The Montreal Canadiens won't have the good fortune of a high pick in the 2025 NHL Draft unless something drastic happens before the event. Montreal could use some of their capital to trade up and get a better pick, but the chances of them getting into the top 10 are slim. They'll have to find a diamond in the rough with the 16th and 17th picks, and a name is starting to gain a lot of traction as a possible selection with one of those two picks.
Both Scott Wheeler via The Athletic and Bleacher Report have Lynden Lakovic going to the Canadiens. It makes sense for the Canadiens, as he fits their ideal prospect as a 6-foot-4 power forward who brings a blend of size and skill. Montreal's ideal target at the draft is a center, but there is none that would make sense in the range they are drafting. It's one of the reasons why they could go looking for a trade to get a higher pick.
Wheeler notes that William Moore could be an option for the Canadiens in the second round if they don't find a center in the first. Moore has some high offensive upside, but he isn't worthy of a first round pick in this range. It almost begs the question of whether the Canadiens would consider trading down to later in the first round to grab Moore and acquire some assets for one of their two first round picks.
Regardless, Lakovic is the target of our breakdown, as he is a "pro-built winger who can play up and down the lineup," according to Wheeler. He believes that Lakovic would supplement players like Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov perfectly, and it'd make sense for him to be another version of Juraj Slafkovsky.
The top six of the Canadiens could then have identical builds, with a power forward on the left side, an elite offensive player on the right side, and a reliable center in the middle. The only question would be who that second center would be (Michael Hage?).
Lakovic won't blow anyone away with offensive talent, but that isn't what the Canadiens really need. They have plenty of talent, and Lakovic's 58 points in 47 games on a bad Moose Jaw Warriors team could be just enough. If Lakovic doesn't work out in the top six in the future, it isn't a bad thing to have some high upside in the bottom six who can play any way you want.