The Montreal Canadiens have targeted size so far in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, and their selection with their third-round pick was no different. With the 93rd overall pick, the Canadiens selected Cooper Cleaves, who played for Dartmouth College last season. Cleaves, listed at 6’3”, 203 pounds, is not a player who will WOW you with flashy plays in the offensive zone, but he makes up for it with physicality and the ability to kill plays. The 20-year-old defenceman was passed on in his first two years of draft eligibility, but the Canadiens took a chance on the overage defender, something that has been brewing since the team’s development camp last season.
Canadiens have had Cleaves in the building before
It is not uncommon for a player who gets passed over in the NHL Entry Draft to attend a team's development camp in the summer. Before the Canadiens selected Bryce Pickford in the 2025 draft, he had gone undrafted the year before and declined a development camp from the Detroit Red Wings. Cleaves' situation is a little different. After being passed over in the 2024 and 2025 NHL Entry Drafts, the Canadiens extended Cleaves a development camp invite, which he accepted, laying the groundwork for Montreal to select him this year.
He spent a week with the Canadiens, and in his post-draft interview, Cleaves said Nick Bobrov, the Canadiens’ director of amateur scouting, told him that if he continues to play the way he did in camp, there was a good chance he would be drafted. Cleaves said that helped motivate him, and as the season went on, he began to gain more traction. As it turns out, Bobrov was right, and it was the Canadiens that called his name.
What kind of player are the Canadiens getting in Cleaves?
Cleaves describes himself as a two-way defenceman. When he was asked who his NHL comparisons were, he said players like Brett Pesce and Zach Whitecloud. That is exactly the style of defenceman the Canadiens are missing in their lineup. Cleaves was passed over in his first two years of draft eligibility, which he believes was a learning experience. He might have thought he was ready to be drafted, but over the last two years, he has gained a deeper understanding of what he needs to do to get to that next level.
Cleaves told the media that early on, he was dealing with identity issues. He believes he is not exactly an offensive defenceman, but is not quite a defensive defenceman either. He credits his experiences with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL two years ago and this past season with Dartmouth in the NCAA for helping him round out his game, giving him a clearer identity. He now believes he is the type of player who can use his size to his advantage, skates well, and helps move the puck up the ice while also being solid defensively. Cleaves will be returning to Dartmouth for his sophomore year and will now be going back to college with a ton of Canadiens fans keeping an eye on how he continues to develop.
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