The NHL Draft is finally here, and so much is going on around the NHL, but more specifically, the Montreal Canadiens, who are hosting the draft for the first time since 2009 and are picking 1st overall also since 1980, when they took Doug Wickenheiser with the pick. With the draft being back where it belongs, expect something miraculous and unforgettable from the Habs presentation wise, because no one does it better in the NHL than them. Although, that is not what people are most looking forward to, it is who will the Habs select with the #1 overall pick. Before we get into the specifics of that, let’s dive into what’s going on.
There has been many reports out there that the Habs are looking to make a splash at the draft, specifically acquiring another top 10 pick. It’s been a rollercoaster of rumors of which pick they will attempt to acquire, whether its New Jersey with the 2nd overall pick, Philadelphia at #5 or Ottawa at #7. Ottawa at #7 seems to be gaining a bit more steam, with them being interested in trading for an impact player that can help them right now. Well, some habs players are potentially on the chopping block, players with big contracts, like Josh Anderson, Christian Dvorak, Mike Hoffman to name a few. Josh Anderson seems to have the most value of the 3 players, but Habs General Manager Kent Hughes says it would a significant offer for them to part ways with Anderson. If they do obtain a top 10 pick, I’d expect either Jonathan Lekkerimaki of Sweden or one of the defensemen Nemec or Jiricek to be selected with their 2nd choice of the night.
It’s very hard to predict what the Canadiens will do at #1, when they’re keeping everything tightly vested. A 2 way player in Shane Wright, a powerful bulldog in Juraj Slafkofsky and a skillful Logan Cooley are the 3 being seriously considered with the top pick, but they also could go off the board, maybe defencemen Simon Nemec or David Jiricek, but that is unlikely to happen, but you never know. All of them are very different players that can add to an already stacked prospect pipeline. Kent Hughes has said that he wants to draft the player that will be the best player at 22, 23, 24 years old, so projecting these players right now is tough, which is why due dilligence is being conducted on all 3 players so they can make the best decision for the team and franchise moving forward.
In my opinion, I think they will take American centre Logan Cooley. He’s an offensive dynamo with a motor to match, and at 5’11”, 180lbs, he plays a much bigger game than his size. His comparable for me is Patrick Kane, not only because he said it himself, but he plays a very similar style to Kane. His defence needs to be worked on, but that can be improved, because in hockey, it’s better to already have your offensive game rounded out and defence can be improved upon, and with Cooley and his soft hands and passing ability, he has the potential to improve his defensive game overtime and become possibly the best player of this draft in 4 years, but only time will tell.
It’s going to be a great night at the Bell Centre, and hopefully Kent Hughes will come out swinging for the fences and give the fans something to cheer and get excited about!
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