A Winning Habit
Fansided

Five Best Late Draft Picks By Canadiens Since 2000

By Patrick Lortie

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 03: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates during the NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre on February 3, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 03: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates during the NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Bell Centre on February 3, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON – MARCH 3: Mark Streit #32 of the Montreal Canadiens passes the puck against the Boston Bruins on March 3, 2007 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins won 3-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BOSTON – MARCH 3: Mark Streit #32 of the Montreal Canadiens passes the puck against the Boston Bruins on March 3, 2007 at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins won 3-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

786 NHL games, 96 goals, 338 assists, 434 points in 13 NHL season. Represented his country a total of of 6 times at the international level both in Juniors and professional. Captain of the New York Islanders. Stanley Cup Champion.

Not bad for a 9th round pick out of Bern, Switzerland.

The journey of Mark Streit to the NHL is quite remarkable. At the time, the Swiss-A League wasn’t what it was today and the fact that he even got noticed by someone is borderline a miracle of it’s own. The thing is, the 2004 draftee did play a season of North-American hockey during the 1999-2000 season. He played 1 game for the Utah Grizzlies of the International Hockey League, played 14 games for the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and 43 games for the Springfield Falcons.

Still, he returned to Switzerland and it took all this time, including 9 rounds, for him to get a chance.

Streit definitely seized that chance as he made the team out of training camp and remained in the NHL for his entire career. While not the most defensive savvy player, he would quarterback a rush like no other and had smooth passing skills that would help pad his statistics.

A little known fact that was only discovered after his retirement following his 2 game stint with the Canadiens in 2017-18 was that he adored the game so much he would rarely tell team doctors when he was injured. Only the final three seasons of his career forced him to sit out more games but during his prime, he was the suck it up type and would hit the ice no matter how much it hurt.

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