Drafting is not an exact science, but the Montreal Canadiens made several picks in the late 90s and early 2000s that left many fans and analysts scratching their heads. Not saying every pick they made was bad, but there are definitely a couple the franchise would like back. It is easy to say now that the Canadiens made the wrong selection in this draft and that draft after watching how the player's career played out. However, that does not mean those selections do not still haunt the franchise to this day.
1. Matt Higgins
Matt Higgins is often forgotten as one of the biggest busts in Montreal Canadiens history. Higgins was the team’s 18th overall selection in the 1996 NHL Draft. His junior career with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL was highly productive, as he scored 30 goals in three consecutive seasons. In his final season with the Warriors, he set career highs in assists (57) and points (90), creating hype about what he could become with the Canadiens. After his junior career was over, Higgins played the next season with the Habs’ farm team, the Fredericton Canadiens. He had a decent first season with the AHL Canadiens, scoring five goals and 27 points in 50 games, earning a call-up to the NHL, where he played one game in Montreal.
The thing with Higgins is that he was never anything more than a call-up for the Canadiens. Over the next three seasons, he split time between the AHL and NHL, and never played another NHL game following the 2000-01 season. In total, Higgins played 57 games for the Habs, recording just a single goal and two assists. Higgins spent the next two seasons playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL before deciding to take his talents to Europe, where he played in Germany and Austria. Higgins was never able to find his footing in the NHL, and what made it worse was the players taken after him. Marco Sturm was selected just three picks later, but the real miss came at pick 24, where the Phoenix Coyotes selected Daniel Briere. Briere was a highly productive forward in his prime and finished with the most goals and second-most points in his draft class.
2. David Fischer
In the 2006 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens drafted defenceman David Fischer 20th overall out of Apple Valley High School in Minnesota. Fischer was a big-bodied defenceman, standing 6’4” and weighing around 200 pounds. In high school, he posted impressive numbers, tallying 38 and 39 points in his final two seasons over 28 games. His performance earned him the USHS-MN Mr. Hockey award in 2006, recognizing him as Minnesota's top high school player.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Fischer’s offensive numbers peaked in high school. After being drafted by the Canadiens, Fischer went to play for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where in four years, he totalled just 38 points in 157 games. Following his collegiate career, he never made it over to Montreal and never played a single game in the NHL. He played a couple of years in the ECHL and AHL before moving to Europe, where he primarily played in Germany and Austria. Why this pick still haunts the Canadiens is because of the players selected after Fischer. The Philadelphia Flyers took Claude Giroux two picks later. The Ottawa Senators took Nick Foligno at pick 28th. Not to mention the players taken in later rounds, like Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, or Kyle Okposo, but it is not fair to judge the Canadiens for not drafting them, as every team passed on them in the first round. Fischer goes down as one of the worst first-round picks in
3. Louis Leblanc
The Canadiens thought they had found their next hometown star when they drafted Louis Leblanc with the 18th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. In his draft year, he played in the USHL for the Omaha Lancers, where he recorded 28 goals and 59 points in 60 games, winning the Rookie of the Year trophy. Following the draft, he decided to go the collegiate route, committing to Harvard University. In his lone season with the Harvard Crimson, Leblanc had 11 goals and 23 points in 31 games and was named Ivy League rookie of the year. Leblanc signed his entry-level contract after one season with the Crimson. Since you can not play in the NCAA after signing a professional contract, the Canadiens sent him down to the QMJHL, where he played the next season at home with the Montreal Juniors.
Leblanc had a strong season with the Juniors, finishing with 26 goals and 58 points in 51 games. His play earned him a spot on Team Canada’s World Junior Championships, where he helped Canada win the silver medal, finishing the tournament with seven points in seven games. Now is where the struggles begin. Leblanc started the next season with the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he impressed enough to earn a call-up to the NHL. In 42 games with the Habs, Leblanc recorded five goals and 10 points, struggling to adjust to the NHL speed. He then started the next season back with the Bulldogs, where the struggles continued.
Leblanc only played in eight more NHL games in his career. He bounced around the AHL before moving to Europe to continue his playing career. In total, he played 50 career NHL games for the Canadiens. The disappointment with this pick is mixed between the hype Leblanc generated and the players taken after him. One spot after Leblanc was the Canadiens' mortal enemy, Chris Krieder (Oh, how that would have changed history). Another long-time NHLer, Kyle Palmieri, was taken with the 26th pick by the Anaheim Ducks. Montreal had high hopes for a new local star, but unfortunately, it just did not pan out that way.