BROSSARD, Que. – The draft begins in Montreal this Thursday, with the Canadians currently in possession of the first overall selection, seven more picks before the fifth round, six picks between rounds 5 and 7, and players on the roster, future picks and perspectives to move.
With all of this in mind, CEO Kent Hughes is contemplating his best opportunity to launch his long-term plan for the organization.
He approaches it with his eyes – and his mind – wide open.
In his pre-draft meeting with the media on Monday, the general manager said all the things he would expect to hear from someone in charge. He started with: “If the draft were tonight, we would write it first of the general,” but he also refused to raise the possibility of changing the selection if the right offer arrived.
Hughes said there is such a good chance that Canadians will get the second general election in the draft that he will trade the first and not have a selection among the top 3, that there are currently more chances of grouping some. The other Montreal election in the draft to move from the 26th overall position of what is to be exchanged for the first selection, and that Canadians are open to everything and are not set in any specific plan. Everything sounded pretty generic.
But it was also genuine.
The potential of Canadians to make big, daring moves — and to take much more of the focus they already have on them as hosts in possession of the best selection — is enormous, and Hughes spoke like a man who would do anything. that.
Draft selection
Round 1: (1r, 26), Round 2: (33, 62), Round 3: (66, 75) Round 4 (127, 128), Round 5: (130), Round 6: (162), Round 7 (194th)
Potential objectives of round 1
There was nothing generic about Hughes ’response to a question about which players Canadians are considering using the best selection. He could have refused to answer, as most would have done, but he confirmed it will be one of Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky or Logan Cooley.
Wright is a brain center. It has been the consensus choice of analysts since joining the OHL as one of the few 15-year-old players in the history of the CHL who has been granted exceptional status. He came with the Kingston Frontenacs under tremendous pressure and thrived with 39 goals and 66 points in his first 58 games.
Then the world as we knew it stopped spinning due to the pandemic, forcing Wright and most of the CHL players to be left out for an entire season.
If the 6-foot, 191-pound player won detractors this season, which saw him score 32 goals and 94 points in 63 regular-season games and three goals and 11 points in 11 playoff games, worry about what he lost in development during the The 2020-21 season affected by COVID has played a considerable role.
But another reason Wright’s position on most draft tables became precarious is that both Slafkovsky and Cooley narrowed the gap in their own way.
Slafkovsky, who is 6 feet 4, 218 pounds and plays similarly, may not have lined up against the best players in the world at the Beijing Olympics in February, but he dominated against the best men available and led the tournament in goals ( 7) and points (7). He then represented Slovakia at the World Cup in May and scored three goals and nine points in eight games.
They were performances that gave credibility to the idea that Slafkovsky seems to be the most physically fit player in this draft to enter the NHL and have an immediate impact. Had they not been offset by a disappointing five-goal, 10-point season in Finland’s top men’s league, they would probably have overtaken Wright as a consensus option.
But would anyone be really surprised to see Cooley face the two players Thursday night?
The scouts we’ve played with the base suggest he has the highest offensive ceiling of the three players, and he proved it this season with 40 goals and 111 points in 75 games he played with the U.S. development team.
“I think Cooley has the advantage of being a great point-producing center and I see him as a player like (New York Islanders star) Mat Barzal,” said a senior NHL executive we spoke to two years ago. weeks.
But the same executive wondered if some habits could prevent Cooley from taking the opportunity to prove he can reach that advantage, and more people would have rated Cooley as the player most likely to go first if they weren’t there. agreement.
Still, there seems to be no doubt about the quality of the three players the Canadians consider.
As Hughes’ special advisor, and a former Tampa Bay Lightning first-round pick, Vincent Lecavalier said Monday, “They’re three different players, but they’re three very, very good players.”
Determining which one is best for Canadians will be based on much more than how they acted from September until now.
“In the end, we’re trying to predict a player’s future – where he’s currently and where he can become as an NHL player,” Hughes said. “This is really how our evaluations are done. It is not a question of finding out who is the best player at 18, but who can be the best at 22, 23, 24, so that they can help us get on the path we are on to become a team capable of winning year after year. . . ”
Hughes said it’s a decision that is made with a particular emphasis on character because, he said, “It’s probably almost harder to be the first general election in Montreal” and “We’re trying to assess his ability to cope.” kind of pressure in a consistent way “.
Canadians will take the time they need before their election ends.
“It is not a question of doubts; it’s about making sure we do all the homework, ”Hughes said when pressured not to settle just three days after the draft.“ We want to talk to all of our scouts. We’re starting to have meetings tonight and we want everyone to have a voice. Surely we have some explorers in Europe who may not have seen matches in Ontario in person. But these days, with (exploration technology) and (analysis provider) Sportlogiq, it’s easy to do all the homework. ”
Last year’s best selection: Logan Mailloux
The 6-foot 3-foot, 208-pound right-back, who was controversially ranked 31st overall by Canadians last summer after resigning from the draft because he had been charged with a crime in Sweden, played just 12 games with London OHL Knights this past season.
Mailloux served a penalty during the first half and made his debut in January with three goals and nine points before suffering a shoulder injury that ended the season.
Since then, he has spent time in Montreal, rehabilitating himself from surgery and becoming familiar with the reception of Canadians. He is expected to take part in the team’s development camp next week, although a contract with the club is anything but imminent.
“It’s not our intention to negotiate with him,” Hughes said May 31. “Logan is still in evaluation, less as a player and much more as a person and member of the community, and we will oversee him. He did everything he promised to be a better person and a better teammate and member of the London community “.
Organizational needs
It will be much easier for you to list what Canadians do not need. After one last place in the NHL, it’s hard to even put what they need in priority.
For most of three decades, they have not lacked elite powerhouses, and it is arguable that they would have both Wright and Cooley. They are also unlikely to be available through the trade unless a team comes to call with a Godfather offer for the first selection this week.
Is anyone willing to give up a powerful end / scorer? Because Canadians probably won’t have any if they don’t select Slafkovsky.
This may not seem like a big deal to some who see Josh Anderson signed to Montreal for six more seasons and Cole Caufield with potential star, but to suggest that Canadians don’t have as much need for this type of player would be. completely inaccurate.
If you were to make a list of the best prospects in Montreal, you would start with several quality defenses.
But it is an exaggeration to suggest that any of them will become a star, and Canadians do not have one to their current staff that fits the bill. They are also looking to change their best defense in Jeff Petry.
Therefore, this need could increase a lot later this week.
Oh, and then there’s what’s going on on the net.
Cayden Primeau and Jakub Dobes are prospects who have shown they have the potential to one day be NHL starters, but that day is not necessarily just around the corner and the Canadians face the draft without knowing if the superstar will has a contract or not. to occupy your network will really be in front of her never again.
As Hughes said Monday, when he has news about Carey Price’s health and future, he will convene a special press conference to address this issue exclusively.
Meanwhile, with so many choices at his disposal for Friday’s draft portion, he might want to start supplying the Canadians ’closet with goalkeepers.
Simultaneously, it is an organizational need, perhaps the most urgent, to create the maximum flexibility to sign Alex Romanov, Caufield and others who can help on the line, and Hughes will focus his energy over the next week on doing just that. This means that Petry may not be the only member of the current list to be found elsewhere.