The prayers of Canadiens fans were heard. CH will have the first choice in the next draft of the National Hockey League (NHL) which will take place on July 7 and 8 in Montreal.
The Habs had a lucky hand in the lottery held on Tuesday night to decide between the first three draft picks.
The New Jersey Devils will pick 2nd overall, and the Arizona Coyotes 3rd.
Logic is respected for most teams, except for the Devils who improved their condition, at the expense of the Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken.
Finishing 32nd and final place in the standings, CH had a 25.5% chance of being the first pick.
It has been more than 40 years since Montreal had this opportunity.
The general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Kent Hughes, was pleased to get the first choice, but he did not hide at the press conference that followed the lottery that it was a situation quite special to live in.
It was exciting for us, he recalled. But we are waiting for something over which we have no control, it makes us more anxious, but also very excited.
This will be the first repechage for DG, who replaced Marc Bergevin during the season. He sees the draft as an important step in the ability to: put the plan for the team to return to the playoffs.
Many are hoping that top North American prospect, Ontario’s Shane Wright, will be the first draft pick.
Montreal could also get their hands on Finn and left winger Juraj Slafkovsky, considered the best international player by the NHL scouting office, or the Americans Logan Cooley and Cutter Gauthier.
Kent Hughes didn’t want to give any hints about the Canadian favorite, but he nonetheless stressed that we should see more than just talent on the ice.
It’s important to draft talented players, but also have players with character, and leaders, according to DG. It is important to build a team that is capable of winning in the long run.
The Canadiens got another first-round pick in July when they traded Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames in February.
In the 2nd round, CH will be able to pick twice since the Edmonton Oilers gave up on an option to replace Brett Kulak. If the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup Finals, the selection will be postponed to 2023.
In the third round CH had three options, including one earned when Jesperi Kotkaniemi accepted the Carolina Hurricanes ’hostile offer.
The Canadian’s selection in the 2021 draft caused a lot of ink to flow, but unfortunately not for the skills of the selected player.
CH had the 31st choice in the first round and set their sights on Logan Mailloux, a player convicted of a sexual crime in Sweden and asked teams not to draft him. The controversy has grown to such an extent that team owner Geoff Molson had to apologize on behalf of his organization a few days later.
Source: Radio-Canada
