Montreal Canadiens: 6 Players the Canadiens Should Consider in the Later Rounds of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft
For the Montreal Canadiens, it’s draft time, once again, not expansion draft time, Entry Draft time, my favourite yearly NHL event. I have spent the last year, and last two months especially, scouting draft-eligible players and the time has come for me to present six players I would adore seeing in the Tricolore on Saturday, day two of the event. I covered my targets for the 30th pick in a separate article.
I wrote similar articles the last two seasons and while the Habs picked exactly none of the 20 players I outlined, if you include last year’s honourable mentions, I think both the Habs’ picks and my targets have progressed rather well since their respective draft days. Last year, for instance, I outlined Daniil Gushchin (an eventual Sharks 3rd round pick) as a target and I really liked how he played in Muskegon this season.
In 2019, I looked at guys like Dustin Wolf (Flames 7th round pick) and Nathan Légaré (Penguins 3rd round pick), both of whom would go in the top two rounds in a re-draft. I’m very curious to see which of the players I outline today will be the steals of this weird 2021 draft class. I will pick players that fall into the range of all of the Canadiens’ non-first round picks, which fall at 63, 64, 76, 87, 113, 126, 127, 142, 191 and 223 overall (though each pick is actually one slot higher due to the forfeiture of Arizona’s first-round pick).
Round 2 (63, 64): Ville Koivunen, RW/LW, 6’0″, 165 lbs, Kärpät, U20 SM-sarja.
While Koivunen is projected to go in the third round according to Bob McKenzie’s consensus ranking, which places him at 79, he’s someone I would draft in the first round if players like Stankoven and Svechkov are off the board. Like many other players I like a lot, Koivunen is extremely intelligent, he knows where he has to be on the ice to be effective and dangerous, when to pass, when to shoot and which routes he needs to take to have the best impact. He’s intelligent and plays with purpose.
Apart from having a great hockey name, especially in the Montreal market, Koivunen endears himself to fans through hard work and efficiency that permeates his entire game. He’s an effective offensive creator, he’s effective at getting the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone and he’s effective defensively. The completeness of his game is a huge strength and I’m confident he makes the NHL, the bigger question is his upside, which ranges from Artturi Lehkonen to a real second-line two-way forward consistently putting up 50 points.
At the very least, Koivunen has the offence figured out against Junior competition in Finland, where he finished third in both goals and points this season. He certainly projects as a playmaker rather than a sniper but he is still able to score goals. If you’re interested in reading a far more knowledgeable analysis than mine on this player, I’d recommend this article by Lassi Alanen, the Finnish scout for Elite Prospects. If Koivunen is on the board at 63, I take him without hesitation, hopefully he’s available.
Round 3 (76, 87): Peter Reynolds, C, 5’10”, 168 lbs, St. John Sea Dogs, QMJHL.
I am all about drafting the best available player, especially when the prospect pool I’m theoretically adding to is as strong as the Habs’. This also means that names I don’t expect to fall to these slots inevitably will and I would likely prefer to some of the players I outline, but these are just guys I like a lot and I don’t particularly care with which pick the Habs would take them in the later rounds.
Peter Reynolds is a Danault-replacement of the future if his development goes well. He and the other four players I will look at did not crack Bob McKenzie’s top 100. He’s really intelligent; a dominant possession player as well as defensively and he’s extremely strong in transition, all hallmarks of Danault’s game. In the offensive zone, his bread and butter is playmaking, he is not a goalscorer by any means.
I particularly appreciated the details in his game, he does the little plays to gain and extend possession, open up and exploit passing lanes for dangerous opportunities and he knows his own limitations, opting to extend possession with a simple play rather than losing the puck. Especially in the mid-rounds of the draft, a profile that screams middle-6 shutdown centre is extremely tempting. While he is not a Danault-replacement in the short-term, as he still needs a handful of developmental years, he would be a worthwhile selection here because he’s, quite simply, a very good player.
Round 4 (113, 126, 127): Robert Orr, 5’11”, 176 lbs, C, Halifax Mooseheads, QMJHL.
Another QMJHL pick here, and this one’s Quebecois, from Beaconsfield on the West Island, a hometown boy, so to speak. That’s not why I’m highlighting him though, nor because of his phenomenal hockey name, he’s another centreman I see a lot of potential in if given a handful of years to fully develop. Orr is among the youngest players in the draft, only turning 18 on September 1st, giving him a whole bunch of runway to improve.
As a QMJHL rookie this season, Orr put up decent 15-17-32 totals in 41 games on a rebuilding Mooseheads team. He didn’t exactly explode offensively, but don’t be surprised if that occurs next year. Orr has decent offensive tools that should enable him to contribute, but it is his off-puck play that impressed me most. Both defensively and offensively, Orr makes good reads and is well-positioned. He can also shoulder a shutdown role. His ceiling may be higher than Reynolds’ simply due to his young development curve.
Round 5 (142): Ryker Evans, LD, 5’11”, 181 lbs, Regina Pats, WHL.
Ryker Evans is a player I loved last season (he cracked my honourable mentions list) but went undrafted, I decided to be more vocal in my appreciation of his play this season. He gave me serious Cale Fleury vibes last year, not because of his playstyle, but because he played a rock-solid game but was bound to fall in the draft due to playing on a weak WHL team. Considering the recent selection of Fleury by Seattle, this pick seems apt.
Evans added to his offensive toolkit this season but, at least from what I’ve seen of him, he projects as a defence-first player who excels in transition. And when I say excel, I mean it, of all the North American draft-eligible defencemen Mitch Brown of Elite Prospects tracked this season, Evans’ transition results were the very best. It is also something you notice immediately when you watch him play, he just knows how to move the puck on the breakout, he makes all the right choices and helps shift the tide.
On the defensive side of things, Evans plays intelligently. His neutral zone and rush defence are both real strengths and he funnels play away from the slot and to the perimeter through smart body positioning and an active stick. His defensive play isn’t particularly flashy, but it’s effective. I believe Evans will make the NHL someday and I certainly hope it’s with the Habs.
Round 6 (191): Jiri Tichacek, LD, 5’9″, 170 lbs, Kladno, Czech2.
Alright, this is just a fun homerun swing. While Tichacek was covered in a really good scouting report by Will Scouch of Scouching back in April, he actually caught my eye before then, despite not making any real draft rankings apart from Scouching’s (42) and Dylan Griffing’s (48). I randomly stumbled upon him because he plays on Tomas Plekanec’s and Jaromir Jagr’s team, who gained promotion to the top tier of Czech hockey this season.
He just stood out to me when I tuned in to watch the elderly but dynamic Czech duo in December. His skating is simply eye-catching, he moves around with great speed and ease. He’s small, but he uses his speed to close down passing lanes in the defensive zone. He reminds me of a more offensively-inclined version of Victor Mete. He certainly lacks some of the defensive acumen but his playmaking is really fun to watch, he really zips the puck around, especially in the offensive zone and I could envision him running a power play.
Tichacek will need at least a handful of years to develop, unlike his Canadian counterpart, but there is potential for a really fun and dynamic playmaking defenceman here. He would need to shore up his defensive play to stand a chance of making the NHL, but in the sixth round, he’s the type of swing I’d love to take.
Round 7 (223): Christopher Merisier-Ortiz, LD, 5’11”, 172 lbs, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL.
If any of you are also readers of Habs Eyes on the Prize, which I will assume you are, Merisier-Ortiz is the player that David St-Louis is championing this year, just as he did last year. He’s been passed over twice already in the draft, but truly deserves to be picked this year after a breakout campaign offensively. He’s probably the player who has the best chance of playing NHL hockey within two seasons of the six I’ve listed.
His game is really refined. He’s a good skater, plays great defence (against Junior competition), dominates in transition and just has very few holes in his game. He projects as a perfect fifth defenceman: reliable and gets the puck to forwards in a consistent and effective manner. He scored nearly a point a game this season, but the offence likely doesn’t translate to the pros, which is perfectly fine, as his value lies everywhere else and this is a seventh-round pick.
He utterly dominated the QMJHL this season and is ready for the AHL, this may not be a swing like the Tichacek pick, but it’s the acquisition of a young Quebecois defenseman who will play in the NHL sooner rather than later, a worthy allocation of a seventh-round pick in my opinion. What I noticed the most while watching him play was his positional awareness, it’s what gives him an upper hand both defensively and in transition, he knows where he needs to be and where his opponents are at all times, he’s amazing at blocking passing lanes.
Honourable Mentions
- Stanislav Svozil (2nd round): He was firmly within the top-20 in the midseason and I’m not quite sure why he fell, he’s a mobile left-shot defenceman who brings a whole lot of defensive and transition value. He performed very well against men in the Czech first division; McKenzie has him ranked at 53 and he could conceivably drop to 63.
- Dmitri Kuzmin (3rd/4th round): The last defenceman I’ll cover, and yet another leftie, is fun to watch. Kuzmin plays a sound defensive game and pairs it with electrifying offence, he’s someone who will run an NHL powerplay if he makes it; his playmaking and quick hands create a bunch of scoring chances.
- Ethan Cardwell (5th round): Cardwell wasn’t drafted last season, but he should have been, just like Christopher Meriesier-Ortiz and Ryker Evans. He gives consistently relentless effort and makes smart plays shift after shift, he won’t be a top-6 forward but as a valuable 3rd liner with a lot of tenacity and some scoring upside, he’d be a nice pick in the mid-rounds.
- Kirill Gerasimyuk (6th/7th round): I am by no means a goalie scout (though the only goalie I’ve outlined on one of these, Dustin Wolf, is turning out pretty well) but Gerasimyuk is stopping a whole lot of pucks on a rather weak MHL (Junior)2021 team in Russia, posting a .931 SV% and plays a calm and composed style, something I like in goalies, so who knows, he’d be an interesting pick.
Next. Players for Habs to target in later rounds. dark
All statistics sourced from EliteProspects.com and a huge thanks to their scouting team and Will Scouch for contextualizing my viewings of players with data and analysis.