Canadiens prospect rankings under the microscope: Corey Pronman defends himself

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens were so aggrieved by Corey Pronmans recent NHL Pipeline Rankings that they hired Arpon Basu to take a deposition from Pronman in advance of formal legal proceedings seeking compensation for the harm he has done to the fan base.

Basu, with no legal background whatsoever, agreed.

Advertisement Here are the main points of contention Basus clients have with Pronmans assessments.

Basu : Mr.

Pronman, you listed Lane Hutson s puck skills as being NHL average, and my clients wanted me to specifically ask you if you are legally blind.

I mean, did you see this over the weekend? passe de fouuuu so much sauce #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/qTkAbtvu6g Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) September 21, 2024 Is that NHL average? I understand the bar for being NHL average is quite high, and that you take great pains to always remind your readers that NHL average is a compliment, but come on.

Look at that.

What are you talking about? Pronman : There are a couple of times a year when I wonder if I should take the tool grades out completely, because I think it adds a lot to the work but sometimes people get too hyper-focused on stuff.

Like that play for example: You can argue its the soft hands that lead to Hutson making the play.

I could also very reasonably argue its an elite brain that lets him see the play develop.

Most NHL players can make an accurate, rink-length flip pass, but the timing, vision and execution are the distinct qualities.

The brain is always whats distinguished Hutson for me.

He has the crafty one-on-one hands to break ankles for sure when he walks the blue line, but the patience, poise and vision is how I see him create offense.

Ultimately the latter part is what it comes down to.

I think Hutson has a certain degree of offensive ability.

Its reflected in the hands, IQ and shot grades.

You can move the hands grade up a notch and the IQ grade down a notch if it makes you feel better.

Ultimately, I see an excellent offensive player, but one who may stop short of Adam Fox -level production, closer to a Samuel Girard .

If Im wrong, and I undersold the offensive grades, he could approach Fox.

I gave Fox NHL-average hands too along with a high-end brain, and that was off.

I also gave a similar grade structure to Ty Smith and Adam Boqvist .

Time will tell which end of the spectrum Hutson ends at.

Advertisement Basu: Im clearly not seeing the same puck skills you are, but we can move on.

You list Ivan Demidov at No.

2 in the Canadiens pipeline behind Juraj Slafkovsky and rank his skating as below NHL average.

When I spoke to Hutson about Demidov at the draft in Las Vegas, the first thing he mentioned was his skating.

Are you claiming to know more about skating than Lane Hutson? When evaluating skating, do you only look at straight-line speed or do you also include degree of difficulty in edge work and lateral movement? And if you do look at those other elements, how can you say Demidovs skating is below NHL average? Pronman : Well, I know a bunch of NHL scouts who agree with me.

I would say more NHL scouts Ive discussed this with think his skating is an issue than think its a strength.

So whos to say who is right? I think the issue is Demidov is a powerful skater, but a structurally awkward one.

If his knees didnt constantly bend inwards when hes moving, he would have the lower-body natural quickness to be an NHL average skater or better.

I dont mind it when guys use the 10-2 technique, but when its the default mechanism its a concern.

I thought the same thing with Brandt Clarke when he was coming up, and its a reason he fell a bit in the draft.

I think most scouts would say Demidovs edge work is excellent, and on certain shifts his skating is an asset, but there are shifts where his technique will lead to issues in the NHL unless he cleans it up.

Sometimes guys do, sometimes they dont.

I thought Tyson Foerster was a structural disaster with his skating when Philadelphia took him in the first round, but hes found a way to clean it up.

Basu : Uhhh, OK.

Fine.

You have noted that while the Canadiens have a deep group of prospects on defense, they could still use a clear No.

1 defenseman.

In your 2023 NHL Draft rankings , you said David Reinbacher is a potential top-pair, all-situations NHL defenseman.

Has one difficult season changed your view of this player that drastically? And furthermore, do you not see a possibility that one of the many young defensemen in the pipeline could eventually become a No.

1? Advertisement Pronman : In his draft season I projected him as a No.

2 defenseman, and now I see a 3/4.

I wouldnt call that a drastic change, but that could depend on your perspective.

I thought Reinbacher in his draft year showed offense in a big body who could move, but importantly I thought he played with bite.

He was a very good defender versus men.

I thought the compete was lacking in his game last season in Switzerland, even though he looked more promising in the AHL.

If he can regain that motor I would probably shift his grade back to where it was in his draft season.

In terms of any of them becoming a No.

1, sure, it could happen.

It could be Reinbacher, or Hutson, or Kaiden Guhle .

I dont think thats the likeliest outcome for any of them, but I could, and likely will, miss.

We miss all the time on players, both upwards and downwards.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, thought Adam Fox as a teenager was going to win the Norris Trophy.

It doesnt matter if you liked the player a lot, you still missed upwards on him.

So yes, I could see a scenario where that plays out.

I mean, Reinbacher arguably outplayed Roman Josi at the same age in the NLA.

He doesnt have the elite mobility Josi has, but its an argument in his favor.

Basu : OK, that actually makes sense.

Moving on, you list Joshua Roy at No.

14 in the Canadiens pipeline and say he is projected to play NHL games, when he has already played NHL games and looks to be in line to start the season in Montreal in a third-line role at age 21.

You also listed Roys hockey sense at NHL average when that appears to be one of his strengths? Again, are you legally blind? Pronman : Well, projected to play NHL games does mean I think you will play in the NHL, it doesnt mean one game.

I also use the projections i.e., that one, middle of the lineup, top of the lineup, etc.

to reflect an average NHL team.

Objectively speaking, Montreal is a below-average NHL team.

Advertisement Kudos to Roy for putting himself in this position after being a fifth-round pick.

Hes improved his motor and consistency over the years.

Unless his offense is just lights-out good, like a consistent 50-60+ point type, I have skepticism on a guy his size with subpar skating having a 500+ game NHL career.

I dont view his offensive game of that caliber.

I think its very good, but if you look at what it takes for me to grade a players skill and sense as above NHL average, its an extremely high bar.

As you mentioned earlier, if I say NHL average, it means its a positive, it means I think he can make NHL plays.

He feels like the kind of guy a team is looking to upgrade on in their middle six when theyre trying to actually win that season.

Basu : Thank you, Mr.

Pronman.

I will present these answers to my clients.

I doubt they will be very impressed.

We will see you in court.

(Photo of Lane Hutson: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.