That said, while no one is surprised to learn this, it's a different story when it comes to the young prospect who will emerge in second place.
Even before the start of the current season, many experts had identified the young American Cole Eiserman to be the second-best prospect behind Celebrini.
Many scouts are already comparing him to Auston Matthews, particularly in terms of his shooting, but according to what is reported by the site Danslescoulisses.com, it seems that Eiserman is no longer in the race to be the second player selected in the 2024 draft.
During the airing of the episode of The Sick Podcast, which was a mid-season special regarding the top prospects for the next draft, Grant McCagg, a former scout for the Canadiens, surprised everyone by placing Cole Eiserman as the 12th best prospect of the 2024 class.
And another prospect has just put him 13th!
According to McCagg, the reason for his drop is his play away from the puck.
After all, he is a natural goal scorer like Auston Matthews.
So far this season, Eiserman has scored an impressive total of 54 goals in 51 games with the team from the American under-18 development program, but seeing him drop like this mid-season can be concerning.
Still, 54 goals in 51 games is incredible!
It is common to see some prospects fall like this during the season, but there is still a lot of hockey left to play by then.
By the way, without surprise, it's Macklin Celebrini who tops Grant McCagg's list, followed by left winger Ivan Demidov, whom some say is better than Matvei Michkov, the great center Cayden Lindstrom, as well as defenders Anton Silayev and Zayne Parekh.
Imagine if the Canadiens manage to get Cole Eiserman with the 7th or 8th overall pick! That would be huge!
You can watch the full episode below.
POLL | ||
FEVRIER 17 | 526 ANSWERS A future star player acquired by the Montreal Canadiens? A huge home run for Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton if they draft Cole Eiserman Should the Canadiens take a chance on Cole Eiserman if he's still available? | ||
Yes | 381 | 72.4 % |
No | 145 | 27.6 % |
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