Montreal Canadiens: Top 6 Loaded With First Round Talent
By Suki Gill
If you can’t remember the last time the Montreal Canadiens had this much top end talent on the team at the same time, I don’t blame you because I can’t either. The Canadiens broke camp this week with no less than ten former first round picks on their opening night roster, including five of their top six forwards.
Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Juraj Slafkovsky will all have spots on the first two lines to begin the season. They are joined by veterans Sean Monahan and Tanner Pearson as well as defensemen Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron as fellow first rounders on a club that fans are hoping can play an exciting brand of hockey while this rebuild progresses to the next level.
After years of seeming to always be a skilled player or two short at the top of the depth chart, general manager Kent Hughes has done an admirable job of assembling some dynamic young pieces that have the potential to generate serious firepower for the foreseeable future.
For countless seasons in Montreal, we have been forced to watch the likes of David Desharnais and Travis Moen play top six roles out of necessity due to an obvious lack of organizational talent. In contrast, the current version of the Habs has players slotted into the positions they were drafted to occupy.
Suzuki, the 13th overall pick in 2017, and Caufield, the 15th overall pick in 2019, are proven commodities at this point. They will be joined to start the season by veteran Josh Anderson to complete the Habs first line.
The newly formed second line is of particular interest. It consists of Dach, the 3rd overall pick in 2019, flanked by newcomer Alex Newhook, the 16th overall in the same draft year, and 2022 first overall selection Juraj Slafkovsky. If this line can click early it could provide a great preview of what the nucleus of this team could look like up front for years to come.
It’s also incredibly refreshing to see head coach Martin St. Louis give these guys an opportunity to seize the roles they were meant to play and not be stuck playing eight minutes a night with mediocre linemates. It will be on the young guns to show it on the ice but at least they will get a fair shake from a coach who is not interested in wins and losses or saving his own skin.
Building a team the right way, what a concept. It may have taken the Canadiens far too long to get to this point but we are finally here Habs fans, and the future starts now!
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