From notable killer picks like Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky to the wait-and-see, will-they-ever-play-professional-hockey selections, the Montreal Canadiens head into the team’s fourth NHL Entry Draft of the Kent Hughes/Jeff Gorton era Friday night at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.
This story will be updated throughout the draft.
The team decided to “rebuild” (and make a documentary series about it), and it seems to have paid off when they made the playoffs last season.
Choose from the following cliche questions before heading into the draft:
- What are the Habs’ next steps?
- What holes need to be filled?
- Are there any late-round hidden gems?
- What suit looks best under a new hockey sweater?
Gorton said on Thursday that there are fewer “sellers” for trades.
However, the Habs made a big trade on Friday with the New York Islanders, who sent defenceman Noah Dobson to the Habs for the Canadiens’ two first-round picks.
Since the Habs rebuild started, the two-headed top of the team has made some solid picks and decent trades.
2025 draft:
The Canadiens swapped both first-round picks for defenceman Noah Dobson, suggesting that Hughes and Gorton are done rebuilding and want to compete for a second playoff spot.
On the second day of the draft, the Habs traded their 41st and 49th picks for the Carolina Hurricanes’ 34th pick and 189th picks.
Here are the Habs’ picks through the weekend:
| Round, Pick | Player |
|---|---|
| 2, 34 | Alexander Zharovsky, RW |
| 3, 69 | Hayden Paupanekis, C |
| 3, 81 | Bryce Pickford, D |
| 3, 82 | Arseni Radkov, G |
| 4, 113 | John Mooney, C |
| 5, 145 | Alexis Cournoyer, G |
| 6, 177 | Carlos Handel, D |
| 6, 189 | Andrew MacNiel, D |
| 7, 209 | Maxon Vig, D |
Previous drafts
Here is a brief history of the three previous drafts in the HughTon era.
2022 draft:
In Hughes’s first draft, he nailed two of the most important Habs’ acquisitions of recent years.
Hughes went against conventional wisdom and nabbed Juraj “Dino” Slafkovsky with the number one pick instead of Shane Wright, who was rumoured to be the top choice.
Slavkovsky has proven himself as a capable and promising player, while Wright has struggled to make a name for himself with the Seattle Kraken.
With the 62nd overall pick, Hughes grabbed 2024-25 Rookie of the Year Lane Hutson.
Hutson was a revelation this year and won the Calder Memorial Trophy.
Hughes also traded the 13th and 66th picks for Kirby Dach, who has proven he has talent, but also that he can’t seem to stay on the ice.
2023 draft:
Hughes and Gorton’s second draft will go down as a wait-and-see deal with top pick David Reinbacher, goalie Jacob Fowler and lesser Xhekaj, Florian Xhekaj, all failing to make the Habs’ roster consistently.
Potential returns have yet to be cashed in.
However, the two second-round picks traded for Alex Newhook went well.
“Twohook” had 34 points (15 goals and 19 assists) in 2023-24 and 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 2024-25.
He also had a goal and an assist in five playoff games against Washington.
2024 draft:
Enter Demigod.
Ivan Demidov’s pick at number five had a bunch of Habs fans squirming with joy.
That excitement graduated to near-delusional cackling laughter at the moon levels when he arrived in April.
Just seven games into his career, and no. 93 has got fans hoping for the next Pavel Bure and first cup since ‘93.
The sentimental pick at 70 was also interesting that year, as Hughes and the braintrust went with former captain Saku Koivu’s son Aatos Koivu.
The 19-year-old Koivu remains in Finland playing for TPS Turku.
