There have been a lot of NHL talent in the second rounds of the NHL Entry Draft, and the Montreal Canadiens need to make sure they hit in those areas as well.
Ever since the Montreal Canadiens established their spot in the bottom ten of the league this year, the focus has been on the upcoming draft. It’s set to be a good one with a number of quality players in the upper half of the first round, including Rasmus Dahlin who has been predicted as the consensus first overall pick since before the start of the season.
The first round is definitely the ‘easiest’ place to add talent to your organization, but it’s not the only place. For a lot of years, it’s looked like the second round is just as important as the first. Players such as Ryan O’Reilly, Brandon Saad, Sebastion Aho (Carolina Hurricanes), and Nikita Kucherov, were all taken after pick 30 in their respective drafts. Obviously, Kucherov is the stand out amongst these examples.
However, like everything else in a draft, nothing is a guarantee. You never know how the 18-year-old you choose to select will pan out until they’re putting on that jersey and stepping on NHL ice for the first time. Save for Artturi Lehkonen, Jacob de La Rose, and P.K. Subban, the Habs don’t have many second-round selections to have played for them.
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Joni Ikonen and Josh Brook have potential though, and if they do the right things, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be in the NHL one day. It’s something to think about as the season continues. Trevor Timmins and the rest of the scouting staff are going to have a lot of work ahead of them. Not even just for the first two rounds, but for the entire draft.
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