Montreal Canadiens: Highlighting the 2007 NHL Draft Class
2007 was a great year for drafting quality players, as the Montreal Canadiens took three future NHL’ers and their future captain.
In the NHL, drafting is a huge component of a team’s offseason, where they can either make or break their future. Some team’s choose to ignore this aspect of the NHL. However, it’s been proven time and time again that drafting and developing is the best way to go.
The Montreal Canadiens have had great successes in the NHL Draft, and other moments that fans would rather forget.
With that in mind, we are taking a look back at the drafts over the past decade and highlighting the top talent drafted to see how the Habs of today were built.
Today, we start with one of, if not the most successful draft that the Habs have had in recent memory.
Round One / Pick 12 – Ryan McDonagh / D / Cretin Derham Hall H.S. (MINN)
Not too bad for a first round pick in the draft. McDonagh was selected out of high school, something that is seldom seen in the NHL, especially with such a high pick (The latest player taken from H.S. was Casey Mittelstadt in 2017) After being drafted, McDonagh went to play at the University of Wisconsin.
While playing with the Badgers, McDonagh was a part of a seven-player deal that landed Scott Gomez in Montreal.
McDonagh made his NHL debut in 2010-11, playing 40 games for the Broadway blue shirts. He scored only nine points in the 40 games he played that year. But it didn’t take long for him to become a staple in the Rangers lineup. He averaged at least 24 minutes over the next three seasons with the Rangers.
Before the 2014-15 season, McDonagh was named the 28th captain in Rangers history.
So far in his career, the American has amassed 467 games played and 212 points over that span. He’s also represented the United States at the 2014 WInter Olympics in Sochi, the 2011 World Championships, and the World Cup of Hockey last fall.
McDonagh was a great start to the draft by the Canadiens, but it wasn’t the only significant pick they made in the draft.
Round One / Pick 22 – Max Pacioretty / LW / Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
The USHL has become a more and more popular option for prospects to play in during their draft year. It has also produced some of the better talents in the NHL today.
The Habs doubled up on Americans in the first round, taking Pacioretty with the 22nd pick of the draft.
Whereas McDonagh never got to see regular season action with the Canadiens, Pacioretty is a name that every Habs fan has come to know and love.
At the time, the winger was coming off a season with the Sioux City Musketeers where he scored 63 points in 60 games, which was second best on the team. He wasn’t afraid to mix it up either, with 119 penalty minutes amassed in 2006-07.
After being drafted, Pacioretty went to Ann Arbor to play a season for the Michigan Wolverines. He managed to score 39 points in 37 games.
He made his NHL debut for the Canadiens during the 2008-09 season. Over the next three years, he split time with the Habs and the Hamilton Bulldogs. At that point, his career high in points was 24.
He blew that number out of the water in his first full NHL season. Pacioretty scored 33 goals in 2011-12 en route to a 65 point campaign. That summer, he had a huge World Championships with the United States, with 12 points in eight games.
Pacioretty was also a member of the United States Olympic team in 2014, however, he only managed one point across five games.
Before the 2015-16 season, Pacioretty was named the 29th captain in Canadiens history. He was the second consecutive American captain for the Habs.
A consistent producer in the lineup over his career, Pacioretty is in the prime of his career and can build on an already solid career over the next year.
Round Two / Pick 43 – P.K. Subban / D / Belleville Bulls (OHL)
Now, to one of the best picks of the last decade. Regardless of what you think of the player or the person, P.K. Subban was a huge get for the Habs in the second round of the NHL draft.
After putting up great numbers for the Belleville Bulls over his CHL career, Subban grabbed everyone’s attention at the 2009 World Junior Championships.
The defender posted nine points in six games while helping Canada to another gold medal. From then on, the hype for the defender kept rising.
Subban fell to the Habs in the second round and immediately made the jump to the pros. He made his NHL debut in 2009-10 for the Canadiens but only played two games for the team that season. He spent the majority of the year with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
After one year in the AHL, Subban came up to the Habs full time. In his first three NHL seasons, Subban averaged over 20 minutes a game and scored over 30 points.
His production took a big jump during the 2013-14 year, where he scored 53 points. Subban had his best statistical season a year later when he set career highs in goals and points with 15 and 60 respectively.
The defender will always be known for his outspoken demeanour which wavered from the norms of most NHL players. He is one of the biggest personalities in sports today, which
Every Habs fan knows how his time with the Habs came to an end. He has found a nice home in Nashville and will be looking to help the Preds work back to another Stanley Cup Final next year.
Round Three / Pick 73 – Yannick Weber / D / Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
With their second pick of the third round, the Canadiens took Weber, a defender out of Kitchener. The Swiss defender came over to the OHL after being selected by the Rangers with the 15th pick in the 2006 CHL Import Draft.
In his draft year, Weber finished with 41 points in 51 games. He went back and played one more season for Kitchener after being drafted. He made the jump to pro hockey in 2008-09 where he played for both the Canadiens and the Bulldogs.
Weber spent his first three pro seasons bouncing up and down between Montreal and Hamilton before playing up with the Habs for the majority of the 2010-11 year.
However, that year would be his last with the Canadiens. Weber signed a one-year, $650,000 deal with Vancouver. He played the next three years with the Canucks before signing a contract with Nashville for last season.
He played in 73 games while only scoring eight points. Weber appeared in 22 playoff games during the Predators improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final.
So far in his career, Weber has played 347 career games, with 78 total points. Weber will be back for a second season with the Predators, where, like Subban, he will be looking to help the team to success.