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The Habs entered the draft with 11 picks, but once all was said and done, they had chosen 8 players as follows: 16th: Kaiden Guhle – D- Prince Albert Raiders – WHL 47th: Luke Tuch – LW – US National Team Development Program/Boston University 48th: Jan Mysak – C – Hamilton Bulldogs - OHL 102nd: Jack Smith – C- St. Cloud Cathedral High School 109th: Blake Biondi – Hermantown High School 124th: Sean Farrell – C- Chicago Steel, USHL 136th: Jakub Dobes – G – Omaha Lancers, USHL 171st: Alexander Gordin – RW – Neva St.Petersburgh, MHL
During the draft, they moved pick 57th, 98th and 187th and you can hardly blame them since there’s a limit to how many prospects a team can sign in any case. What jumped to many fans’ attention though is the fact that once more, the Canadiens didn’t draft a single player from the QJMHL or a single Quebecer. The draft class includes 4 Americans, 2 Czechs, one Canadian and one Russian. To me, that’s just fine. I firmly believe that a team must draft the best player available unless they have a pressing need at a certain position and they then must draft the best player at that position (think Kotkaniemi taken 3rd overall at the 2018 draft).
RDS’ Stéphane Leroux reports that since 2014, the Bergevin and Timmins tandem has drafted 29 picks in the first 4 rounds and not a single one of those came from the QJMHL. Yes, there was a time when the Canadiens won plenty of cups with a lot of Quebec born players in the line-up, but let’s not forget that for a good long while, they had the priority to draft those Quebecers. Those days are now long gone. After a long day on the draft call (well, I can hardly say floor this year right?), Timmins answered questions from the media and it was all too obvious that he has had it with being asked why he doesn’t select more Quebecers or more players from the Q. As per usual, he gave his standard answer that they compile a draft list and they stick to it. When it’s their turn to pick, whoever is the higher player left on the list is picked and that’s that. But when a journalist asked: “Ok, well, are there any Quebec players on that list?…, you could hear Timmins’ displeasure in the way he reacted and he replied: “What kind of a question’s that?!? I don’t need to answer that! Of course there was……
He did give some insight on the picks that were made though, considering how stacked the Habs prospect cupboard is, selecting a lot of American prospects helps as it allows them to have control over them for an extra year (since NCAA players cannot be signed to professional contracts). Of Sean Farrell, the 124th player picked, he said that he sees a lot of Gallagher like qualities, in that he will not be denied, he’s a hard worker and has a lot of drive, that’s a pretty good endorsement to give. As for their 2nd pick, Luke Tuch, he mentioned that a lot of teams were trying to move up to grab him. When he was asked what he made of the fact that Tuch mentioned he played like Jaime Benn, he kind of laughed saying that prospects always like to compare themselves to the best players but he wouldn’t put too much stock into that. He then added that he had an excellent role model at home with his brother Alex Tuch. As for Alexander Gordin, he said that he is a pure sniper and that he’s got a good shot at making the World Junior Championship and we’d hopefully get to see him there.
As for the prospects themselves, here are some of the interesting things they had to say:
Kaiden Guhle: I’m a physical two-way defenseman and I’m really good at skating and I like to join the rush. My competitiveness means that I play with kind of a mean streak and I’m confident that my play will translate well at the NHL level. I’d say I’m almost ready for the pros, a couple more season of junior hockey and hopefully I can make the jump in the NHL.
Sean Farrell: I see myself as a playmaker that can help my teammates be better, I play a 200-foot game, I’m good at both ends of the ice and I’m responsible defensively. I’ll be spending the next couple of years at Harvard, becoming faster and getting bigger and stronger to compete with NCAA players and then the pros. I grew up a Boston Bruins fan but being drafter by an original 6 team is such a blessing, Montreal is a great city.
Jan Mysak: Moving to the OHL was the right decision, it was a hard decision, but it was the best I’ve ever made. First two weeks were tough as it was a whole new world for me, but everyone helped me and I felt like home. I don’t know Plekanec personally, I played against him in the Czech league and I played the faceoff against him and he’s really good at them. I can play any forward position, I’m a good offensive player, I can score, and I can find my teammates as well. I know I’ve got to be stronger though. I was quarantined twice because of Covid this summer after being in contact with people who had it, but I never caught it myself.
✨ ð‚ð‹ð€ð’ð’ ðŽð… ðŸðŸŽðŸðŸŽ ✨ pic.twitter.com/lVqTZsGIzQ
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 7, 2020
Now that the draft is in the books, Bergevin got back to work this morning signing defenseman Noah Julseen to a one-year deal which will pay him $700 000 in the NHL and $125 000 in the AHL. It’s worth noting that should the Habs decide to send him down to the NHL he will have to clear waivers.
On the eve of free agency, the Canadiens currently have 10.9 M in projected cap space and have yet to sign the following players: Josh Anderson, Victor Mete, Xavier Ouellet and Charles Hudon (since they did make him a qualifying offer). Sorting out Anderson’s contract before free agency opened would have been ideal as it’s the only one that we can expect to be a “big… contract. It won’t be huge but it will still have an impact on the cap. Personally, I do not see the Canadiens signing a big name free agent tomorrow even if Dreger reported today that the Habs would be amongst the 3 teams which Hall is considering alongside Columbus and Nashville. I just think that when it comes to big free agents, the Canadiens are always a bridesmaid and never a bride… Historically, they struggle to sign the big fish, until said fish is past its best before date see Danny Brière or Kovalchuk for instance. There are rumours out there that Taylor Hall might be willing to accept a short-term deal with a very high AVV, but if you sign him to such a deal, you really have to hope that your team is ready to win now. Are the Habs there yet? Are Suzuki and Kotkaniemi mature enough to take them to the promise land? I’m just not sure they are…not yet anyways.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect the Habs to just sit on their hands while everyone else shops until they drop, but I think we’re more likely to see some depth signings, especially since we don’t know how long they’ll be able to lock-up Anderson for. Besides, Bergevin has said time and time again that the way you build a team is through the draft and that a lot of mistakes are made on July 1st (or October 9th this year) – Alzner anyone? He’s also said this year that he has to be careful money wise has he has a lot of core players to extend at the end of the season. He’s sorted out the Petry situation but Gallagher and Danault have yet to re-up…I don’t see him letting either of them walk at the end of their current deal. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tatar get traded before his deal expires. As for tomorrow though, I can see Bergevin signing someone like Wayne Simmonds for depth up front in the hope that he can find some of his touch back, it was only 3 seasons ago that he put up 31 goals and well, the Canadiens need some scoring. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him try to bring back Kovalchuk either, even though I doubt he can be effective in a compressed season.
What about you? What’s your call? What will happen tommorrow?
Tomorrow on free agent frenzy day, the Habs will.... #gohabsgo thoughts @RealRGM81 @roy996633 @learscove @robertlouis33 @mariannelaurens @NickL2500 @chile_pepper @marc_badgus1972 @woumaxx @TheEagleDares ? And comment who’s on your wish list please :) what say you Habs fans?
— Karine Hains (@KarineGHG) October 8, 2020