1. Great choices. I would have picked Justin Bailey at 36 but otherwise, I would be very pleased if Habs got that haul in 2013.

   • To be honest, it was a big coin flip between De La Rose and Bailey. I picked De La Rose only because I’ve seen him play more than Bailey but i’m pretty sure he could be as good if not better.

     Thanks for the comment.

2. I would love to see Montreal draft Kerby Rychel and Jacob De La Rose as well……I just wondered though…I thought Montreal picked up a 2013 5th round pick in the trade with Nasville for Andrei Kostitsyn

3. Rychel, Bowey and De La Rose would be three great picks in the first 36. I was confused with the Habs picks because there were a lot of sources saying different things but if the NHL is correct, Habs don’t have any 4th and 5th round pick.

   Thanks for the comment.

4. Isn’t the 5th round pick picked up in the Nashville trade the one they used to acquire Drewiske? Or am I adding to the confusion? :)

5. Two things stand out about the 2013 draft from the Habs perspective, one that they have six picks in the top 100, and two that there is an unprecedented talent pool coming out of the QMJHL this year. You have them taking a couple of Q prospects later in the draft, but not with their premium choices. I would be very surprised if they didn’t use three of their top four picks on local talent.

   With the top pick, there is a very good chance that one or more of Fredric Gauthier, Valentin Nykov, Anthony Mantha, Samuel Morin, or Laurent Dauphin, would be available. The same could be said for their two early second round picks. William Carrier, Philippe Desrosiers, M-O Roy, Emile Poirier, come into play in the later second and third rounds.

   My personal favorite is Samuel Morin, I think he has as much upside as anyone in this draft. Daupin and Desrosiers are underrated as well. I’m not in favor of drafting a prospect simply because he is home grown, but when need meets value the way it does in this draft, Timmins would almost have to willfully ignore the local kids. Not that he has a great record drafting from the Q (or missing prospects from there). I’m surprised he still has a job after all these years, but I imagine management and ownership have a lot of input into the top picks.

6. I love the pick of KERBY RYCHEL. I had a chance to see him play this year live with Vail. He was absolute amazing.He would be the perfect fit with the Canadians. I’ve also been saying for the last couple of weeks that who the Habs have to take.So I thank you for agreeing with me.GHG. I could also see the Habs taking Zach Fucale as a long shot as they might trade up to take him

7. Le 5e choix du CH qui a été échangé était le sien, si je me fie à ce qui est écrit.

8. @ Ethan : My guess is that Gauthier, Zykov and Mantha won’t be available when the Habs will draft in the first round. Morin has a chance to be gone too. Like I said, it’s possible that Bergevin will trade to move in the top 10-15.

   In the second round, I thought of Laurent Dauphin at 36, but if De La Rose is still available, I think he’s better than Dauphin. In the late second, there are actually a lot of prospects coming from the Q. Like you said. No doubt they’ll pick one with pick #55.

   Thanks for your comment.

9. @ Casey : I really like Rychel’s game and i’m pretty sure he’ll end up being a solid power forward in the NHL.

   Living in St-Eustache, I had the chance to see Fucale play with the Vikings in the Midget AAA, he’s a solid goaltender. With my coverage of the B-B Armada, I also had the chance to see him in the Q, he’s for real. Best goalie in the Q since Bernier, IMO.

   Thanks for your comment.

10. You are asking Timmons to draft well, but Montreal has stunk since he has come here 10 years ago, we missed out on Getzlaf, Perry, M rICHARDS, Parise, Giroux etc because of this bum, and look at his last bust, Louis Leust, we at HIO fan site have a petition to get rid of him..PS Rychel woulld be a good choice we have picks to move up a few spots too.

11. One thing to consider, Rychel barely missed being eligible for last year’s draft. He is nearly a year older than some of the prospects available. That makes a huge difference at this stage of a player’s development. Kerby did have a solid season in Windsor in 2011-12, however. But I’m a bit leery of players who have their careers managed by domineering parents. They usually look good early on, but some times they come with problems. Warren Rychel is a big poo bah in the OHL, and he was very manipulative with regard to his son. Personally, I wouldn’t touch Rychel or Max Domi.

12. @ HabFab : Timmins missed on a lot of big names but I think he managed to get a lot of good guys too. We have Price, Subban, Pacioretty, Tinordi, Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Emelin to show for it. No?? I like Kristo, Beaulieu and Collberg in the futute too. We have to be careful with the NHL draft, it’s not an exact science. These guys you’ve mentioned are not 1st overall picks, a lot of team have passed on them.

    Thanks for your comment.

13. Let’s not forget McDonagh, Streit, Halak, Lapierre and O’Byrne who are all NHLers.
    #1 goaltender, a #1 left winger and three #1 defencemen. A #1 centre in the making in Galchenyuk also.
    We can’t confuae bad deafting with bad asset management.

14. you all seem to forget a very important player , Bo Horvat from the London Knights . Have you seen him play ? I doubt , I know he is not a giant but at 6 feet, 200 pounds , and just turned 18 . He would be my 1st pick , what a great pick he would be for my beloved Habs .

15. I dont know why nobody talk about Mike McCarron, hes a big power foward that could help the Montreal Canadiens!

16. @ Mike : Don’t want to laugh here but who hasn’t seen Bo Horvat play?? Saw him play at least 12 times and the reason why I didn’t pick him is because he won’t be there at spot #25. This guy has a lot of top 10 consideration so why bother?? I’m not dreaming here, i’m trying to write a draft that could really happen. Check my first round mock draft in the next weeks, you’ll see where I think he’ll go.

    Thanks for the comment.

17. @ Alex : Not a big fan of McCarron. I think he could end up here in the second round but I wouldn’t be so thrilled about it.

    Thanks for the comment.

18. Simon I have to agree with you about Horvat but dido for Rychel , depending where you look they both should go between 10 and 20 . By the way Rychel would be a great pick for the Habs and I can t wait to see your first round mock draft .

19. @ Mike : Scouts are saying Rychel is more of a 20 to 30 pick, that’s why I think he’ll still be available and Horvat won’t be. It’s going to be published soon, I have to work on it a bit.

20. Thanks Simon to share your passion with us , Habs lovers . Being in Windsor I am very happy to welcome the Wings in our division , now we will be able to see the Habs more often at the Joe Louis Arena…

21. Great mock draft, I really liked how you highlighted historic picks. Maybe we should trade one of our 2nd round picks for two third round picks?

22. Those would be pretty good picks, but
    a) Im not so sure that bowey will be available at 36, but I really agree with the analysis of the player and the comparison to Seth Jones. I think he has the potential to be a PK Subban/Drew Doughty type player.
    b) Although Rychel would be a good pick, I think that they would be better with mantha, samuel morin or adam erne.

23. @ Johnfrodo :

    Thanks, I wanted to be a little bit different. Maybe we should trade one of our second round picks plus our first round pick to move up?? What do you think of that??

    Thanks for your comment.

24. @ Raffi :

    First off, it’s not 36, it’s 34 :P But I also think he could be gone by the time the Habs pick at 34. I do believe he could become the type of player you describe. I liked him a lot since the beginning of the season.

    Finally, regarding Mantha, i’m not a big fan of him. Some people compare him with Benoit Pouliot. I don’t like the comparison but he’s the type of player who could be invisible from time to time. I like Morin and Erne too. He was my second pick after Rychel.

    Thanks for your comment.

25. I really like the idea of moving up. Right now, the habs have too many GOOD players, and not enough GREAT players. Right now they have only have one Great plater and that is PK Subban. Galchenyuk and Pacioretty have the potential to be GREAT players but none are just yet. If you look at the top 4 teams in the playoffs, they all have more than 1 superstar. Even if Chucky and Pats become great players, they are still missing one more piece. They already have a lot of good players in the system and roster in Plekanec, Collberg, Emelin, Eller, Gallagher and Cary. How do you get a great player? In the draft. I don’t think they will get a superstar at 25 but I think they have assets that they can give up for a top 3 pick. How about a deal including Markov, Plekanec, 1st, Louis Leblanc, and maybe a 3rd or second + for the number 3 pick. That will fill the habs needs (a superstar) and the lightnings needs in a veteran defenceman who can be a very good role model for Hedman, a 2nd line center, so they can play vinny on the 3rd line or buy him out and they get a 1st round pick that in a deep draft could be a good player.

    If not, then I will have to disagree with your opinion on Mantha. Yes, he can be inconsistent at times, but a) that is something that you can learn. Skill cannot be learned. b) even if he is inconsistent, he was able to score 51 goals on Val Dor, not the strongest offensive team. Imagine how many he would score if he improved his consistency. He is exactly what the canadiens need: a big top 6 scorer. I would compare him to James Neal.

    Rychel is a good player, but you are overestimating his size. He is only 6’1 and I dont see him scoring over 30 goals.

    I also dont think they should package some of their 2nd/3rd round picks + 1st for a higher 1st. When I look at this years draft, I see it split up into different groups: 1) 1-3; 2) 4-9; 3) 10-14; 4) 15-40; 5) 41-60… I dont think that there will be that so much of a difference between group 3 and 4, but I do think that there is a big difference between groups 4 and 2 or 1.

26. @ Raffi :

    I’m all for moving up but you need a partner to dance. Plus, you need to have something to give. Plekanec on the market?? Desharnais, Leblanc, Markov, maybe Beaulieu too?? It’s probable but let’s not forget that the salary cap goes down next year. Youre’ giving a lot of money in exchange of a freebie at #3. Nobody’s going to do this.

    While I was covering the B-B Armada, I saw Mantha played a lot (Val d’Or also played B-B in the 2nd round) and I liked him but he’s not a good fit with Therrien and Bergevin. Sure he can score but I don’t like his work ethic. By the way Val d’Or had the third best offence in the Q last year.

    For Rychel, 6’1″ 200 pounds, that’s pretty decent. I’m not only looking for this, i’m also looking for skills, desire to compete, leadership, hockey IQ in the three zones, physicality and not being afraid to go in front of the net (like Holmstrom). In my opinion, he’s a better fit with the group of players the Habs have right now.

    Moving up to 4-9 is moving up in Barkov, Nichushkin, Lindholm territory and I would LOVE to have one of them here. Moving to 10-14, means Horvat or Domi, not too shabby either. It’s going to be interesting to see if Bergevin will move up but I don’t see him being able to get a pick between 1 to 7.

27. Well said but work ethic can be changed and terrien could do that

28. @ Raffi :

    Of course. Hope you’ll look at my first round mock draft, you’re going to see where I think he’ll end up.

29. I heard a lot of good things about KERBY RYCHEL and if the habs take him i will be ok with it. There a chance that someone will fall down the draft like Beaulieu did two years ago. The habs need to start to draft bigger wingers mostly right handed there small, also at the center position. They need to constrained in those areas.

30. @ James :

    If you want a big right handed winger, Valentin Zykov could be our best option. But we have to trade down for him. It’s going to be interesting to see what Bergevin will do. He has a lot of tools to make a move.

    Thanks for your comment.

31. Rychel will be picked before habs for sure dude.

32. @ John :

    We never know what’s going to happen. You can’t predict the future and neither do I…

33. Great draft! Nice blend of size and skill! I would be doing cartwheels if this is how Montreal’s draft turned out! Being from Kelowna, I have watched Madison Bowey closely and agree with you.

    I think he is underrated because he did not put up big numbers this year, but some people do not realize that he played on the 2nd PP on a deep Rockets team but was great for Canada at the U18. He reminds me a lot of PK with his offensive ability and physical play.

34. @ Wade :

    Haha!! We all want a great draft, this is mine but it’s probably not going to happen like that :P

    I really like Bowey. I think he could become one terrific top 4 D-Man in the NHL. He reminds me of P.K. too and these two could make a good one-two punch on the powerplay.

    Thanks for the comment.

35. How about J-I Diaby. 6’5″ 250 Lbs. Better offensive numbers than Morin for 2012-2013. Good skating and physical. Average hockey sense though. Could be the next Dustin Byfuglien. Quebec boy too. Let’s grab him with #55 if he is still there. I might even consider taking a flyer on him with the pick before (now that would be ballsy). He could become a real force for the Habs. Medium risk / possible high reward.

36. @ Brent :

    To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Diaby. I’d rather have Morin. He’s not as all-around as Morin but has better skills offensively, that’s for sure. You know, it’s just my take on this. It’s the beauty of the draft, I like someone, you like someone, Timmins like someone. We’ll probably never know who’s right.

    Thanks for your comment.

37. It is grate opportunity for the young talent. This year Canadian national team some new players. KERBY RYCHEL is a young central mid fielder. Hope he will be drawn attraction of the selectors.

38. By the way, nice job on your draft and I enjoyed reading it. I thought you made some good picks that are realistic. I also appreciate you replying to my first comment. Thank you. I had another thought about who to pick late in the draft. Dan Nikandrov played with Galchenyuk in Sarnia. He is almsot 6’2″ and he has decent offensive abilities. Really nice kid who played with my son in Minor midget (Markham Majors). His family is wonderful too. Both parents are Russian and they know both Yakupov’s and Alex Galchenyuk’s parents. Might be worth a look with one of our last two picks? Also I am warming up to Justin Bailey from Kitchener. If he was still there at 55 might grab him but he would probably be gone by then. I have to ssy I’d be happy if we get what you have chosen. well done!

39. I much perfer will carrier or gauthier or mantha ,kujawinski,over ryckel de-la rose ,and much perfer diaby ,morin or mueller (all 6’6″)would be over bowey and in the late round I perfer tyler hill , If your talk about size and strength will carrier is a better all round player then ryckel and if will did not have his high ankle sprain we would not be even talk about him (top 10) mamtha at 6’3″ and over 200 pound is a beast remind me of a more consistent stephan rich , and talk about a raking ball tyler hill at 6’6″ 220 plus and another player is dan nikandrov or anton slepyshev his stock keeps drop because everyone believe he’ll play in the KHL next year , there a first rounder that drop to 100 slat because of the khl

40. @ Brent :

    Thanks a lot, i’m glad that you liked it. For Nikandrov, I don’t know him that much so I guess your input on him is better than mine. He could be a good one in the last picks. Finally, Bailey. I really like the kid but I don’t think he’ll be around at 55. I have him at 45 in my top 90. But we never know!! Looking forward to this draft.

    Thanks again.

41. @ Greg :

    It’s too soon, in the first round, to pick a guy like Carrier or Kujawinski. Sure they’re big but I don’t think they’re better than Rychel. For Mantha, he’s a good goal scorer but has zero defensive talent and is invisible at times. Gauthier could be a good pick but I don’t think he’ll be available at 25.

    Regarding your picks before Bowey, not a big fan of Diaby and is not as all-around as Bowey (by far). Also not a fan of Tyler Hill. Keeps dropping and dropping in my rankings.

    We don’t need to draft a big guy just to draft a big guy. Remember Eric Daze?? Big strong guy who played like a 5’9″. Nikandrov or Slepychev could be great picks in the late rounds though.

    Thanks for your comment.

42. we all forget that will carrier was the fastest player in the Q to 20 goal ,faster the mackinnon and drouin ,and he’s has problem with a high ankle sprain ,you’re not a fan of diaby but mueller is from scouting report will be a #3 or 4 dmen in the nhl,hill with a 70th pick some scout still believe he can become a good power forward ,but he is a raking ball ,and you need a speedy big forward that likes to hit ,but I like anton slepyshev, in the last two world junior he’s looked better then girgoranko and yakupov, I like dan nikandrov because he’s big good scoring ability but mostly like with dd and patch,gally and nikandrov played two years together and with gallagher be dangerous , with de la rosa scout are split on he being a 3rd liner or a top 6 like with hill l-with a last top 6 pick montreal has

43. I would not be surprised if the habs traded plek and diaz to another late first rounder or a second and third round pick ,and to free some cap space for a clarkson or a bickel ,also in bowey I think montreal has two similar player in beaulieu and in thrower both are good skates ,good first passes and drops the gloves , montreal need a punishing d-men , tinordi may become that player ,but even his think he needs to play with more of an edge , gauthier or carrier at 25 , I believe gauthier will not be there but may some you might believe the other half of the scouts believing in de la rosa , wishful thinking , but I still remember all the write up on carrier before he got hurt during the lock out , and a lot of scouts did have him as a high first round pick

44. @ Greg :

    Don’t want to burst your bubble here but goals don’t always matter in juniors. Mantha had more goals than anyone in the Q, is he better than MacKinnon or Drouin?? We saw a lot of players score a lot of goals in juniors and having hard time to bank 10 in the big league.

    I know you really like Slepyshev or Nikandrov but you can’t take these guys with the early picks. You have to take them with the later rounds picks. Müller is a great D-Man but I don’t think he’s better than Bowey. In Bowey, I see P.K. Subban. We’re far from Beaulieu (who lacks of work ethic) or Thrower (who isn’t that good defensively).

    25, it’s too early to pick Carrier. He’s not first round material to me. With pick 36, OK, but not before that. Gauthier won’t be there at 25 and for De La Rose he’s a future top 6. A lot of scouts had Carrier in the high first round but it was a mistake in my opinion.

45. It who you’ve seen played and the scouting reports you read , half the scouting report I’ve read de la rosa as a third liner and the other has him as a top 6,but the last two u20 tourny I watch him play , I believe the third liner I read more report of carrier as a top 6 , I’m a mantha fan with pick 70 or de la rosa and I may be wrong but I don’t see bowey as a subban , and I think beaulieu has more raw talent, I think carrier is gone by 36 ok so lets agree to disagree , what do you think , I have a feeling the habs are going to trade plek and diaz for may be a late first rounder, or two later second rounder

46. @ Greg :

    First, it’s De La Rose not De La Rosa. Second, I can say the same thing for you : it’s who you’ve seen play and the reports you’ve read.

    I saw De La Rose play at the U20. What you don’t seem to understand is the kid was 17 and behind a lot of veteran from the gold medal the year before. You’re just evaluating what you want to evaluate. Look at MacKinnon, he was on the fourth line for Team Canada. Is he a third liner because of that??

    Plus, Mantha will be long gone at pick 71, so does De La Rose.

    Let’s just say you don’t see the same thing as I do…

47. I know when I saw colberg play he would play in the NHL someday you see him on the ice , de la rose remind me of a less talented Philp fosberg ,washington already gave up on him(might not be a correct statement) but their traded him , and I was not hot for him ,I wanted Gally ,and I said he would play this year in the NHL , a lot of people thought I was crazy first for picking him with my 3 pick overall and second if they did pick him he’ll play junior, a lot for people wanted fosberg. New subject you know I was talking with a long time habs fan , and he said something to me , montreal will be great again when they draft more local product ( Mike richard , corey crawford ,etc) I told him that the first french player that wasn’t automatically montreal property was gilbert perreault , he said I’m not talking about that unfair avantage montreal had ,that being from the montreal and then quebec area should be a factor, because of the attachment to the city ,it home so their play with more pride.The last stanley coup montreal won had a lot local, and then provincial product. I agree with him, i personally would like to see more local talent . with I draft so deep in locate talent I like to see montreal very aggressively going after local and provincial talent, and fix there size problem the Q has a lot of skilled big player in this years draft, that is also way I might be harder on some of this euro players ,and for me it is hard to see player like giroux, patrice bergeron ,etc play some way else and we pass on them ,but montreal always take the best player available

48. @ Greg :

    De La Rose and Filip Forsberg are two diffrent players… Forsberg is a silky smooth stick handler, with great speed. And I personally don’t think the Caps have givee up on him. They just had to trade a young to get a veteran for their playoff run (It was a bad trade BTW). For Galchenyuk, I think everybody wanted him at #3 last year. Go check our mock drafts at All Habs, everybody had him with the Habs.

    And you know, that’s the problem here. Peolple think that by drafting Quebec-born players, we will win the Stanley Cup. Every year, there are less Quebec-born impact players in this league and they’re nearly all looking the same (Mike Richards is far from being a Quebecer, BTW). I’m sick of hearing this. Wo are we kidding?? Bergevin would make a big mistake by drafting 5-6 Quebecers in this year’s draft. 2-3 it’s OK. Also, in the first round, I really don’t like the Q players at our range. Gauthier and Mantha are overrated IMO.

49. I would love for Montreal to take more local players from the Q. The only problem is that there is so much pressure on them to do well here because they are french. The canadians do not have a great french canadians on their team. I hate to say this but Leblanc has been bust in my eyes I thought he would be a 20 goal scorer and Beaulieau has not been as good as I thought he would be. Luckly the future is bright for the Canadians with french canadians like Hudon and Bournival.

50. @ Leigh :

    Totally agree with you. Leblanc had an injury last year though. I think he’ll make the team this year. But he surely need to live up to the expectations. Which didn’t happen so far.

    Thanks for your comment.

51. why are you some hard on Q players ,there are a lot Q impact player ,corsby ,letang ,st louis,crawford,giroux,bergeron,burrow,richards,etc, and why aren’t one or two of this players on the habs

52. @ Greg :

    I’m not hard, it is what it is. I happen to cover a team from the Q and the product is not as good as the OHL or the WHL.

    Crosby is not a Quebec-born player. St-Louis never played in the Q. Burrows is not an impact player. Mike Richards is not a Quebec-born player and he never played in the Q. Brad Richards played in the Q but is not a Quebec-born player either.

53. I thought I remember hockey night in canada saying mike richards was from montreal area,when he was playing for the flyer , and it stuck with me, but I just googled him ,I was wrong, marty st louis is a quebec native , and he played right here at uvm , ( still has a house in colchester)I played against him for fun a couple of times and leddy’s park in burlington,when he play for uvm ;and since the habs have been drafting globally we have not had much success , and I not saying only quebec guys , but I still believe more home talent would help, and when a draft is as rich in locale talent the habs should try to get a few and the Q is come back producing more quality player, a lot of the politics of my time has gone(the 70″s) , many outlet for quebec player to chose from now not just the Q

54. Habs recently relase their rights/cut the perfect player for french canadians.Olivier Archambault who had every thing we have complained about.He played in the Q for three years with Val d’Or Foreurs and Drummondville Voltigeurs and also played the Bulldogs for ten games this year. He was the Canadians fourth round pick in 2011. So why did Our GM let him go? I have no idea my only reason is he was not as good as the Canadians would have liked him or They already have a player like him on the farm.

55. @ Greg :

    All i’m saying is that the best choice, in the first or second round, is not always a Quebec-born player from the Q. It’s a good league but don’t let the last three Memorial Cup fool you. The main core of these teams had very few Quebecers.

    Saint-John : Galiev, Jurco, Tesink, Phillips, MacAuley, Kirkpatrick, Anthony, Beaulieu (who is not a Quebec-native).

    Shawinigan : Zlobin, Kabanov, Gormley, Ellis.

    Halifax : Frk, MacAuley, MacKinnon, Ashley, Abeltshauser.

    Not saying the Q is bad, just be careful.

56. @ Leigh :

    Let me put that in a polite way : Archambault is a bit selfish and want to take control of the offense. Some might say he’s overrated and the word is spread in the media. I’ve been covering the Armada for two years and I saw him play a lot. He’s really talented but he doesn’t want to work.

    Therrien would’ve eat him alive. It’s a good thing he’s gone and it’s maybe the best thing for him. Bergevin might have saved his career.

57. why will player like giroux ,bergeron, st louis ,crawford ,letang etc,one of this player be hab and we skip over them,I’ld like to see more locale talent ,but also Canadian content to , all the Russian Montreal drafted only markov and emilin are worth talking about, all the us player we drafted patch , gally , and mcdonagh are special and note worthy , the rest in the american league or traded , player like giroux, getzlaf , perry,etc we pass on , now I believe with beaulieu and archambault hockey is to easy never had to work at being the best,at the american league ,and the Nhl the funnel keep getting narrower so they need to learn work ethics now with archambault I believe it was a mistake to give up on him,if in the future he leads his team to a stanley cup , and wins the scoring title , then the hab management can only blame themself for it ,some exceptional player have big personality, we traded roy, chilios ,etc, there still talk of trading suddan

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