Leading up to the Draft:
Well, the 2023 NHL entry draft has come and gone. A lot of buzz surrounded the draft for the
Montreal Canadiens who owned the 5th overall pick plus ten others. Many questions were
floating around the Habs brass entering into Wednesday’s first round.
Would they keep the 5th OA pick or try to trade up, or trade down?
Would they keep all the rest of their picks?
Would they acquire any other picks?
On Tuesday, June 27, Montreal used its second 1st round pick (31st OA) and their second round
pick (37th OA) in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche to acquire Alex Newhook. He was
drafted one pick after Canadiens’ Cole Caufield in 2019.
Newhook comes to the Habs looking for some redemption. Like Kirby Dach in Chicago, he
didn’t pan out too well in Colorado, only posting 66 points (27 goals, 39 assists) in 159 games.
And also like Dach, the Habs are hoping Newhook will find his home with the bleu, blanc, et
rouge and start producing at a higher level. It will be interesting to see how his first year goes
with the club.
The First Round:
The first round of the draft began as expected…Connor Bedard to the Chicago Blackhawks. As
if anyone was surprised. The Ducks, however, did switch things up by taking Leo Carlsson
instead of the anticipated Adam Fantilli. Fantilli didn’t have to wait long as he was taken next by
the Columbus Blue Jackets. San Jose, as expected, drafted Will Smith and all the eyes turned to
the Montreal Canadiens table to see what they were going to do.
No one was talking on the phones. No one was rushing over to the table. It seemed as if Montreal
was going to keep their 5th OA pick. Were they going to draft Michkov? Or did Kent Hughes
have something else up his sleeve?
Carey Price, the Habs last 5th OA pick in the 2005 draft, walked up to the mic and announced
their draft pick. Well…he tried to at least. Honestly, one can’t help but feel bad for Carey Price.
If you haven’t seen it, you can find the video anywhere online. Price also laughed about it
himself later on his Twitter and Facebook feeds.
Boy that was embarrassing. Sorry David….. Reinbacher. 🤦🏻♂️😅
— Carey Price (@CP0031) June 29, 2023
David………Reinbacher is the newest Hab!
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and even some old morse code machines started blowing
up with messages from Habs fans weighing in on the pick. Many of them wanted Michkov as he
was expected to be a dynamic scorer and player. Honestly, only time will tell. It is easy to think
he will be the better player the night of the draft, but no one can really say until they are well into
their NHL careers.
Steve Dangle, on his SDPN channel, did comment saying that the Habs are going to
be extremely good in a couple years. As much as the Habs fandom seems to be against the pick,
those on the outside seem to think this was a smart move.
Imagine, in five years, this as the Habs D.
Hutson – Reinbacher
Guhle – Mailloux
Harris – Xhekaj
It probably won’t be exactly this as most of them will still be quite young and many teams like to
have veteran defensemen. Still, after years of being in flux, the defense is starting to come
together. Remember, a strong defense helps your goaltending, which helps you win games. And
yes, the Habs still have to score. That is what makes this D core so dangerous. They can pad the
stats!
The Rest of the Draft:
Goalies:
Since the Habs traded the 31st and 37th OA, their next pick wasn’t until 69th. Here, they selected
Jacob Fowler – an American goalie. He impressed this past season with a 27-9-4 record, .921
save% and 2.28 GAA. In the playoffs, he led his USHL team to winning the Clark Cup with a
8-1 record, .952 save% and 1.36 GAA. With Monty and Allen between the pipes and Primeau on
the fringes, Fowler has the potential to usurp them all and become the heir apparent of Carey
Price. However, it is hard to say right now. Only time will tell. Especially since the Habs also
took Quentin Miller at 128th and Yevgeni Volokhin at 144th. The crease is crowded in Montreal.
Though, that is a good problem to have.
If you haven’t already, check out Jacob Fowler’s interview. It is worth the read.
Defense:
The Habs drafted two more defensemen after Reinbacher. Bogdan Konyushov at 110th and Luke
Mittelstadt – younger brother of Buffalo Sabre Casey Mittelstadt – at 197th. It is not likely either
of these will make the Habs with the amount of talent ahead of them. This is not to say they
won’t make the NHL. They both have the potential to do so; just likely not with the Habs.
Forwards:
Obviously the rest of the Hab’s draft selections were forwards. Florian Xhekaj – younger brother
of fan favorite Arber Xhekaj – was taken 101st. Many think this was a reach as he could have
been drafted later. Some say he probably won’t make the NHL. Should we really bet against
another Xhekaj? Arber wasn’t drafted and now teams are kicking themselves. Out of the three
forwards selected, he has the best chance at making the big club in a few years. Sam Harris was
taken 133rd and Filip Eriksson at 165th. Harris could push for a spot as he did lead his USHL
team in points. However, with the Habs pipeline of forward prospects, he’d have to truly shine.
Overall, it was a decent draft for the Montreal Canadiens. Not as good as last year, but not as bad
as some others. I think a C+ is a fair grade with the potential to go higher if Fowler and
Reinbacher become superstars and lower if they don’t.