The Montreal Canadiens continued to add to their prospect cupboards as the 2023 NHL Draft carries on. They are getting into the later rounds now, so players may not be the biggest of names but there have been plenty of talented players taken in the fourth round of previous drafts.
The Canadiens hope that is the case again this year and they were able to select three different players in the fourth round.
With the 101st overall selection, the Canadiens took Florian Xhekaj. If that name seems familiar it is because his older brother, Arber, has already made a name for himself with the Canadiens. Florian played for the Hamilton Bulldogs, so he is truly following in his brother’s footsteps in his hockey career.
He just turned 19 earlier this week, and was passed over in last year’s NHL Draft. Xhekaj played in Ontario’s Junior A league in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals and 40 points in 48 games. In 2022-23 he suited up in the OHL with Hamilton and scored 13 goals and 25 points in 68 games. At 6’2″ and 174 pounds he isn’t the biggest player in the league, but the left winger adds some snarl to the lineup and piled up 76 penalty minutes while playing for his hometown team.
With the 110th overall pick, the Canadiens dug deep into the prospect rankings and took Bogdan Konyushkov. The Russian defenseman is a bit of an enigma, mostly because sightings in Russia have been limited for the past two seasons. He is listed as 5’11” and 176 pounds and is a right shooting defenseman. He is also already 20 years old and has been passed over in each of the past two NHL Drafts.
Konyushkov played in the KHL last season, scoring 25 points in 64 games for Torpedo Novgorod which was 18th among defensemen in scoring. He also added six points in six postseason games for Torpedo’s Junior team.
With their third pick in the fourth round, the Canadiens selected goaltender Quintin Miller. He was the backup goaltender for the Quebec Remparts, who won a QMJHL championship last season. He posted a 2.11 GAA and a .911 SV% in 20 games, which are fantastic numbers in the high scoring Q league. He will be tested much greater next season as the Remparts lost a lot of veteran players including their starting goalie.
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