Montreal Canadiens: Ranking Past 10 First Overall NHL Draft Picks

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.