Montreal Canadiens Select Riley Kidney, Oliver Kapanen in Second Round of NHL Draft
The Montreal Canadiens had to wait until the end of the second round to make their first selection of day two, but they finally were able to begin what should be a busy day of picks.
The Canadiens hold 10 picks in the six rounds that will take place today and finally got it kicked off by picking Riley Kidney.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native played the past two seasons with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Kidney scored five goals and 33 points in 59 games as a rookie in the QMJHL in the 2019-20 season and stepped up this year to pile up 13 goals and 38 points in 33 contests. He was incredible in the postseason, scoring two goals and 17 points in just nine games.
The 5’11” and 168 pound centre has incredible vision and playmaking abilities on the ice. He sees the ice tremendously well and has a pass first mentality that allows his linemates to have plenty of scoring chances.
The Canadiens did not have to wait long before making their next pick. After taking Kidney 63rd overall, they stepped back up to the podium and took Oliver Kapanen with the very next pick.
Kapanen played last year in the Finnish Junior league and led the circuit in goals with 25 in 37 games. His 41 points game him well over a point per game pace and he wore an “A” on his sweater showing he took on a leadership role as well.
Kapanen went to the World Under-18 Tournament but crashed heavily into the boards in his team’s first game. He returned to play four games but didn’t register a point. Though he didn’t show his best stuff at the tournament, he showed plenty of offensive promise leading up to it in the regular season.
Both forwards are pretty skilled hockey players and project to become offensive contributors at the NHL in the future. The Canadiens still have two picks in the third round and three in fourth round as well as one in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.