Montreal Canadiens: Grading Every Pick From The 2010 NHL Draft
With the Montreal Canadiens season on hiatus, we have been taking a look back at some of their past drafts. Today, we look back and grade every pick from the 2010 NHL Draft.
The Montreal Canadiens have built up a great group of prospects in the past few years. We haven’t looked back at the most recent draft because it is a little too early to make any grand proclamations about 19 or 20 year old hockey players.
So, we have been looking back at the drafts a little earlier than that. We started with the 2017 NHL Draft and have been working our way backwards. Today, we take a look at the 2010 NHL Draft.
The Montreal Canadiens were light on early selections just like they were in the 2011 NHL Draft. They packaged their first overall pick, which was 27th overall with their second round pick which was 57th overall to get the 22nd pick and a fourth round pick from the Arizona Coyotes.
The Canadiens also didn’t have a third round pick in 2010. In the 2008-09 season, the Habs traded a second round pick in 2009 and a third round pick in 2010 for Mathieu Schneider. Montreal also dealt their sixth round pick in 2010 for a seventh round pick in 2009.
This left the Habs with a first round pick, two fourth round picks, a fifth round pick and a seventh round pick.
Keep in mind, when grading draft picks, it depends on what round the pick was, who else was available shortly after the pick was made and how much of an NHL impact the player had later on, whether he played for Montreal or was traded away and played elsewhere.
What that means is getting a third line winger in the sixth round is a terrific pick, because most sixth round picks don’t turn into regular NHL contributors. Getting a third pairing defenceman in the first round? Not great value considering where the pick was made.
So, let’s take a look at every pick the Habs made in 2010 and give them a grade for it now that we are a decade in the future.
JARRED TINORDI. C. The Habs gave up a second round pick to move up five slots in the first round. They took a huge left defenceman named Jarred Tinordi. He was known as a physical, shutdown type defender, which is exactly the type of player that was evaporating from the league. Tinordi played well for the London Knights after being drafted by the Habs, but by 2016 had only played 46 NHL games with the Habs before being traded for John Scott. <strong>Others available: </strong>Kevin Hayes, Evgeni Kuznetsov. 1st Round. 22nd Overall
D. MacMillan was a high scoring centre in the BCHL the season before and after the Habs drafted him. He had a solid freshman season at the University of North Dakota when he scored 23 points. He basically scored at the same rate for the next three years, maxing out at 26 points (though he played just 29 games in his senior year). He played two years in the AHL where he scored 30 points in 120 games. He now played pro in Denmark. <strong>Others available: </strong>Zach Hyman, Chris Wagner. 4th Round. 113th Overall. MARK MACMILLAN
4th Round. 117th Overall. MORGAN ELLIS. C -. Ellis was a decent all-around right-defenceman for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles when the Habs drafted him. He developed into a top defender in the QMJHL and helped the Shawinigan Cataractes win a Memorial Cup in 2012. He played four years with the Habs minor league affiliate in the AHL and developed well, scoring 16 goals and 42 points while playing well defensively in 2015-16. The Habs chose not to sign him and he now plays for Sochi in the KHL. <strong>Others available: </strong>John Klingberg, Micheal Ferland
5th Round. 147th Overall. BRENDAN GALLAGHER. A +. Getting a decent third line winger in the fifth round would be great value. Getting the heart and should of your franchise for the next decade is a grand slam. Gallagher has had a tremendous impact on the Habs roster and if this draft were re-done today he would be a top ten pick. <strong>Others available: </strong>Kevin Gravel, Dalton Prout, Jesper Fast
C -. With one of the last picks of the draft, the Habs took a decent scoring Junior player from Sweden. Westin had 26 points in 31 games in Sweden’s top Junior league before the Habs selected him. His offensive game didn’t really translate to the pro level and he never left his home country. <strong>Others available: </strong>Brendan Ranford, Zach Trotman. 7th Round. 207th Overall. JOHN WESTIN