The Recrutes Mailbag – Premiere Edition
November 28, 2022
By Recrutes Staff
We always welcome input from our Twitter followers and Recrutes’ subscribers. Thus, we have launched Recrutes Mailbag – and once a month or so we (Grant McCagg and Blain Potvin) will ask folks on Twitter to submit questions about the Canadiens and the NHL draft that we will try our best to answer. Here is the first go at it, and thank you for the questions:
Blain:
Has Mysak fallen off? In a word, no. While his three points in 18 games aren’t the offensive production anyone wants to see from a player like Jan Mysak, he has been progressing in certain aspects. Making the leap from the OHL to the AHL as a full-time professional player is large for a rookie to deal with. His production has improved from his last 22-game audition where he scored only two goals. As for Davidson, who was drafted as a 19-year-old, he has returned to Seattle of the WHL and taken a step forward. He is on pace to score more goals and points than last year, all while holding a leadership role.
Grant:
I’m not sure Mysak’s play has “fallen off”. I think it’s more a case of us seeing the Real Mysak when it comes to his pro potential. He is not likely to be a top-nine NHLer, and that was evident during his junior career even if he had spurts of productivity. If he makes the NHL, it is likely to be in a bottom-line energy role, with sound defence and leadership.
Jared Davidson was one of the five best players in the WHL last season, in my opinion, so he doesn’t really have anywhere to go in terms of his impact at the WHL level production-wise. What he will need to keep doing is having productive offseasons when it comes to building his strength and quickness. It’s going to be all about improving his skating, as the rest of his game is solid.
Blain:
In my opinion, based on the Habs management’s desire to add size and skill, Kasper Halttunen could be a steal around 15. He’s a big boy at 6-3, 195 pounds. He likes to play a physical game crashing the net, playing a cycle game, and even stirring things up after the whistle. While his production for HIFK in Liiga is only one point in 8 games so far, he has shown he’s ready to remain at the top league after dominating junior. Look for him to get mentioned often with Finland’s World Junior team if he makes the squad.
Grant:
It’s far too early to be predicting possible draft steals, as we have no idea where NHL teams have players ranked, and a ton of things can change. Look at Calum Ritchie for instance. Thought to be a top-ten lock, his play has been disappointing this fall, and a lot of scouts have dropped him out of their top 15. Cam Allen was once thought to be a top-ten prospect. Today, I don’t even have him ranked in the first round, Conversely – you can be sure that there are several prospects that teams and independent scouts don’t have in their top 20 today who will end up being selected in the top ten. I have no idea where Russian defenceman Mikhail Gulyayev will go in the draft, but for me, there isn’t a better skater in this draft class. He is very dynamic. His lack of size and lack of views by North American scouts may harm him on draft day, and if he is on the board in the mid-teens, some team may end up getting a steal. Then again – he may never play in North America. While the Habs don’t need another left defence prospect, this kid could be special, and it’s all about collecting assets.
Blain:
For now, he’s doing great things as the right winger on the top line. His style of play fits a center’s role well, and his faceoffs have improved, slightly, over last season’s deplorable numbers. But he was acquired to fill the second-center role, so once there’s a dip in production after teams adjust to this line, then he gets moved down.
Grant:
Right now there is no pressing need to move Dach to center as the four pivots are doing their jobs for the most part, and Dach is fitting in well on the top line. Who replaces Dach on the top line if he’s moved? Marty tried about a half dozen wingers with Caufield and Suzuki since he took over as coach, and Dach is the first one to produce and look comfortable with Montreal’s two young scoring stars.
I think the plan will be to move Dach into a second-line center role when Slafkovsky is ready to take his place on the top line. What may also factor in is what the Canadiens do between now and the 2023 training camp. If the club trades Monahan or Dvorak and doesn’t pick up another center, then expect Dach to be moved to center sometime between now and next September. If the club re-signs Monahan and/or picks up another center, then Dach may well stay on the wing with the top line for the foreseeable future. There is also the possibility that they pick up a winger who fits onto the top line, and even if Monahan and/or Dvorak aren’t back, Dach gets moved to center anyway. A lot will depend on whether he improves in the faceoff dot. Until he shows that he can win at least 40 percent of his faceoffs, he may well stay on the wing. I like him most at center, but he has to be able to win draws.
Blain:
As great as Lane Hutson has been doing as an NCAA freshman, he still needs time to develop his game and work on gaining some size and strength. His talent is undeniable, and he may be NHL-ready soon. What can’t be rushed however is his actual physical growth, where the Canadiens will hope he can add at least another inch to put on some muscle. Also, his off-ice training to add some strength will take time before he could reliably be looked at to handle the physical pounding of an NHL game. So if he plays signs before his senior year, it will be because he was able to do all of these things in a shorter amount of time expected.
Grant:
I think we need to temper expectations a bit. Expecting Hutson to be the best player in the draft because he is putting up great production early in college doesn’t necessarily equate. There is a decided difference between the college game and the NHL. Look at Scott Perunovich as a comparison. A 5-9 defenceman who put up sick numbers in college. Since turning pro in 2020, he has only played 36 pro games. He appeared in one exhibition game this season and fractured his shoulder. He looked great in his limited action in the AHL but his lack of size has led to two significant injuries already when he made the jump to the NHL, and he wasn’t nearly as productive either when he did play.
This is not to say that Hutson is guaranteed to get injured in the NHL, only that highly productive college defencemen who are undersized don’t necessarily become highly productive NHLers – not right away at least. He will need to get a lot stronger to be able to withstand the rigours of the NHL. Look at Slafkovsky – he’s 238 pounds and he’s already been rocked hard twice in the NHL because it’s bigger, stronger and faster. There will be no rush on Hutson. If he turns pro before his senior season, I suspect he will need AHL seasoning regardless. Mind you – he keeps proving people wrong, so who knows for sure? An exciting young prospect to be sure.
Grant:
There are a couple of goalies who are possibilities to be drafted in the first round of the 2023 draft at this point – Carson Bjarnason and Michael Hrabal. I’m not sure what Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton think about drafting goalies in the first round but as a club with two first-round 2023 picks and in need of a successor to Carey Price, don’t be shocked if they strongly consider drafting one of those two netminders. There is excellent prospect depth at center, wing and on defence, so it may not be a bad idea to roll the dice on a goaltender in the first round for the first time since drafting Price fifth overall in 2005. The club has tried to find diamonds in the rough over the past few years in taking goalies in the mid-to-late rounds, and while some of them are promising (especially Jakub Dobes), it may be time to draft one of the most highly-regarded ones. It worked out okay the last time they did that. 😉
Grant:
Allen has definitely disappointed scouts so far this season. A 5-11 defenceman struggling to produce and struggling to keep the puck out of his own net. He has two goals, is on the ice for 1.93 goals against per game, and is -13. The numbers suggest he should not even be a first-round pick, let alone one the Habs should consider taking in the mid-teens, which is where they would pick twice if the draft were held today. Every draft there are players who are thought to be in the top-ten mix at the season’s start who drop significantly, and Allen looks to be one of those prospects. He still has time to turn his game around but at this point, he is not likely a player on Montreal’s radar in the first round.