– McKenna starts off the interview by joking that fans might be a little divided on who the Canadiens should take at 5th in the draft. He asks Wheeler how big a question this will be for the Habs, and is the Michkov decision a potentially franchise altering one. Wheeler thinks that it is, and the Michkov story will be the biggest story of the draft. He adds that Montreal was also involved in the biggest storyline of last years draft, that being the story if Wright would go first overall.
– Wheeler says that several teams will be meeting with Michkov in Nashville, and that this will be his first time in North America since playing in the U-18’s a few years ago. He says that this has been a weird process for both Michkov and NHL teams. It has been difficult for teams to get scouts to games in Russia. Wheeler adds though that according to a survey he did with various scouts, Michkov is the 2nd or 3rd most talented prospect in the draft when not including any outside factors. He’s be the best Russian prospect Wheeler has seen in the last 10 years, and you’d have to go back to Malkin and Ovechkin to find a better Russian prospect. Wheeler thinks that Michkov is a better prospect than Tarasenko or Svechkikov were at the same time in their careers. He says that Michkov is a 90-100pt talent.
– The biggest question facing teams that are considering drafting him will be his contract status in Russia. Even aside from the 3 years he will likely be in Russia, teams will want to know how much access to Michkov his team will allow, and how much say they can have in his development.
– McKenna asks if Michkov will still be on the board at 5. Wheeler thinks that he will. He doesn’t think Anaheim or Columbus will take him with the quality centres on the board. The only team Wheeler could see taking Michkov ahead of Montreal is San Jose. They have recruited Russian teams before, and are one of the teams that will be interviewing Michkov. Michkov will still likely fall to us though, and we’ll have to make a choice on him.
– They play a clip from Hughes were he says that if all things are equal, they will draft the best player available. However, if two players are equal, they will take the one that fits the teams needs better, giving an example of how they would probably draft a Right D over a Left D if they were of equal talent.
– Co-host Tsilikis asks if there are any teams that might surprise us and jump up into the top 5 of the draft. Wheeler doesn’t really think that will happen. He says that this is probably the best draft he’s seen since 2015, and we could see a lot of movement as teams try to move up or down, but it is very rare for that to happen at the top of the draft. He thinks the price to move into the top 5 will just be too high given how high the talent is at the top of the draft. He thinks the Habs will just make their pick at 5, and not bother moving up or down.
– From his conversations with people around the league, Wheeler has gotten the vibe that Montreal is not that interested in Michkov. He says this has less to do with the player, and more to do with the lack of control they would have over his development. There has been some talk about how Michkov might need some guidance in regard to his attitude, and they wouldn’t be able to address that directly for several year.
– McKenna asks who Wheeler thinks the Habs will take if Michkov drops to us, but we decide that we don’t want him. Wheeler thinks there are two players that the Canadiens would consider drafting if they pass on Michkov. The first is Reinbacher. Wheeler says that he is one of the most NHL ready players of the draft and could be playing as soon as next year. The other pick would be Leonard. Wheeler thinks there is a familiarity there with Hughes coaching several of his team mates and him being from Boston. Leonard also brings two things the Habs need, that being scoring and a hard edge. He’s a player who will fearlessly drive the net, always finishes his checks, battles for the puck, etc. Wheeler says that Leonard might end up a 50-60 point player that still has a huge impact on the ice. Wheeler compares him to Tyler Toffoli, as someone who can play in all situations and does basically everything, and can effectively play on your top two lines.
– McKenna jokingly responds to Wheeler’s point about Leonard, saying “who could pass on a guy who can score 50 points. The Habs sure don’t have that”. He then asks Wheeler talk him off the cliff and tell him why it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to draft a player like that this high in the draft, especially with how lacking in high end talent this team has had, both today and historically. Wheeler says that this is a valid concern, but Hughes has shown that he doesn’t care about how they are perceived. They showed this by drafting Slafkovsky over Wright. They will pick the guy who they want, regardless of what others say. They seem prepared to take the loss if Michkov becomes a superstar in order to take a solid roster player like Reinbacher or Leonard. Wheeler also adds that some scouts think Michkov would not be a play-off performer, though Wheeler does not agree. These scouts also think that someone like Leonard would get you further in the play-offs.
– McKenna asks about Slafkovsky, and what Wheeler thinks of him. Wheeler says that he thought Wright, Nemec and Cooley were the better prospects last year, and Slaf was closer to 5th on his draft board. Slafkovsky has the size and tool kit to become a productive NHL player, but Wheeler doesn’t really see him as a future star player. He puts Slafkovsky in the same category as Lafrenierre as somewhat underwhelming 1st overall picks. That said, he still has plenty of time to develop, and hopefully he will be able to figure out how to use his size and skill to dominate the ice like he did at those international tournaments.
– McKenna asks about our 2nd first round pick, and what kind of talent we could land at that point. He says that in the 2015 draft, which is comparable to this one, there was some first line talent that was drafted late in the 1st round, and even guys like Aho taken in the 2nd round. This is a very deep draft for forwards in particular.
kozed
That’s why taking a goalie at #37 would be dumb.
It’s a historically deep draft in skating talent. Take 3 skaters in the top 40 and be happy.
jhabs2k2
Love the idea of passing on a potential 90-100pt player for a potential 50-60pt player. /s
ChuckKiddman
> Wheeler compares him to Tyler Toffoli
I don’t see Leonard at all like Toffoli and I hate this comparison
vorg7
Michkov reminds me of that troubled kid with massive talent that comes in late every sports movie when the heroes need a ringer. We have tons of good vibes and players who give it their all, but we are missing a ringer. This is our chance to get one.
Beefiest_bison
To me, Leonard is this year’s Cutter Gauthier in a lot of ways, he’s not as productive as his linemates in the USNTP, but he has a game that will scale very well to higher levels.
I also think his ceiling is much higher than 50 points if he can unlock more of his playmaking (which he’s shown flashes of), since he already has the hands, shot, skating, and willingness to go to dirty areas.
bosomarly
Reinbacher at 5 would be such a let down
FeelsLike93
> They seem prepared to take the loss if Michkov becomes a superstar in order to take a solid roster player like Reinbacher or Leonard.
What kind of logic is this? What happened to “the best possible player in five years” or whatever?
crissdecaliss
Imagine passing on a 90-100 points player for a 60 points winger after such a terrible year
Lithium187
This draft is giving me Kotkaniemi vibes all over again.
Why draft Brady Tkachuk when you can reach for the “safe” pick.
Minato_is_God
To justify passing on Michkov, Leonard needs to develop into a 70-point playoff beast, or Reinbacher into a 20-25 minutes a night dman who can win the possession battle against other team’s top lines. Anything less, and we’ll be regretting it big time for years.
ustanik
They way they talk about Leonard’s play, despite being 50-60 point guy…isn’t that what Slaf is supposed to do? We need another, smaller, guy to retrieve the puck over a 100 point player?
WintertimeLivingEasy
In a vacuum drafting Reinbacher would be good.
But when you draft top 5 two season in a row, leaving the drafts with a 60-70 points guy, and a top 4 defensive D is extremely underwhelming.
If we draft Reinbacher, the best prospect would still be Hutson.
Vingt-Quatre
Again, I’m gonna have to ask: how much control does a NHL team really have on the development of a kid playing for the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Boston College or Michigan? They can talk with him and tell him to eat all his broccoli, to not skip leg day and to get inside the crease more often but that’s about it, no?
I know, a little control is better than no control at all but would you rather have a little control on less talent or zero control on a generational amount of talent?
dpjg
I don’t think slaf ever breaks 50 points. Haven’t seen anything from him to suggest it anyways. And we are probably doing to draft more of the same. If we don’t pick michkov and he is available I will already have lost faith in management.
We fucking suck at this. And it’s why we haven’t won in 30 fucking years.
Ok_Veterinarian_6488
They will pick who they pick and there’s no influence any of us can have on that. Just enjoy it folks. You don’t get a top 5 pick in a draft like this often.
nottakingpart
If they don’t want mitchkov, find someone who does and trade down!!!
17 Comments
**Summary**
– McKenna starts off the interview by joking that fans might be a little divided on who the Canadiens should take at 5th in the draft. He asks Wheeler how big a question this will be for the Habs, and is the Michkov decision a potentially franchise altering one. Wheeler thinks that it is, and the Michkov story will be the biggest story of the draft. He adds that Montreal was also involved in the biggest storyline of last years draft, that being the story if Wright would go first overall.
– Wheeler says that several teams will be meeting with Michkov in Nashville, and that this will be his first time in North America since playing in the U-18’s a few years ago. He says that this has been a weird process for both Michkov and NHL teams. It has been difficult for teams to get scouts to games in Russia. Wheeler adds though that according to a survey he did with various scouts, Michkov is the 2nd or 3rd most talented prospect in the draft when not including any outside factors. He’s be the best Russian prospect Wheeler has seen in the last 10 years, and you’d have to go back to Malkin and Ovechkin to find a better Russian prospect. Wheeler thinks that Michkov is a better prospect than Tarasenko or Svechkikov were at the same time in their careers. He says that Michkov is a 90-100pt talent.
– The biggest question facing teams that are considering drafting him will be his contract status in Russia. Even aside from the 3 years he will likely be in Russia, teams will want to know how much access to Michkov his team will allow, and how much say they can have in his development.
– McKenna asks if Michkov will still be on the board at 5. Wheeler thinks that he will. He doesn’t think Anaheim or Columbus will take him with the quality centres on the board. The only team Wheeler could see taking Michkov ahead of Montreal is San Jose. They have recruited Russian teams before, and are one of the teams that will be interviewing Michkov. Michkov will still likely fall to us though, and we’ll have to make a choice on him.
– They play a clip from Hughes were he says that if all things are equal, they will draft the best player available. However, if two players are equal, they will take the one that fits the teams needs better, giving an example of how they would probably draft a Right D over a Left D if they were of equal talent.
– Co-host Tsilikis asks if there are any teams that might surprise us and jump up into the top 5 of the draft. Wheeler doesn’t really think that will happen. He says that this is probably the best draft he’s seen since 2015, and we could see a lot of movement as teams try to move up or down, but it is very rare for that to happen at the top of the draft. He thinks the price to move into the top 5 will just be too high given how high the talent is at the top of the draft. He thinks the Habs will just make their pick at 5, and not bother moving up or down.
– From his conversations with people around the league, Wheeler has gotten the vibe that Montreal is not that interested in Michkov. He says this has less to do with the player, and more to do with the lack of control they would have over his development. There has been some talk about how Michkov might need some guidance in regard to his attitude, and they wouldn’t be able to address that directly for several year.
– McKenna asks who Wheeler thinks the Habs will take if Michkov drops to us, but we decide that we don’t want him. Wheeler thinks there are two players that the Canadiens would consider drafting if they pass on Michkov. The first is Reinbacher. Wheeler says that he is one of the most NHL ready players of the draft and could be playing as soon as next year. The other pick would be Leonard. Wheeler thinks there is a familiarity there with Hughes coaching several of his team mates and him being from Boston. Leonard also brings two things the Habs need, that being scoring and a hard edge. He’s a player who will fearlessly drive the net, always finishes his checks, battles for the puck, etc. Wheeler says that Leonard might end up a 50-60 point player that still has a huge impact on the ice. Wheeler compares him to Tyler Toffoli, as someone who can play in all situations and does basically everything, and can effectively play on your top two lines.
– McKenna jokingly responds to Wheeler’s point about Leonard, saying “who could pass on a guy who can score 50 points. The Habs sure don’t have that”. He then asks Wheeler talk him off the cliff and tell him why it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to draft a player like that this high in the draft, especially with how lacking in high end talent this team has had, both today and historically. Wheeler says that this is a valid concern, but Hughes has shown that he doesn’t care about how they are perceived. They showed this by drafting Slafkovsky over Wright. They will pick the guy who they want, regardless of what others say. They seem prepared to take the loss if Michkov becomes a superstar in order to take a solid roster player like Reinbacher or Leonard. Wheeler also adds that some scouts think Michkov would not be a play-off performer, though Wheeler does not agree. These scouts also think that someone like Leonard would get you further in the play-offs.
– McKenna asks about Slafkovsky, and what Wheeler thinks of him. Wheeler says that he thought Wright, Nemec and Cooley were the better prospects last year, and Slaf was closer to 5th on his draft board. Slafkovsky has the size and tool kit to become a productive NHL player, but Wheeler doesn’t really see him as a future star player. He puts Slafkovsky in the same category as Lafrenierre as somewhat underwhelming 1st overall picks. That said, he still has plenty of time to develop, and hopefully he will be able to figure out how to use his size and skill to dominate the ice like he did at those international tournaments.
– McKenna asks about our 2nd first round pick, and what kind of talent we could land at that point. He says that in the 2015 draft, which is comparable to this one, there was some first line talent that was drafted late in the 1st round, and even guys like Aho taken in the 2nd round. This is a very deep draft for forwards in particular.
That’s why taking a goalie at #37 would be dumb.
It’s a historically deep draft in skating talent. Take 3 skaters in the top 40 and be happy.
Love the idea of passing on a potential 90-100pt player for a potential 50-60pt player. /s
> Wheeler compares him to Tyler Toffoli
I don’t see Leonard at all like Toffoli and I hate this comparison
Michkov reminds me of that troubled kid with massive talent that comes in late every sports movie when the heroes need a ringer. We have tons of good vibes and players who give it their all, but we are missing a ringer. This is our chance to get one.
To me, Leonard is this year’s Cutter Gauthier in a lot of ways, he’s not as productive as his linemates in the USNTP, but he has a game that will scale very well to higher levels.
I also think his ceiling is much higher than 50 points if he can unlock more of his playmaking (which he’s shown flashes of), since he already has the hands, shot, skating, and willingness to go to dirty areas.
Reinbacher at 5 would be such a let down
> They seem prepared to take the loss if Michkov becomes a superstar in order to take a solid roster player like Reinbacher or Leonard.
What kind of logic is this? What happened to “the best possible player in five years” or whatever?
Imagine passing on a 90-100 points player for a 60 points winger after such a terrible year
This draft is giving me Kotkaniemi vibes all over again.
Why draft Brady Tkachuk when you can reach for the “safe” pick.
To justify passing on Michkov, Leonard needs to develop into a 70-point playoff beast, or Reinbacher into a 20-25 minutes a night dman who can win the possession battle against other team’s top lines. Anything less, and we’ll be regretting it big time for years.
They way they talk about Leonard’s play, despite being 50-60 point guy…isn’t that what Slaf is supposed to do? We need another, smaller, guy to retrieve the puck over a 100 point player?
In a vacuum drafting Reinbacher would be good.
But when you draft top 5 two season in a row, leaving the drafts with a 60-70 points guy, and a top 4 defensive D is extremely underwhelming.
If we draft Reinbacher, the best prospect would still be Hutson.
Again, I’m gonna have to ask: how much control does a NHL team really have on the development of a kid playing for the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Boston College or Michigan? They can talk with him and tell him to eat all his broccoli, to not skip leg day and to get inside the crease more often but that’s about it, no?
I know, a little control is better than no control at all but would you rather have a little control on less talent or zero control on a generational amount of talent?
I don’t think slaf ever breaks 50 points. Haven’t seen anything from him to suggest it anyways. And we are probably doing to draft more of the same. If we don’t pick michkov and he is available I will already have lost faith in management.
We fucking suck at this. And it’s why we haven’t won in 30 fucking years.
They will pick who they pick and there’s no influence any of us can have on that. Just enjoy it folks. You don’t get a top 5 pick in a draft like this often.
If they don’t want mitchkov, find someone who does and trade down!!!