By Bob Trask – The news around the NHL entry draft is starting to heat up with the draft lottery scheduled for May 10th. At that time, the exact order of the 1st round picks will be determined for all non-playoff teams. As the playoffs progress, the order of selection for non-playoff teams will gradually fall into place.
The Montreal Canadiens will draft anywhere from first to third with their own pick and also have a first round pick due to them from Calgary. Exactly where that Calgary pick will be depends upon how far the Flames go in the playoffs. They finished 27th overall and the pick will probably be in the range of 25 to 30.
Our own first round rankings are as follows:
- Shane Wright: center – 6’1 187
- Logan Cooley: center – 5’11 175
- Juraj Slavkofsky: left wing – 6’4 225
- Mathieu Savoie: center – 5’9 180
- Simon Nemec: right defense – 6’1 192
- Joakim Kemell: right wing – 5’11 176
- David Jiricek: right defense – 6’3 190
- Daniel Yurov: right wing – 6’1 179
- Frank Nazar: center – 5’10 174
- Brad Lambert: right wing – 6’0 179
- Jonanthan Lekkermaki: center – 5’11 172
- Connor Geekie: center – 6’4 205
- Ivan Mirsoshnichenko: left wing – 6’1 185
- Filip Mesar: center – 5’10 172
- Cutter Gauthier: left wing – 6’2 190
- Pavel Mintyukov: left defense – 6’1 192
- Denton Mateychuk: left defense – 5’11 187
- Liam Ohgren: left wing – 6’1 187
- Marco Kasper: center – 6’0 183
- Rutger McGroarty: center – 6’0 205
- Isaac Howard: left wing – 5’11 173
- Tristan Luneau: right defense – 6’2 184
- Kevin Korchinski: left wing – 6’2 185
- Seamus Casey: right defense – 5’10 161
- Jimmy Snuggerud: right wing – 6’2 185
- Ty Nelson: right defense – 5’10 196
- Nathan Gaucher: center – 6’3 207
- Noah Ostlund: center – 5’11 162
- Elias Salomonson: right defense – 6’0 172
- Alexander Perevalov: left wing – 6’0 192
- Jiri Kulich: center – 6’0 172
- Owen Pickering – left defense – 6’5 180
Canadiens pick
With their first pick in the first round, it his highly likely that Kent Hughes will pick one of the first three names on the list. Canadiens fans can look forward to Wright, Cooley or Slavkofsky being called up to the stage on draft day. Check these profiles on Elite Prospects:
Canadiens pick from Calgary
With the Calgary pick the options will be a little less clear. Nathan Gaucher and Jimmy Snuggerud are two names to keep an eye on. But the draft can be funny. Someone who is expected to go high in the draft may fall to the Canadiens the way that Cole Caufield did in his draft year. Or a player who we have ranked in the second round may catch the eye of the Habs’s scouts and be chosen in the first round. Check these profiles on Elite Prospects:
Second Round Rankings
Check back later for our 2nd round rankings. When all seven round rankings are complete, check back again for our mock draft. Of course, draft positions will change as the playoffs proceed and there are always teams that trade picks on draft day – but keep checking and compare to your own list of favourites, just for fun!
More reading…
- Playoffs’ Prediction: How to Look Foolish Twice by JD Lagrange
- Phillip Danault: In Hindsight by JD Lagrange
- Realistic Expectations – Forwards Group by Bob Trask