Canadiens Set To Hire Nikolai Bobrov As Director Of European Scouting

The Montreal Canadiens new brass continue to fill gaps and hire new blood. According to Larry Brooks, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes are set to name Nikolai Bobrov as Director of European Scouting, a position that was up to this day non-existent on the team.

Bobrov, 46, would be another former ally of Jeff Gorton as he was Director of European Scouting for the New York Rangers between 2015 and 2021. He also held the same roles with the Boston Bruins between 2001 and 2006, where he was promoted from video coach, and also held the role of Director of North American Scouting for SKA St-Petersburg of the KHL between 2011 and 2014. He also held an NHL Scout role with the Los Angeles Kings between 2006 and 2009.

The St-Petersburg, Russia native is also a former player having captained the Middlebury College team in Division 3 of the NCAA as a forward.

Bobrov would definitely alleviate a lot of pressure on the current (and future) scouting team. Having someone with a resume like his is certainly a plus, but also this means the Canadiens are willing to spend more on scouting as a whole. We’re all aware of the near obsession of Trevor Timmins with the American Collegiate and University programs, so having Bobrov lead the European front of scouting can only mean that the Canadiens will indeed be searching for the best players possible, rather than finding a particular character based on his nationality and pedigree.

Christer Rockstrom has been the Chief European Scout for the Canadiens since the 2010-11 season. He’s been an NHL scout since 1984 for the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers between 1990 and 2004. Between 2004 and 2010 he was Director of Player Development in Europe before joining the Canadiens.

Some draft picks that were credited to Bobrov include David Krejci in the 2nd round of the 2004 draft for the Boston Bruins, as well as disgraced ex-NHLer Slava Voynov, a 2nd round pick of the 2008 draft from the Los Angeles Kings.

He was also heavily involved in many European players drafted by the New York Rangers including Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson and apparently consulted the Rangers in 2014 into drafting up and coming Star goaltender Igor Shesterkin.