Montreal Canadiens Five Best NHL Draft Classes: #2

The Montreal Canadiens hold on to the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft which will begin tomorrow night. They are looking to hit a few home runs with their selections and are hoping to add some future cornerstone pieces for the franchise.

While we wait to find out who will become the Canadiens 2023 NHL Draft class, we are counting down their hits and misses from previous years. Today, we look at their second best draft class in franchise history.

The 1987 NHL Draft saw the Canadiens hit four consecutive home runs to lead off. It was a busy draft, with them making 14 picks in total in what was then a 12 round event. There were no more impact players taken after their first four picks, but you don’t really need any more hits after starting 4-for-4.

Andrew Cassels was their first selection. He was taken in the first round, 17th overall. The skilled, playmaking center would only play 60 career games with the Habs before being traded for a second round pick, but he had a long and productive NHL career. He eventually retired in 2006, 19 years after being drafted, and had played 1015 NHL games, scoring 732 points.

Their next pick was John LeClair at 33rd overall in the second round. Like Cassels, he was also traded way too early, but would have a tremendous NHL career. He scored 406 goals and 819 points in 967 career NHL games. Most of that was after he left Montreal but he did help them win the 1993 Stanley Cup with two overtime winners in the Final.

Speaking of the 1993 Final, Eric Desjardins was the Habs third pick in the 1987 NHL Draft. He scored a hat trick in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, propelling the Habs to their most recent championship. The right defenceman scored 575 points in 1143 career NHL games and was a key reason the team won that Stanley Cup.

Another pillar on that blue line in 1993 was Mathieu Schneider. Schneider was also picked at the 1987 NHL Draft by the Canadiens, coming off the board in the third round with the 44th overall pick. Schneider scored 743 points in 1289 career games during a career that spanned 20 NHL seasons.

Those four players combined to play over 4400 career NHL games and three of them were key members on the last Canadiens team to win a Stanley Cup. Ed Ronan was also drafted in 1987 and helped the Canadiens win that Stanley Cup in 1993 by scoring five points in 14 playoff games.

Getting four players that become either top pairing defensemen or top six forwards for a long time is an amazing draft class. Just getting one of these players would make for a fine draft, but hitting four times in a row to start off is nearly unheard of for any team.

The Canadiens will be hoping to do something similar in this week’s NHL Draft.

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