Montreal Canadiens: Danny Zhilkin A Possible Second Round Option

With each and every game, the Montreal Canadiens’ and their fanbase turn more and more to the future. The season is more or less a lost cause at this point, and the focus of new hire Jeff Gorton should be on the future of this organization and working on uplifting it back to its former glory.

And there is no better place to do it than the NHL draft.

While most eyes are on the first overall pick, that most likely will be Shane Wright, which is promised to no team yet; the lottery will decide that. But whoever is in the lottery and doesn’t win has a great chance to pick up a good player with an early pick in the second round. There is not much difference between a late first rounder and an early second rounder.

Odds are that the Montreal Canadiens will not win the draft lottery. Sorry to dash your hopes, but there are a lot of bad teams this year. There will be plenty of speculation over Montreal’s first round pick, but what-the-heck? its not every day that I get to see a possible prospect that can land into the Habs’ lap.

The prospect hockey watcher’s world has been revolving around Shane Wright of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. And while he hasn’t been exactly lighting up the league, 11 goals and 30 points in 22 games (not bad, but certainly not world conquering), its widely considered that he has proven everything to prove at the youth level, and is still the unanimous first overall pick.

And the Montreal Canadiens have proven they have their eyes on the Ontario Hockey League, with the signing of Arber Xhekaj of the Kitchener Rangers this offseason. It is one of the only moves I liked from this offseason. Xhekaj went undrafted, but he is a defender from the same cloth as Shea Weber. He’s a big, physical, reliable defenseman that is a visible leader on the ice, even though he does lead the league in penalty minutes. I don’t know how high his professional ceiling is, but he’s worth the flyer, if he can stop getting suspended.

And Montreal is in need of offense, perpetually. So if only there was an offensive player that is projected to be picked in the late first round or early second.

Let me introduce you to the Guelph Storm’s Danny Zhilkin.

He’s been ranked as high as 22nd by RECRUIT SCOUTING, 25th by TSN analyst Craig Button and as low as 50 by FC HOCKEY. But who knows? There are always teams that go way off the board (I’m looking at you, Pierre McGuire and the Ottawa Senators), so there’s always a chance players will fall.

Besides, Zhilkin isn’t lighting up the league to build his draft stock too high. He has 10 goals and 22 points in 24 games. Just shy of a point-per-game firmly places him within the conversation for the late first round.

He was born in Moskva, Russia, but moved to Ontario young. He put up really good numbers as a member of the Toronto Marlboros at the AAA level, 57 points in 69 games, and was picked 14th overall in the OHL entry draft in 2019.

Now, it wouldn’t be fair to not mention that Zhilkin has spent most of his time playing with Sasha Pastujov, the Anaheim Ducks 3rd round pick in 2021, who has been lighting up the league. Pastujov is one off the league lead in goals with 20, and was the leader for a while. Speaking of leading the league, at one point Zhilkin was tied for the lead in game-winning goals with 3.

Its been a point of interest in the season that Zhilkin, and the Guelph Storm as a whole, have been better as the game goes on, at least in the games that I have seen. He is near the top of the list for OHL game winning goals this season. Zhilkin is a focal point in the offense, both as a member of the top line and in a vacuum.

Pretty much every time the puck is in transition, or in the offensive zone, Zhilkin is involved in the way in some way. And he accomplishes this with a mixture of skill, good hockey sense, and the willingness to get into the dirty areas on the ice. You can see him digging in the corner and playing in front of the net, but he also has the speed and skill to burn defenders on the rush.

Should Danny Zhilkin fall to Montreal’s second round pick (and if Montreal finds themselves with an early second round pick), he could be worth the pick. He is always visible in the offensive zone, and even though he has played with Pastujov throughout the season, the third member of the line has been a revolving door. Valentin Zhugin started in the position, but has dropped to the fourth line, and Ben McFarlane or Braeden Bowman have both spent time on the top line. Throughout this turnover, Zhilkin has kept his production numbers high. Plus Zhilkin is a centre, which is still a position that Montreal should aim to strengthen in the coming years.

Either way, I am excited to watch more of Zhilkin as the OHL season comes along.