Canadiens: Veilleux, Wickenheiser, and the Long Wait For No. 1
In the 2nd phase of the NHL draft lottery, the New York Rangers were awarded the first overall pick, bringing up an obscure connection to the Montreal Canadiens via Andre Veilleux.
Andre Veilleux is a name that, for the most part, transcends the word obscure, especially for Montreal Canadiens fans. His HockeyDB entry consists of little information, with only two seasons of amateur hockey to his name, and no personal information. He’s one of many players that make up the large number of small, inconsequential entries that lay in between the Sidney Crosby’s and Wayne Gretzky’s of the hockey world.
However, if you tuned into the NHL draft lottery this Monday, you might have caught a glimpse of that very name and wondered, “Who?” and well, that’s completely understandable. It’s a similar story to that of Alex Smart, a little known former Canadien who was briefly mentioned alongside Auston Matthews for also scoring four goals in his pro debut. Similarly, Andre Veilleux has his own weird tie to the projected first overall pick this year, Alexis Lafreniere, and to the Habs last first overall pick.
I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the NHL handled the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft lottery. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic causing a delay and subsequent change to how the NHL playoffs played out, the cards ultimately fell in favor of a mystery team, who would be decided by the now-concluded qualifying rounds.
Say what you will about the legitimacy of all this, but in a second phase of the draft lottery this Monday, the New York Rangers name came up, and they were awarded the first overall pick. It marks the third season in a row that the Rangers have picked within the top ten, but the first time since 1965, they have selected first overall. Who was the pick that year? Andre Veilleux.
Now, in fairness, the NHL draft functioned completely different back then and had nowhere near the attention it receives now. Star players for most teams were typically found in local leagues and subsequently signed to entry-level contracts of sorts. This is how the Canadiens built their original six dynasties, and it was simply the standard of its day.
Because of this, even though Veilleux was the first overall pick that season, it didn’t mean what it means today, and he never wound up playing professional hockey, period, only getting into two partial seasons with some amateur teams, before moving onto some local senior hockey in Verdun.
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In contrast, though, while the Canadiens were expected to be one of the teams in this first overall lottery, their surprise series win against the Pittsburgh Penguins has changed that. Now, they’re set for a first-round tilt against the Philadelphia Flyers, which kicks off on Wednesday.
It’s been 40 years since the Habs last picked first overall, and similarly to New York, wound up with a dud, selecting center Doug Wickenheiser. A prolific scorer in the WHL with the Regina Pats, Wickenheiser put up 89 goals in his final junior season, yet was never able to replicate that success in the NHL. High expectations and pressure from Montreal fans and media led to the Saskatchewan native never putting up more than 55 points in a season.
After a trade to the St. Louis Blues and subsequent stops in Vancouver, New York, and Washington, Wickenheiser finished his career in Germany and the IHL, before a rare form of cancer claimed his life in 1999, at the age of 37.
As the NHL draft has gained more legitimacy, becoming the main source for teams looking to acquire talent, first overall picks have seen their ups and downs. While theirs been a recent trend of success from the likes of Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid, a weaker draft can always lead to the next Nail Yakupov, Alexandre Daigle, or even Doug Wickenheiser.
Lafreniere looks to be amongst the former, with the QMJHL star being the talk of this year’s World Junior Championships, demonstrating an impressive mix of offense and defense, with soft hands and an accurate release. He should immediately join the Rangers top six and add to the already long list of top prospects New York possesses.
For the Canadiens, the Flyers will certainly bring a challenge, as the team should look to Carey Price once more to be their make or break asset in this series. While they did miss out on a chance at Lafreniere, the experience this will offer to prospects like Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi should compensate for that. Both played very well against the Penguins and should look to take on bigger roles come next year.
The NHL has been long removed from the days of Andre Veilleux, but always seems to find itself tying back to the golden days of six teams and a Canadiens dynasty. While Lafreniere will add on to what looks like a promising New York team, Montreal can look to this first-round matchup.
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In the end, theirs much more to take from the rest of these NHL playoffs and onwards, and both the Canadiens and Rangers, will be big parts of that.