Canadiens Top Five Draft Steals Since 1996

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Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Noah Juulsen on stage with team executives after being selected as the number twenty-six overall pick to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

This is an Examination of Canadiens Top Five Draft Steals Since 1996

The first round of the Draft is an exciting time to the future stars of the game get rewarded for all their hard work. It is also good to see who could be the future face of the franchise as our team makes their first selection.

However, their is a lot more to the draft than just the first round. The best teams in the NHL are able to find talent deep into the later rounds of the draft and develop these prospects into quality NHL players.

Throughout the past 20 years, the Canadiens have found some top talent in the later rounds. To crack this top five list these players were able to carve out key roles on the team, come up big in the playoffs and even win awards for their strong performance during the regular season.

Here are your Canadiens top 5 Draft Steals over the past 20 years.

Next: Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mentions

Mark Streit – 9th Round, 262nd overall in 2004

The Canadiens took a shot on a 26 year old Swiss defensemen in Mark Streit. The Canadiens took a risk of drafting a 26 year old and hoping that he could quickly adjust to NHL style. Streit was able to do just that.

Feb 10, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mark Streit (32) before the game against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

The Habs enjoyed Streit’s first two seasons as he was able to get used to the speed of the game. He showed versatility by playing both defense and wing. It was in his third season, though, that Streit was able to put it all together. In 81 games Striet scored 13 goals and added 49 assists for 62 points. During that 2007-2008 season Streit gave the Canadiens a huge weapon on the power play by compiling 34 points with the man advantage.

Thinking you could land a player of Mark Streit’s caliber at 262nd overall is crazy. He has been an elite offensive defensemen throughout his career. He has also had the gift of being an excellent Quarterback on the power play.

Why Striet Didn’t Make the Top 5

Streit didn’t crack the top 5 because he simply just didn’t play with the Canadiens long enough. As soon as Streit had become an elite power play specialist he was gone in free agency to the New York Islanders

Michael Ryder – 8th Round, 216th overall in 1998

It took 5 seasons after Ryder was drafted until he appeared for the Canadiens. He was worth the wait as he would light it up as a rookie. He would go on to score 25 goals and 38 assists for 63 points as a rookie and was runner up to Andrew Raycroft in Calder Trophy voting.

Ryder’s impressive production continued as he was able to hit the 30 goal plateau in his next two seasons. Ryder seemed to be destined to be a core member of the Canadiens offense for years to come. However, the very next season things changed for Ryder.

Dec 13, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing Michael Ryder (17) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Devils 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

In 2007-2008 Ryder would struggle with consistency as his numbers dropped off dramatically from the three years prior. In 70 games he managed to score only 14 goals. Ryder had lost his confidence as the team lost their confidence in Ryder.

After Ryder’s brutal season, he left the team as a free agent, signing with the Boston Bruins. As a Bruin, Ryder would enjoy some success, even winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2011. Ryder was able to find some other success with various teams, including another brief stint with the Canadiens in 2012-2013.

Why Ryder Didn’t Make the Top 5

Ryder had a great run with the team early on as a sniper. However, it seemed that when the Canadiens needed him to score during the playoffs, he just couldn’t deliver. He wasn’t with the Canadiens for that many seasons and when he left Montreal in 2008, it felt like he left on bad terms in my opinion. Then he went and signed with the rival Boston Bruins which still doesn’t sit right.

All in all, Ryder has enjoyed an impressive NHL career. As Habs fans will always remember his impressive sharp shooting ability.

Next: Canadiens 5th Best Draft Steal

5. Jaroslav Halak – 9th Round, 271st Overall in 2003

What Made Halak a Draft Steal

Halak would be called up to the Canadiens on occasion, playing a few good games here and there before taking over as the teams back up goalie in 2008-09. His best moments as a Hab came during the 2009-10 season.

Halak became the center of one of the biggest goalie controversies in Montreal Canadiens history. During the 2009-10 season, Carey Price was playing inconsistently but Halak had put together a number of solid performances. That opened the door for Halak to show that he could take the reins as the teams starting goaltender. Halak was able to put up very good numbers as the starter posting a 26-13-5 record, while having a 2.40 goals against average and .924 save percentage.

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Halak was able to backstop the mightily inconsistent Canadiens to a playoff spot that season. The Habs finished the season with 88 points and were facing the President Trophy winning Washington Capitals in the playoffs.

The Capitals had finished that season off with 121 points in the standings. This created a 33 point gap separating the 1st place Capitals from the 8th place Canadiens. The Habs were clear under dogs heading into the series.

The Canadiens surprised many experts and actually won the first playoff game in overtime. Washington would go on to win the next 3 games and took a commanding 3-1 series lead. This set the stage for one of the best goal tending performances of all time.

Through the next 3 games, Halak would stand on his head for the Canadiens making 131 saves on 134 shots giving him an absolutely ridiculous .992 save percentage over those three games. His best performance came in game 6 when he made 53 saves, which is the Canadiens franchise record for the most saves in a playoff game.

The Canadiens would go on to beat the Capitals creating one of the biggest upsets in playoff history. Halak being the driving force behind the teams success.

The Canadiens would go on to play the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Halak’s play remained strong and the teams overall play was also better. The series went the full 7 games before the Halak-led Canadiens finally knocked off the Champs.

The Cinderella ride would eventually come to an end for Halak as the team was eliminated in the next round by Philadelphia Flyers. This where the the goalie controversy would begin to heat up as both Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak were pending restricted free agents.

The Canadiens didn’t want the controversy to be a distraction going into the next season. The team sided in favor of Carey Price and traded Halak to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller. Looking back, it’s clear the Habs made the right choice with Carey Price going on win an MVP and a Vezina trophy. Halak has had some success but has never been able to have the same success as he had in those 2010 playoffs.

Why Halak Ranks #5

Halak ranks fifth on the list because of where he was chosen deep in the 2003 draft. His playoff heroics are a very important factor in ranking him on the list, considering the pressure and how heavily the Canadiens were outplayed against Washington. He also cracks our top 5 list because of how popular he was considering there are still a few Canadiens fans who still think that the Habs should have hung on to Halak and traded Price.

It’s hard to rank Halak any higher than 5th, however, because he only appeared in 101 games with the Canadiens. Most of his tenure in Montreal was spent as the teams backup. However Halak’s 2010 playoff performance will not soon be forgotten by Habs fans.

Next: 4th Best Draft Steal

Mar 5, 2016; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) prior to the game against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Brendan Gallagher – 5th Round, 147th Overall in 2010

What Makes Gallagher a Draft Steal

The Canadiens made a big trade to move up in the first round of the 2010 draft in order to take big 6’6″ defensemen Jarred Tinordi. Having everyone so excited about the possibility of having their own Zdeno Chara made Habs fans love the pick. Later on in the 5th round of the same draft, the Habs chose the undersized Brendan Gallagher. Flash forward to the present, and Gallagher is a Canadiens fan favorite and Tinordi is no longer with the team.

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Gallagher brings a very strong net presence to the Canadiens. He sacrifices his body every night to earn body position in front of the opponents net by taking many checks and jabs from opposing defensemen. He also has earned many goaltender interference penalties with his over eagerness to screen the opposing goal tenders. With his smaller stature at 5’9”, you wouldn’t think he would be the type of player that would want to take that kind of punishment game after game.

This style of play reveals a unique intangible that Gallagher plays with. Heart. Gallagher has developed into one of the Canadiens young leaders on the team, leading by his never quit, never take a night off work ethic. It seemed like last season, whatever line Gallagher was placed on, that was the Habs best scoring line. Which means a lot considering how the Canadiens were desperate for offence last season.

Gallagher’s production was at his career best when you factor in the games he missed due to injury. In the 53 games, he managed to score 40 points. That’s good for 0.75 points per game.

Gallagher has a ton of upside for the Montreal Canadiens. He is only 24 years old and hasn’t even entered into the prime of his career yet. He also is signed long term to the team and a has built good chemistry on the top line with Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty, so we can expect his stats to continue to get better.

Why Gallagher’s ranked #4

Considering how low Gallagher was picked in the 2010 draft and considering he was able to crack the 2012 roster and produce so soon, that is a huge steal for the Canadiens. Considering how Gallagher has developed into one of the team’s core leaders at such a young age also helped with his ranking. His continued growth in production over the next few years will continue to push him up the list.

Gallagher isn’t ranked any higher than four because he hasn’t had the same long term success as some of the other Canadiens that will be mentioned later. He has had great regular season success in his first few seasons but he hasn’t had the same amount of consistency in the playoffs.

Next: Canadiens 3rd Best Draft Steal

Mar 22, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; (Editors note: Caption correction) Montreal Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec (14) celebrates with teammate Max Pacioretty (67) after a goal by Torrey Mitchell (not pictured) against the Anaheim Ducks during the first period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Tomas Plekanec – 3rd Round, 71st Overall in 2001

What Makes Plekanec a Draft Steal

In the 1st round of the 2001 draft, the Canadiens selected defensemen Mike Komisarek and forward Alexander Perezhogin, who were both hyped up to be future stars on the team. While Plekanec getting picked in the 3rd round went relatively unnoticed. Komisarek did enjoy a few good seasons with the team, but Perezhogin was never able to produce at the pro level. Ultimately though it was Plekanec who was the teams best draft choice that year.

2. Andrei Markov – 6th Round, 162nd Overall in 1998

What Makes Markov a Draft Steal

Looking at where Andrei Markov was selected in the 1998 draft, you can see why he is on the list. Pair that with the fact that Markov has been one of the most steady defensemen for the Canadiens for 15 seasons and you have an absolute draft steal.

Over the last 15 seasons, Markov has become one of the quiet leaders of the Montreal Canadiens. He has produced at very high level throughout his entire career and has put himself in quite elite company on the Canadiens all time scoring lists for defensemen.

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On the Canadiens all time lists Markov currently sits:

2nd in games played with 928
3rd in total points with 536
2nd in assists with 423
3rd in goals with 113

Markov trails Larry Robinson who is the leader of all these categories and Guy Lapointe who is second in goals and points all time. This is great company for Markov to be in and shows just how great his career has been.

Markov’s numbers could also be even higher had he not fallen into major injury problems. Markov had numerous leg and knee injuries that caused him to miss many games between 2008-2009 to 2011-2012. During this 4 year period Markov was only able to play 151 regular season and playoff games.

The Reason Markov Ranks as the 2nd Best Draft Steal

Andrei Markov is ranked in this spot because of where he was taken in the 6th round draft and 6th round picks just don’t have 15+ years of success like Markov has had. Markov’s consistently playing a lot of minutes against the leagues best forwards while keeping them off the score sheet. He is a quiet leader for the Canadiens as his example to fight through injuries and the will to keep playing shows how tough he is.

Markov isn’t number one because he hasn’t gotten recognition around the league for the Norris Trophy. Markov hasn’t been the most consistent in the playoffs either. Considering how great his regular season play has been throughout his career and how he compares to other Habs legends makes him 2nd on the list.

Next: Canadiens Best Draft Steal

1. P.K Subban – 2nd Round, 43rd Overall in 2007

What Makes Subban a Draft Steal

So why is P.K Subban considered a draft steal or even the number 1 draft steal? After all he was picked in the second round.

Subban was the 17th defenseman chosen in that draft. Just look at this list of defencemen that went ahead of Subban 2007:

Thomas Hickey 4th overall to Arizona Coyotes
Karl Alzner 5th Overall to Washington Capitals
Keaton Ellerby 10th overall to Florida Panthers
Ryan McDonagh 12th overall to Montreal Canadiens
Kevin Shattenkirk 14th overall to Colorado Avalanche
Alex Plante 15th Overall to the Edmonton Oilers
Ian Cole 18th overall to St. Lous Blues
Johnathan Blum 23th Overall to Nashville Predators
Brendan Smith 27th overall to Detroit Red Wings
Nick Petrecki 28th Overall to San Jose Sharks
Nick Ross 30th overall to Arizona Coyotes
T.J Brennan 31th overall to Buffalo Sabres
Taylor Ellington 33th overall to Vancouver Canucks
Josh Godfrey 34th overall to Washington Capitals
Tommy Cross 35th overall to Boston Bruins
Kevin Marshall 41th overall to Philadelphia Flyers
P.K Subban 43th overall to Montreal Canadiens

Granted some of these defensemen like Ryan McDonagh, Karl Alzner, and Kevin Shattenkirk have had pretty good careers for themselves. It’s hard to believe that Subban was past over 42 times in that draft and was viewed as the 17th best defensemen in the draft. However, it’s pretty obvious in hindsight who the best defensemen turned out to be in this class.

Subban brings a special amount of heart and passion to the game which makes him so entertaining to watch. He has had so many memorable and electrifying highlights both in the regular season and the playoffs. Who could forget the 2014 playoffs when Subban stepped out of the Penalty box and took a pass from Lars Eller and then came in on net on a breakaway, faking out Tukka Rask and scoring!

It’s not just the highlights as Subban has proven to be one of the leagues top two way defensemen. He has been able to score at a pace of 0.74 points per game over his last four seasons. He keeps up high offensive production while shutting down the oppositions top offensive lines game in and game out.

Subban’s strong play has had him nominated for the James Norris Memorial Trophy twice and winning it once back in 2013.

Next: Canadiens: Redrafting The 2003 NHL Draft

Why Is Subban Ranked #1

Subban is ranked number one because of all the other defensemen who were picked ahead of him, and have failed to come close to Subban’s production. His playoff performance also puts him atop this list. In 55 career playoff games Subban has 38 points including clutch game winning goals.

Subban winning the Norris Trophy and again being nominated for it is a huge reason for him being ranked at the top ahead of Andrei Markov. Subban has many more prime years left ahead of him and I think he will probably pass Markov’s numbers if Subban keeps up his torrid pace. In fact, he has already cracked the top 10 scoring for Habs defencemen.

Norris Trophy caliber defensemen are hard to find. Thankfully the Canadiens have Subban.

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