Montreal Canadiens: The 2017 NHL Draft could prove to be one of the best

Teams hope to find talent at the NHL Draft every year, and it looks like the Montreal Canadiens found a lot of it in 2017.

The 2016-17 season was bittersweet for the Montreal Canadiens. A hot start propelled them to the top spot in the Atlantic Division which they managed to keep for the whole year. It came at the expense of Michel Therrien’s job, but they went into the playoffs as one of the team’s to beat.

The post-season didn’t go as well as the regular season did. Although the Habs got up to a 2-1 series lead after Game 3, they lost the next three. That summer would require some tweaking from general manager Marc Bergevin who needed to address the lack of scoring seen at times in the playoffs. The draft was the first step.

Montreal went into Chicago with seven picks at their disposal. Their first-round selection was set to be in the 20s again, but the pair of picks in the second and third rounds paved the way for Trevor Timmins and the scouting staff to work some magic. Fast forward to the present day, and those picks look to have value behind each one.

Many of the players have grown over the course of a year and brought value to their respective seasons. Some struggled, but that’s what comes with developing.

Round One

The Montreal Canadiens took Ryan Poehling of the St. Cloud State Huskies in the first-round. Although he was a centre which would address an organization league, many worried how well he would progress. It also didn’t help that the excess frustration from Michal McCarron’s development was still present.

Poehling was described as a defensive-minded centre with an underlying offensive game that needed to be build up. His 7 goals and 6 assists in 35 games made that a little hard to believe. However, that was only his freshman year. The Minnesota native presented an overwhelming drive and demeanour to get better, and fans saw that this season in St. Cloud.

The 19-year-old improved in all areas of the ice bringing his point totals up to 14 goals and 17 assists. Poehling also took part in the World Junior Championships for Team USA adding a goal and 2 assists to go along with his bronze medal.

His size and hockey sense allowed him to win battles with opponents in the corners and along the boards, as well as know where to put the puck for his teammates.

Poehling may not project at the moment to be a top-six centre, but he is progressing well to be a steady number three at least. However, that could change allowing that projection to be a possibility.

He’s already committed to play another year with the Huskies granting him more time to improve. Who knows at what stage in his development he’ll be by next summer.

Round Two

Thanks to the Toronto Maple Leafs (indirectly), the Montreal Canadiens were able to strike twice in the second-round. They had their own pick at 56th overall and the 58th which came from the Washington Capitals for the deal that sent Lars Eller out of Montreal.

The Habs chose to draft defenceman Josh Brook and forward Joni Ikonen with them.

Finnish Adversity

Selecting Ikonen again added another centre to the prospect pool, but also a good deal of skill. The Finland native finished his final season with Frölunda HC J20 scoring 22 goals and 19 assists. From the bat, Ikonen was pegged as being one of the more offensive players in the second round, and Montreal was lucky enough to get him.

Ikonen decided to move on to play for KalPa of the Liiga league to ensure professional berth the following season. It wouldn’t be the first time he would play in a men’s league as he saw 10 games with Frölunda’s main SHL squad. Additionally, the Habs wanted to see what Ikonen could do at a higher level full time.

It didn’t go as well as many had hoped for the 19-year-old. Ikonen played 52 games for KalPa and had 4 goals and 10 assists to show for it. However, those points didn’t come so easy. An October game saw Ikonen get his first professional point off a slick pass to the slot that found a teammate for the goal.

Goals started coming for him in December with his two-goal performance against Ässät.

It was nice to see Ikonen get rewarded for the number of shots and scoring chances he was generating for his team. However, the season still had him starting from the first line to third and sometimes the fourth. The only direction he can go from here is up. Choosing to play with KalPa wasn’t the easier option, but it will make him a better player for it.

A Warrior’s Pace

Brook was one of the Montreal Canadiens prospects to get injured ahead of the season. He sustained a wrist surgery at the Rookie Tournament which required a three-month recovery. However, the Moose Jaw Warrior came back ahead of schedule playing his first game with the team that year at the end of November.

He didn’t seem to miss a step, as he was physical and working all three zones well enough to get trusted with key minutes. Factoring in the number of games played, Brook improved offensively. In the 2015-16 season, he had 0.58 points/game which improved to 0.71 this past year. The confidence in his play showed up in the way he took charge of the ice not being afraid to rush with the puck and wait to set up a teammate to continue a play.

The Warriors even had Brook move up to the wing when injuries forced lineup decisions. He was just as effective along the wall as he was on the blueline putting shots on net and causing trouble for players around him.

To see Brook dominate so well as a teenager speaks to what he can become one day professionally. He’s already a number one defenceman in junior, perhaps that role translates to a spot on the Montreal Canadiens one day.

Round Five

The Montreal Canadiens were absent from the fourth round as that pick went to the Los Angeles Kings. It was originally with the Dallas Stars as a result of the Jordie Benn trade that sent Greg Pateryn out of Montreal and eventually flipped to the Kings in the Ben Bishop deal.

They used their fifth at 149 to select Jarret Tyszka from the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Tyszka had seen his role on the blueline in Seattle increase from his debut season. He saw regular time on the second pairing and played on both the power play and penalty kill. With an increased role also came more ice time, especially in the playoffs that year that saw the Thunderbirds head all the way to the WHL Finals.

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Energy was the first thing associated with Tyszka’s play. He is an aggressive player in all three zones using his speed to break up plays, get to pucks first, or skate with it when on his stick. However, Tyszka’s performance with the puck when he had it either in stride or along the blueline wasn’t too spectacular.

That improved in his third season with the Thunderbirds. The BC native hit a high in points with 8 goals and 32 assists. He also tried to do more with the puck instead of quickly dishing it out to a teammate. His skating form, which was also a fairly mentioned critique, improved as well. Tyszka’s stride looked more fluid than in year’s past, and he didn’t lose speed.

He doesn’t look as close as the previous three drafted defencemen, but Tyszka has a skill set that can translate to professional hockey. Keep in mind, speed is everything nowadays, and he has it.

Round Seven

The Habs leapfrogged another round because of the Nikita Nesterov trade. However, they were able to strike one final time in the seventh at 199th overall. The Montreal Canadiens chose to be the last team to draft a goaltender taking Cayden Primeau.

Goalies are always difficult to project. You never truly know how things will pan out for them and Primeau was no exception.

His raw numbers weren’t very impressive. Primeau shared the Lincoln Stars net with Josef Korenar. He finished the season with a winning record of 14-11-1 but had a .895 save percentage to go with it thanks to a difficult first half. In comparison, Korenar had a similar record with a much better save percentage at .925.

When asked about it, Primeau said:

I try to take ‘frustrating’ out of my vocabulary, but it wasn’t ideal It sucked, I’m not going to lie. I felt at the start of the year I struggled, but in the second half I ramped it up.

Watching Primeau was a different story. He’s a poised goaltender who tracks the puck well and gets into position quickly to make the save. It’s that quality that netminders have in the NHL when they make stops look easy because they’re in the right spot to have it bounce off them.

There was a good chance that he would improve when making the jump to the NCAA. Not only because of his family history in the NHL – son of Keith Primeau and has Wayne Primeau and Derrick Smith as uncles – but that he had the framework of being a key contributor.

Primeau’s rookie season at the Northeastern University proved it. The New Jersey native made the net at college his leading his team to a second place finish in the Hockey East. He completed his freshman year with a 19-8-5 record and .931 save percentage! Not bad for one of the youngest in the NCAA that season.

He was also nominated for the Mike Richter Award which goes to the NCAA’s most outstanding goaltender and saw the Huskies to a Beanpot victory this year.

Next: Building a Stanley Cup Contender

The Montreal Canadiens will owe a lot to former scout Bill Berglund who suggested the selection if he continues to grow like this. To find talent like Primeau in the seventh round doesn’t happen too often. However, it could be the beginning of a new wave of optimism in the organization.