The Montreal Canadiens have been stockpiling draft picks for the 2022 NHL Draft for years. They could not have predicted they would end up with the first overall selection, but they clearly made a point of having a lot of selections.
Right now, they hold 14 picks in the seven round draft. Two of those are in the first round, two of them are in the second round, three are in the third round and three in the fourth round as well. That gives them ten of the first 128 picks.
They are certainly going to be busy, but I would be surprised if they end up using all 14 of their picks. I can imagine a few scenarios during day two where they trade a pick for a pick in the same round of the 2023 NHL Draft. That would at least spread out the invasion of young talent over a couple of years so they don’t all need to be signed at the same time.
It is quite possible we also see some packaging of picks to move around the draft. With their plethora of selections, the Canadiens could easily put a few of them together to try and make their second pick much earlier than 26th overall tonight.
Moving up isn’t all that easy in the NHL Draft, as previous years will show a late first round pick plus a late second round pick will only interest other teams in moving down a few spots. For example, if the Habs offer the 26th and 62nd picks around, they might be able to get the 21st pick in return.
They do also have the 33rd overall pick which is the first pick in the second round. If they package the 26th and 33rd, we could see them just inside the top 20 for their second pick tonight.
Who should they have their eye on when looking to move up? If any of these three players are available between 15-25, the Canadiens should be on the phone trying to move up and take them.
Brad Lambert
Brad Lambert is a bit of a wildcard in this draft. He was once ranked as high as top 3 after a strong 2020-21 season in Liiga as a 17 year old. He scored 15 points in 46 games that season which is the exact same point per game Juraj Slafkovsky just had in 2021-22 in just 31 games and is getting him #1 overall attention.
Lambert also scored five points in five games at the World Under-18s in 2020-21 and had four points in seven games at the World Juniors. He was among the very best prospects just a year ago.
But this season did not go as well for Lambert. He had just ten points in 49 games in Liiga, seeing his production drop by about a third from his previous year. That’s definitely a concern for a player his age, but it doesn’t mean he lost his touch from previous seasons.
Lambert has terrific speed, skill and smarts with the puck. His stickhandling and talent is just off the charts. But the production wasn’t there which could see him slip in the draft this year.
He is ranked right around 20th by most scouts and prospect experts, but the questions around his 21-22 season could result in him dropping a bit more. If he does stay available beyond the 20th pick, the Canadiens should be looking to move up a few slots by trading their 26th pick and a third round pick to try and get Lambert at 22nd or 23rd.
Conor Geekie
Conor Geekie sees his draft stock kind of all over the place. He is ranked as high as 7th overall by The Hockey News, but was 29th on Craig Button’s latest ranking of this year’s draft class. When you put the rankings together as a consensus, he comes in somewhere around 15th overall.
If he slips a few spots beyond that, the Canadiens should be looking to pounce on the Winnipeg Ice centre.
Geekie is a two-way pivot who scored 24 goals and 70 points in 63 games last season. His offensive production dipped a bit late in the season, but the 63 games were far more than the 33 he played in each of the past two seasons. With a little more consistency next season he could be among the top scorers in the WHL.
He has enviable size at 6’4″ and 205 pounds and plays a smart, physical, puck battling style that will make him a useful NHLer someday no matter how much offence he brings to the pro level. He is definitely worth moving up from 26th to select.
If Geekie drops a bit lower than his ranking and is still available at 20, the Habs should be offering the 26th pick with a late second and a third or fourth to move up and take Geekie.
Frank Nazar
Frank Nazar is a tremendously skilled forward who played for the United States Development Program. He brings a feisty competitiveness to the ice and incredible puck skills that lead to him creating space to either set up teammates or use his great shot to score himself.
He played all situations for USA and finished the season with 28 goals and 70 points in 56 games. Against toughest competition, meaning NCAA Division I teams, Nazar scored five goals and ten points in 15 games. That’s a good omen for a player who will play his freshman season with Michigan next year.
The Michigan program has just been churning out NHL talent in the past few years and Nazar will jump on that train. He is going to be an impact player for the Wolverines next season and has a long NHL career in front of him as a gritty, skilled right winger who can put up points but also be trusted in his own zone.
If, somehow, he falls to 15th the Canadiens need to start putting packages of picks together to try and trade up for him. It would cost them quite a bit, certainly the 26th and 33rd overall picks and probably a third round pick as well. Even that might not be enough to jump all the way to 15, especially if Nazar is still available.
But if the skilled winger is still there, it would be wise of the Canadiens to be aggressive and try to move way up and select him.
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!