I like Catton but I think Montreal’s top target will be Lindstrom if he’s available and they stay at 5. But I’d be happy with either.
moutardebaseball
I hope so!
Yabba_dabba_dooooo
I like him. Certainly not going to be upset if we pick him. I know people are wary of his size, but after watching Caufield pick up the phhsicality this year I’m not too worried.
burgrluv
Lindstrom>Catton>Eisermen imo
Professional_Mode804
Presuming Lindstrom and Demidov are gone I think he’d be a great pick. I think either him, Iginla or Parekh would all be good choices. I’m not sure who else would be on management’s radar but I trust them to make the right choice.
Longshanks123
I know everyone loves this kid, but small forwards who aren’t great skaters putting up big numbers in juniors tend to slide out of the top 10. If we’re picking 5, I’d practically guarantee we’re not taking him. At 7, it’s a slight maybe but probably they go with someone else.
Phillakai
Im on the Iginla hype train
diet_coke_addiction
The only player I desperately want us to draft is 6’7″ Miroslav Satan Jr, only because there was a glitch in one of my old NHL games in which my full lineup became Satan (Sr.).
FakeCrash
Catton’s comments about how he studies weaknesses in opposing goaltenders and watches tape of the top players on the opposing team kind of confirm what I expected. Very smart kid with a lot of drive. His improvement compared to last year also shows this. Seems like a perfect match IMO…
Also, it’s crazy to me that he’s called small. The way he’s talked about, you’d think he’s 5’9″. He is quite light, but I’m confident he can bulk up through the years. Size and weight are important factors, and I don’t discount them, but the “weighting” (heh) on that one factor vs other attributes remains so exaggerated. As long as your team isn’t all dwarfs, talent trumps everything else.
molemanmorning32
When would we expect to see him play for the habs?
Draconaur
There’s a stupid part of me that wants us to draft Catton and then Mews later, just for the memes.
eriverside
What, no one else making ritual sacrifices to win the lottery?
kozed
He’s the forward with the highest pure offensive upside after Celebrini. (yes, I’m aware of Demidov’s existence, but I doubt his game translates 5v5 at a higher pace with more agressive checking).
Catton was a 1-man show on a Spokane team depleted of talent. Everything ran through him, and he was always the main focus of the opponents’ defense.
Catton’s skillset allowed him to keep producing, because he has the brain, skills, skating & moves to manipulate entire defenses and create time & space out of nothing for himself or linemates. That’s what Demidov lacks.
In that sense, Catton is much more comparable to Michkov than Demidov is.
Lindstrom is only comparable in overall quality to Catton if one is willing to sacrifice offensive generation because they value size and what size can allow a player — who also has good skills, like Lindstrom — to do.
Lindstrom will be hard to contain at the NHL level, but his average vision and mental quickness will still cap his offensive production. One has to understand that trade-off when picking him.
The issues teams drafting high might have with Catton are embodied by Marner right now, or Panarin last year. How effective will Catton be when the NHL playoffs rolls around and everybody starts hitting twice as often as in the regular season? Will he still be able to find space and time, drive a line, be a productive offensive generator; or will he be mostly kept on the perimeter, in a harmless spot?
Catton regularly went into traffic in the WHL. Wasn’t shy to drive inside and shoot with 2, 3 guys in his face. But that was WHL defenses. NHL is a whole different ballgame, and being *willing* and being *able* are two different things.
Kotkaniemint
Our 2 “best value” picks in recent history are both guys that only reached our pick due to size (Caufield and Hutson). If Catton was 3 inches taller then you could be guaranteed he’d go top 3 this draft.
If they see him as BPA then I hope they take him without hesitation and work with him to bulk up over the summer.
Cold-Philosopher-521
So, by what I read here, if the habs are picking second because of the lottery, you guys prefer catton and lidstrom over demidov?
FlowShredder
One thing that is never mentioned about Catton is he’s a workhorse.
He plays tirelessly for 25+ minutes every games every night.
IcyChard4
He’s my #1 guy after Celebrini and Demidov. I hope the Habs pick him. This kid’s an offensive dynamo IMO.
NinjaGoalie97
Yes please
KantanaBrigantei
Catton looks like a great prospect. I’d be happy with this pick, but I’m so easily swayed when it comes to prospects.
You could upload a curated highlights post about the 50th overall prospect, and I’d be all in.
19 Comments
I like Catton but I think Montreal’s top target will be Lindstrom if he’s available and they stay at 5. But I’d be happy with either.
I hope so!
I like him. Certainly not going to be upset if we pick him. I know people are wary of his size, but after watching Caufield pick up the phhsicality this year I’m not too worried.
Lindstrom>Catton>Eisermen imo
Presuming Lindstrom and Demidov are gone I think he’d be a great pick. I think either him, Iginla or Parekh would all be good choices. I’m not sure who else would be on management’s radar but I trust them to make the right choice.
I know everyone loves this kid, but small forwards who aren’t great skaters putting up big numbers in juniors tend to slide out of the top 10. If we’re picking 5, I’d practically guarantee we’re not taking him. At 7, it’s a slight maybe but probably they go with someone else.
Im on the Iginla hype train
The only player I desperately want us to draft is 6’7″ Miroslav Satan Jr, only because there was a glitch in one of my old NHL games in which my full lineup became Satan (Sr.).
Catton’s comments about how he studies weaknesses in opposing goaltenders and watches tape of the top players on the opposing team kind of confirm what I expected. Very smart kid with a lot of drive. His improvement compared to last year also shows this. Seems like a perfect match IMO…
Also, it’s crazy to me that he’s called small. The way he’s talked about, you’d think he’s 5’9″. He is quite light, but I’m confident he can bulk up through the years. Size and weight are important factors, and I don’t discount them, but the “weighting” (heh) on that one factor vs other attributes remains so exaggerated. As long as your team isn’t all dwarfs, talent trumps everything else.
When would we expect to see him play for the habs?
There’s a stupid part of me that wants us to draft Catton and then Mews later, just for the memes.
What, no one else making ritual sacrifices to win the lottery?
He’s the forward with the highest pure offensive upside after Celebrini. (yes, I’m aware of Demidov’s existence, but I doubt his game translates 5v5 at a higher pace with more agressive checking).
Catton was a 1-man show on a Spokane team depleted of talent. Everything ran through him, and he was always the main focus of the opponents’ defense.
Catton’s skillset allowed him to keep producing, because he has the brain, skills, skating & moves to manipulate entire defenses and create time & space out of nothing for himself or linemates. That’s what Demidov lacks.
In that sense, Catton is much more comparable to Michkov than Demidov is.
Lindstrom is only comparable in overall quality to Catton if one is willing to sacrifice offensive generation because they value size and what size can allow a player — who also has good skills, like Lindstrom — to do.
Lindstrom will be hard to contain at the NHL level, but his average vision and mental quickness will still cap his offensive production. One has to understand that trade-off when picking him.
The issues teams drafting high might have with Catton are embodied by Marner right now, or Panarin last year. How effective will Catton be when the NHL playoffs rolls around and everybody starts hitting twice as often as in the regular season? Will he still be able to find space and time, drive a line, be a productive offensive generator; or will he be mostly kept on the perimeter, in a harmless spot?
Catton regularly went into traffic in the WHL. Wasn’t shy to drive inside and shoot with 2, 3 guys in his face. But that was WHL defenses. NHL is a whole different ballgame, and being *willing* and being *able* are two different things.
Our 2 “best value” picks in recent history are both guys that only reached our pick due to size (Caufield and Hutson). If Catton was 3 inches taller then you could be guaranteed he’d go top 3 this draft.
If they see him as BPA then I hope they take him without hesitation and work with him to bulk up over the summer.
So, by what I read here, if the habs are picking second because of the lottery, you guys prefer catton and lidstrom over demidov?
One thing that is never mentioned about Catton is he’s a workhorse.
He plays tirelessly for 25+ minutes every games every night.
He’s my #1 guy after Celebrini and Demidov. I hope the Habs pick him. This kid’s an offensive dynamo IMO.
Yes please
Catton looks like a great prospect. I’d be happy with this pick, but I’m so easily swayed when it comes to prospects.
You could upload a curated highlights post about the 50th overall prospect, and I’d be all in.