Montreal Canadiens: Ranking Past 10 First Overall NHL Draft Picks

The Montreal Canadiens are in an enviable position around the National Hockey League. Well, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche are in really enviable positions, but after that you could argue the Habs are in the next most enviable position.

While playing for the Stanley Cup at this time of year is the goal of every team around the league, only two teams can get this far. If you aren’t going to compete for the Stanley Cup in a given year, you may as well be in a position to make your team better for the foreseeable future.

The Canadiens are in that position right now as they hold the rights to the first overall draft pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. It took a very poor regular season and a little bit of draft lottery luck, but the Habs are now in an enviable (draft) position.

Who will they take? I mean, probably Shane Wright. He is a complete player, centre, really good at hockey, smart, can play both ends of the ice and can flat out snipe when he gets into a scoring position. There has been some debate lately about whether he is the top pick, but just about anyone who makes a mock draft has Wright at the top.

Picking first overall has helped the Avalanche and Lightning get to where they are now. It isn’t the only thing required to build a great team, but are the Avs playing in the Stanley Cup Final without Nathan MacKinnon, who was picked first overall in 2013? Probably not.

Are the Lightning here today without Steven Stamkos, who was drafted first overall in 2008? Well, maybe because they won the Cup without him two years ago. But still, he is really good and has helped the team become the closest thing we have seen to a dynasty in decades.

Picking first overall has certainly helped the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks turn their fortunes around recently. It doesn’t always work, and sometimes it takes time, but it isn’t unfathomable to expect a terrific, franchise altering player with the first overall pick.

The Habs haven’t picked a lot of top scorers in the past few decade. Let’s take a look back at the ten most recent first overall picks to see what kind of impact Canadiens fans can expect from whoever they take first overall on July 7th.

10. Nail Yakupov

Okay, so we can say right away that there is no guarantee that the first overall pick turns into an elite player. The Oilers thought they had a terrific goal scoring winger when they grabbed Nail Yakupov first overall in 2012, but it really didn’t turn out that way.

The Russian did score 17 goals and 31 points in 48 games as a rookie in the lockout shortened 2013 season, but that would be the high point. He struggled in the following three seasons, scoring 24, 33 and 23 points each year before being traded to the St. Louis Blues for a conditional third round pick and a mediocre prospect.

The scariest thing about Yakupov is his numbers from his Junior days are somewhat similar to Shane Wright’s. Back in 2011-12, Yakupov scored 31 goals and 69 points in 42 games for the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. That’s actually quite a bit higher than Wright’s 94 points in 63 games for the Kingston Frontenacs this season.

Of course, Yakupov was a one-dimensional winger who could score, but do little else. Wright is a complete player who brings it at both ends of the ice and is already a far better defensive player than Yakupov ever was in his career.

Yakupov had the skill, but not the hockey IQ that Wright possesses. That’s why comparing Yakupov to Wright would make no sense whatsoever.

9. Alexis Lafreniere

It might not be fair to put the most recent first overall picks on this list, simply because they haven’t had as much time to prove themselves. But, adjusting to the NHL level is a reality that Shane Wright is going to have to deal with as well.

Lafreniere has taken slowly to the NHL game. He was an extraordinary talent at the QMJHL level but hasn’t been able to put up a lot of offence with the New York Rangers as of yet. He is just 20 years old, so let’s not compare him to Yakupov quite yet.

Lafreniere had over two points per game in his final Junior season. He scored 35 goals and 112 points 52 games for the Rimouski Oceanic before Covid wiped out the remainder of the season.

Since making his NHL debut, Lafreniere scored 12 goals and 21 points in 56 games as a rookie, and followed that up with 19 goals and 31 points in 79 games this season. He played good hockey in the postseason, though he didn’t explode offensively with nine points in 20 games.

It is still too early to declare Lafreniere won’t live up to his lofty expectations as a first overall pick. But the Rangers have to be getting a little restless waiting for their top selection to take off.

8. Owen Power

Like mentioned above, it is a little early to rank Owen Power on a list with players nine years older than him. It has been less than a year since he was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Sabres, and he stayed another season in college hockey in 2021-22.

While his NHL experience is limited, he has certainly done everything right to show the hockey world that he is worthy of the distinction of being picked first overall. He also has all the tools and potential to climb this prestigious list in the coming years.

Power played an additional season of NCAA with Michigan after being drafted and was phenomenal. He scored 32 points in 33 games as a defenceman, and was a rock defensively, every bit as physical and dominant as his 6’6″ and 214 pound frame would suggest.

Power played eight games late in the season for the Sabres and scored two goals and three points. He literally has all the tools to be the next Chris Pronger and fans will look back at the 2021 NHL Draft as a big reason the Sabres finally got out of their decade long funk.

If Wright can look half as good a year from now as Power looks today, the Canadiens will have hit a home run.

7. Nico Hischier

First overall picks are usually not a surprise by the time the NHL Draft begins. Teams are good at keeping their decision secret and don’t announce things ahead of time, and the media tries to build drama in the lead-up to the draft, but we usually know exactly who is going first overall.

Nico Hischier was the exception to that rule in the past ten years. A lot of the talk that year was about Nolan Patrick, but he had a just okay season in the WHL while Hischier really broke out offensively in his lone QMJHL season with the Halifax Mooseheads.

Hischier scored 38 goals and 86 points in 57 games that season to steal the top spot away from Patrick. He was not a highly ranked player a year ahead of time as he was playing in Switzerland and there were questions about the level of competition he saw there in their Junior league.

But the Devils saw enough when he played with the Mooseheads and they aren’t regretting that decision. Hischier scored 20 goals and 52 points as a rookie for the Devils and scored at about the same rate in his next two seasons. Injuries derailed his fourth season, but the 23 year old has really broken out this season.

He had already signed a long-term contract, as the Devils were convinced of his skill and two-way play, but the fact he put up 60 points in 70 games shows the team was correct when they gave him a seven year contract with a $7.25 million cap hit.

The fact it took him four seasons of decent offensive production before nearing his point per game pace should be a cautionary tale for Wright. The Habs shouldn’t expect 75 points next season, but they can start to look for that kind of production in a few years.

6. Rasmus Dahlin

The Montreal Canadiens just missed out on Rasmus Dahlin and had to settle for Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third overall pick in 2018. Dahlin was heralded as a terrific defence prospect who could soon become a Norris Trophy winner.

He stepped into the NHL as a rookie and scored 44 points in 82 games. He followed that up with 40 points in just 59 games, but then his production dropped to 23 points in 56 games in 2020-21. He just set career highs with 13 goals and 53 points this season, doing so in 80 games.

There is no question Dahlin has tremendous offensive potential. He just turned 22 years old near the end of this season and already has scored 160 career points at the NHL level. That kind of production is pretty much unheard of for defencemen at the highest level.

The Swedish blue liner is an amazing skater, fantastic passer, has a great shot from the point and though he is still working on his defensive game, he is already a steady defender in the NHL. With more time, he is just going to continue looking better and better as he improves his all-around game.

It is hard to compare Wright to a defenceman like Dahlin, but again, another team got a phenomenal player with the first overall pick in 2018 and they will reap the benefits as he matures and they build a better squad around him.

5. Jack Hughes

Another wire-to-wire clear first overall pick back in 2019 was Jack Hughes. Otherwise known as the guy who passed the puck to Cole Caufield as a teenager for the United States Development Program. The pair set a few records that season, but there was no question the two-way pivot was going first overall.

The Devils once again ended up with the first pick and didn’t surprise anyone by taking Hughes. He was a bit slender and struggled a little in his first NHL season, scoring just seven goals and 21 points in 61 games. He followed that up with 31 points in 56 games the next season.

Hughes really broke out in his third NHL season, as he just scored 26 goals and 56 points in 49 games this season. He also signed an eight year extension with a cap hit of $8 million per season.

Hughes is a smart, two-way player and a terrific setup man. He will combine with Hischier to form a tremendous one-two punch down the middle for the Devils for the next decade or so.

As good as he looked in Junior and as great as he was in his third season, it should be another cautionary tale that he was slow out of the gate. He had just 18 goals and 52 points combined in his first two seasons, showing whoever the Canadiens take first overall doesn’t have to lead the team in scoring in 2022-23.

4. Aaron Ekblad

The Florida Panthers had the first pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and settled on Aaron Ekblad. It is hard to suggest they made the wrong pick, even knowing Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl were taken right after him.

Ekblad is the prototypical two-way, all-around defender. He just does everything right on the ice at both ends, plays in all situations and helps the team out on the man advantage as well as on the penalty kill.

He averaged nearly 25 minutes per night this season on the President’s Trophy winning team. Considering they had goaltending questions all season, a big right shot defender who can play nearly half the game is a big reason they were able to have so much success in the regular season.

Add in the fact he scored basically a point per game with 57 in 61 games, including 15 goals from the blue line, and you have yourself a Norris Trophy contender. Again, in 2014, the team that picked first overall ended up with an elite player and zero complaints.

3. Nathan MacKinnon

There was some debate in the 2012-13 season about whether Nathan MacKinnon or Seth Jones would be the first overall pick in the NHL Draft. MacKinnon scored a hat trick against Jones team in the Memorial Cup and the debate was settled.

MacKinnon was taken first by the Colorado Avalanche and Jones dropped to fourth, being taken after Alexander Barkov and Jonathan Drouin. Since then, MacKinnon has proven to be without a doubt the best player in the draft class.

It took some time though. MacKinnon had a strong rookie season scoring 24 goals and 63 points but that remained his career high for a while. In his second season, he had just 14 goals and 38 points but there were some injuries. His fourth season saw him score just 16 goals and 53 points in a full 82 game season.

Since then, he has been one of the very best players in the entire world. He scored 39 goals and 97 points in 74 games in 2017-18. He followed that up with 99 points. He had 93 points in just 69 games the next season. Injuries limited him to 48 games in 2020-21 and he had 65 points. This season, MacKinnon scored 32 goals and 88 points in 65 games.

He also has helped his team to a 14-3 playoff record and two wins away from the Stanley Cup with 11 goals and 20 points in those 17 games. He now has 89 points in 67 career postseason games.

Again, it took a little time, but MacKinnon was taken first overall in 2013 and became one of the best players in the league in the 2017-18 season.

2. Auston Matthews

How is it that there are two players ahead of MacKinnon on this list? Well, neither of them had a four year stint where they were just okay before becoming one of the best players in the entire NHL.

Matthews was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016. He immediately made a statement by scoring 40 goals as a rookie. He has been above a point per game in each season since then, but really exploded this season.

The 24 year old led the league in goals this season with 60, and had 106 points in just 73 games. If he hadn’t already, he proved to be the best goal scorer in the league this season and has about a decade of filling nets in front of him still.

Matthews has incredibly scored 259 goals in his career already and he is yet to turn 25. You couldn’t ask for more from a first overall pick in his first six seasons in the NHL. Clearly, there is no one in this draft that is going to step into the NHL and score 250 goals in their first six seasons.

If you are hoping for the Habs first overall pick this year to knock Matthews off this perch in a few seasons, you have set the bar a little too high.