Montreal Canadiens: Mock Draft for the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft

Emmanuel picks Seth Jarvis for the Hurricanes with the pick they received from the Toronto Maple Leafs as compensation for taking on and buying out, the Patrick Marleau contract, quite the reward! Jarvis is a dynamic offensive winger who can do everything at a fairly high level. He possesses good puck skills, good speed, good puck protection abilities, a good shot, good skating and good vision. He could very well develop into a perfect second-line winger who can easily fill in on the top line. This is a perfect fit for Carolina as they already have their #1 RW slot occupied by Andrei (Mr. Lacrosse-Goal) Svechnikov. Jarvis likes being the focal point of an attack and has “a gravitational pull on defencemen” according to the Elite Prospects Draft Guide. Between January 1st and the end of the shortened season, no CHL player scored more points than Jarvis. In the season as a whole, he produced 42 goals and 98 points in 58 games for the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL.

Ken goes with the 52-goalscorer at 14, and how frightening that is; Jack Quinn on his own is a scarily-good goalscorer, put him next to McDavid and/or Draisaitl and you have yourself a goalscoring machine; heck, even Patrick Maroon scored 27 goals in his full season in Edmonton. While Quinn can be criticized for being one of the oldest players of the draft class and for playing on the best team in the CHL (though not on the same line as Marco Rossi, mind you), his goalscoring instincts and abilities should not be overlooked. Quinn can shoot and he can score from just about anywhere. He doesn’t have one type of release that he depends on to score, he can bury it with a slapshot, a wrist-shot, from a stationary position and in motion; this versatility is perhaps his most dangerous attribute. While Quinn is not much of a playmaker, he does more than just shoot and score. Quinn is quite a useful defensive piece and can play on the penalty kill. In 62 games with the Ottawa 67s in the OHL, Quinn scored 52 goals and totalled 89 points.

While I am quite a big believer in the “draft the best player available” approach, an exception has to be made for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their forward corps is among the most potent and dynamic in the league, but their defence is among the least consistent and, well, worst. While the best players still available here, in my eyes, are Mavrik Bourque, Dawson Mercer and Rodion Amirov, they do nothing to fix the Maple Leafs’ glaring weakness: right defence. Therefore, I have them selecting Helge Grans, who, in all honesty, is not much of a step down from the three forwards previously mentioned. Grans is a big (6’3″, 192 lbs) defenceman who excels in transition, is an effortless skater and, most importantly, is very solid defensively. While I could have selected Braden Schneider in this slot, Grans has a higher ceiling. In selecting Grans, I sacrificed Schneider’s physicality for the raw tools that Grans possesses, which are rather similar to Philip Broberg’s (but again, Grans can actually defend, and defend well at that). Grans will likely be a high-end #3 defenceman, but on the Leafs, would likely become the future #2 next to Morgan Rielly.

Omar got to make the selection that likely has garnered the majority of clicks on this article, and he has the Canadiens taking a home-run swing on Hendrix Lapierre. The 6’0″, 181 lbs centreman has just about the highest upside among all remaining prospects, but his chances of fulfilling this lofty potential aren’t necessarily high. Lapierre was a projected top-10 pick one year ago but has since had serious issues with concussions and has failed to score many goals since. Last season, he only played 19 QMJHL games and scored just two goals to go along with 15 assists for 17 total points. While this season has gotten off to a blistering start with 3 goals and 5 points in 2 games, it is important to acknowledge that Lapierre will never be known for his goalscoring. He is, however, an elite playmaker with elite puck handling. One area of his game that is very promising is that he always attacks the centre of the ice and he rarely gets pushed to the periphery. He is, however, just an average skater and his hockey IQ is not elite, so picking him at 16 is gambling that he is able to add some power to his shot and to construct a more effective game built upon his stickhandling and his playmaking. If he can do this, all the while staying healthy, the Habs will have a steal with this pick, as he could become a top-line playmaker. It is easy to imagine a future in which Lapierre, Suzuki and Caufield form a deadly top line for the Canadiens. It’s just that a lot would have to go right for Lapierre to reach his ceiling, though it could easily be argued that the Canadiens have a good enough prospect pool to take a big swing with their first-round pick. No matter my reservations with the risk of this pick, it is Hendrix Lapierre at 16 to the Canadiens.

The Chicago Blackhawks could use both secondary scoring and a strong defensive presence, but Teddy Elliot opts to pick physical defenceman, Braden Schneider, which I think is just who the Blackhawks need in their prospect pool. It is no secret that the Blackhawks are ageing, especially on the blueline. Duncan Keith is no longer the defenceman he once was and Brent Seabrook, well, he has the worst contract in the entire NHL; he is barely good enough to play in the NHL at this point in his career and is earning just shy of $7 million for the next four seasons. In a flat-cap era, the Hawks need a dependable, cost-controlled right defenceman, and Schneider is just that. He could jump straight into an NHL role if need be, and along with Adam Boqvist would solidify Chicago’s right side of defence for a long time. Schneider is dependable in his own zone and a very good hitter. He is cautious defensively and does not overcommit on plays. While he takes a backseat in the offensive zone, offence is not what Chicago would draft him for.

From a shutdown defensive beast to the polar opposite, a defenceman with phenomenal offensive abilities and who plays worse defensively than a fair few wingers available in this draft. Jeremie Poirier is a boom or bust selection, and Scott has the New Jersey Devils taking that risk. Having already drafted a sure-fire NHLer in Alexander Holtz, the Devils take a swing at Poirier, whose stickhandling ability and playmaking are both among the five best in the class as a whole, forwards included. The offensive toolkit is there without a shadow of a doubt; he produced 20 goals and 53 points in 64 QMJHL games with a rather weak team (St. John). Poirier is also great in transition, is exceptionally creative and can execute plays that nobody else has even seen as being an option. Oh, and he has a great shot and is an excellent goalscorer, as can be seen by the 20 goals he scored. Now, let’s look at the not-so-good part of his game. He is a clumsy backward skater, he isn’t a very good skater overall, he puts in zero effort defensively and he doesn’t have good defensive instincts to fall back on when he is lazy, which is very often the case. While the Devils’ development may just coax a not terrible defender from Poirier’s skillset, I see the most upside in converting him to a left-winger. It just seems to make sense given his skillset, and if that switch were to be made, Poirier may just become a high-end top-6 winger. If he stays on defence, he will likely max out as a #4 defenceman who runs the powerplay and puts up a lot of points while playing very sheltered minutes at 5 on 5.