Montreal Canadiens: Grading Every Habs Draft Pick
The Montreal Canadiens drafted seven players in the 2020 NHL Draft. Here are the grades for every pick.
The Montreal Canadiens headed into draft weekend with 11 picks to their name, but a series of trades led to them reducing that number to just eight. They did also come away with Josh Anderson in a trade and have stocked up on picks for next year’s draft as well.
Still, the team added eight new players to their organization over the past few days.
Their organization is pretty well stocked with young players already. Many draft and prospect watchers over the past year have ranked the Habs system among the top five in the league at the moment.
They didn’t have a really early pick, but they did pick 16th overall. They also had a couple of picks in the second round and a trio of picks in the fourth round. This gave them six of the first 124 picks and a chance to add some decent talent to their budding young core of prospects.
How did they do? Let’s take a quick look at each pick and rank how the team made out.
B. Guhle was taken 16th overall in the first round of the NHL Draft. He is a solid, steady two-way left defenceman who scored 11 goals and 40 points for the Prince Albert Raiders last season. He was ranked in the middle of the first round by just about everyone and has the tools to be a reliable, steady defenceman, but I don’t think he has the potential to be a top-pairing minute muncher who puts up 40 points at the NHL level. He also adds another prospect to a crowded left defence in the Habs pipeline. Guhle isn’t a bad pick at 16, but a forward like Hendrix Lapierre or Dawson Mercer would have filled a bigger need in the system.. LD. 1st Round, 16th Overall. KAIDEN GUHLE
B -. Tuch is a big left winger who put up okay offensive numbers at the U.S Development Program. He had 15 goals and 30 points in 47 games and is headed to Boston University this season. It is easy to try and compare him to his brother, but Alex was well over a point per game in his draft season with the same program. I see Luke Tuch as a future third line winger who is physical and works hard, but has limited offensive contributions. With a second round pick, I’d like to see a potential top six forward.. LW. 2nd Round, 47th Overall. LUKE TUCH
JAN MYSAK. A +. Mysak started the year in Czech Republic but moves to Hamilton to play in the OHL with the Bulldogs after the World Juniors. He looked good at that tournament, but only came away with one goal and one assist in five games. He started to fill the net as he arrived in Hamilton. He had four points in his first six OHL games, then took off for 21 points in his next 16 games before the league cancelled its season. He has top six potential for sure and isn’t pushed around at 6’0″ and 185 pounds. He was ranked around the end of the first round by most, so getting him in the second half of the second round has steal written all over it.. C. 2nd Round, 48th Overall
D. Now, I always want the Canadiens to gamble on skill over size, especially later in the NHL Draft. There is no point in taking a 6’6″ winger in the 5th round if he can’t skate well enough to keep up at the Junior level. Always roll the dice on skill. The problem with the Jack Smith pick is this skilled forward is playing high school hockey and he was not ranked anywhere near the 4th round by any of the major draft rankings. He is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth but will need a year of USHL play before that. Even the jump to the USHL will be huge for this Smith.. F. 4th Round, 102nd Overall. JACK SMITH
C. 4th Round, 109th Overall. BLAKE BIONDI. B. It might be a bit hypocritical to give Smith such a low grade and Blake Biondi a much better one, but there is reason to believe Biondi is a far better prospect. Though Biondi also plays high school hockey, he has been on the radar for USA Hockey, playing at the World Under-17 and Ivan Hlinka Tournaments in the past two years. He was ranked at the end of the third round by Bob McKenzie and several other draft pundits. I’m just not sure how the Canadiens had Smith ranked ahead of Biondi.
A +. Farrell was the Habs third pick in the fourth round, and in my opinion, he is by far the best of the three. I really think the Habs fourth round picks should have been flipped upside down. Anyway, Farrell is a super skilled, playmaking left winger who would have been a late first round pick is he wasn’t 5’9″. He led the USHL, which is the top Junior league in the USA, in assists with 41 in 44 games. He is committed to Harvard and has been on USA Hockey’s radar, suiting up at Under-17 and Under-18 events recently. He has the offensive skill to be a top six winger (maybe on a line with his buddy Cole Caufield) and also a setup man on an NHL power play.. LW. 4th Round, 124th Overall. SEAN FARRELL
5th Round, 136th Overall. JAKUB DOBES. C +. I really didn’t expect the Canadiens to select a goaltender this year. However, they added Jakub Dobes in the fifth round. He was good in Tier-II Junior in the USA last season, posting stellar numbers in just ten games, but he wasn’t as good as the USHL level. He is committed to Ohio State but will need a little more seasoning before he is ready for college hockey. That does buy some time before the Habs have to make a decision on signing him or not, but my guess is they won’t be. Still, it’s the 5th round, there are no terrific players waiting to be drafted. A big, raw goaltender committed to a good hockey program isn’t the worst idea.. G
ALEXANDER GORDIN. A +. I love when the Canadiens gamble on a skilled forward late in the draft. Past drafts are littered with big. physical forwards who go on to max out at 11 goals in the ECHL because they just can’t skate at the pro level. The hardest things to teach are skating and hockey sense, and Gordin isn’t lacking in those areas. He finished 6th in Russia’s top Junior league in points last season and was second in goals. He is a small skilled winger, but he has a better chance of turning into an NHL player than the 6’4″ defenders whose best quality is their ability to shoot the puck off the glass in Moose Jaw.. RW. 6th Round, 171st Overall