will be a proving test. He did have a fairly productive WJC tournament. Maybe his Kitchener ice time or fit was an outlier and I hope so on the late maturity / adjustment to North American ice. 3) This was HuGo's first draft year. I only surmised they wanted a synergy / running mate for Slafkovsky as I was quite surprised by the pick. At the time I was pushing for C - Juri Kulich, or C - Firkus, C - Luca DBB given our void at centre. At the time I was not even thinking Lane Hutson - pint sized etc., and he has proven me wrong in spades with his NCAA accomplishments, so freely admit my mistake on that judgement. He is changing my assessment of USNTDP grads. So Yes - Mesar could very well be trade bait (selling low at present on untapped potential). I have the same feeling on Sean Farrell - had promise but yet to move the needle. This year is important for a number of our prospects including my underdog Riley Kidney who possesses similar playmaking traits and has had only 1 pro season, Kidney, who did very well in the QJMHL, I hope gets some ice time under Vincent to see if he can drive the play (so far I have not seen him really do that and plays on the perimeter). Kidney did not get much ice time under Houle as he went with Lias Andersson and other centres for the most part. Kidney could be better suited to a wing but he is not a scorer but more setup. I have doubts that he makes the jump as a 63rd overall pick.
Re: Mesar... there were stories from the Habs themselves about how Mesar was disappointed going back to junior last year and felt he deserved more of a shot and then some media reported that he sulked about it. Then this summer, there was a Slovak news report where they spoke to Mesar and he stated that his shortcomings came down to his teammates not being good enough. TVA and some other media here picked up the story, saying it sounds like Mesar feels somewhat entitled and thinks he's better than he actually is.
Farrell, IMO, has always been overrated. He's got some skill, but he isn't the type of player who displays a game that suggests he can overcome his lack of size. He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition. I don't have high hopes Farrell becomes a top 6 player, and maybe the best we can hope for here is a poor mans' David Desharnais, whereby he's a substitute depth player. Kidney is another tweener who fails to suggest to me he has a role in the NHL: he's at baseline a skill player, but he's not really good enough to be a regular top 6 player and he doesn't do anything else particularly well enough to be a bottom 6 player either. Conversely, you look at a Beck, who doesn't have top 6 offensive talent but has enough skill to combine with smarts and defensive play to be a 3C. Or you look at RHP or Simoneau, who play with intensity and could carve out a role on the 4th line. Or a Tuch, who maybe lacks finish but at least has some size and power to his game for us to hope he can give us something similar to Armia down the line. Or a Heineman, who has some scoring ability and size and maybe could become a Brian Savage type player if he pans out. I will say that I did have low expectations for Kapanen too though until this past season. He seemed like he was just blending into the background and then really took a leap forward this season. So I guess there's still room for a Kidney to surprise, but as of right now, he's not a top 10 prospect here and his odds remain low.
Off topic but remember when Corey Locke was like 6th or 8th on our "top 25 under 25" list? Im not even sure Farrell will make the top 25 with the young talent we've added the last few years!
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Post by maasart on Jul 18, 2024 15:45:43 GMT
He reminds me a bit of another guy we picked in the 4th round a couple of decades ago: Corey Locke. Like Farrell, he was able to dominate lesser leagues, but he found the going a lot tougher when space and time closed on him against better competition.
What was weird about Locke was he actually became quite a productive AHL player, but never really got a shot in the NHL (9 games over 3 seasons). Granted, those 9 games seemed to confirm everyone's theories (1 assist total), but I was always a bit surprised he didn't get more of a shot somewhere. I have often wondered how a guy can be a point per game player in the AHL but not even a #12 forward in the NHL and i think it mostly all comes down to 'thinking speed." When you look at a lo of these guys they can do a lot of stuff at the AHL and other levels but the game is just that much faster in the NHL and that split second speed-up can make all the difference. If a guy at least has other parts to his game he can sometimes become a decent bottom 6 guy but when your whole game is offence & you cant produce at the nhl level...
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regis
Le Gros Bill
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Post by regis on Aug 5, 2024 13:33:23 GMT
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Aug 6, 2024 15:16:02 GMT
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regis
Le Gros Bill
Posts: 1,095
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Post by regis on Aug 8, 2024 13:48:11 GMT
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