3 potential steals the Canadiens must target in the NHL Draft
The Montreal Canadiens will be fun to watch during the NHL Draft, mainly because of their sheer number of mid-to-late-round picks.
The Montreal Canadiens have nine picks between Rounds 3 and 7 in the 2024 NHL Draft, so they’re naturally one of the most exciting teams to follow as the big weekend - okay, Friday and Saturday but nonetheless the weekend - draws to within one week. Since they have so many mid-to-late-round picks, it makes sense to at least talk about who general manager Kent Hughes should consider taking with those selections.
And it’s safe to say digging deep in the draft has worked well for the Habs in recent years, something Joshua Roy is already starting to prove. Roy saw time in 23 games last season, with four goals and nine points, and his role should expand in 2024-25 and beyond.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard has 17 goals and 31 points in 83 games, and the former seventh-round pick should be back with the big club for another season. Other notable names include Jordan Harris, Cayden Primeau, and Michael Pezzetta, so let’s see which NHL-caliber steals Kent Hughes must keep a close eye on during Day 2 of the draft.
Stepan Gorbunov, F/Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk
So we got a versatile forward who is 6’5, and still just 17, making Stepan Gorbunov the perfect prospect to use one of those late-round picks on. He fared rather okay in his first MHL season, with 10 goals and 12 assists over 40 games, and he also added another three points and two goals in 10 postseason outings.
Per Elite Prospects, only NHL Central Scouting has Gorbunov ranked, and that’s as the No. 99 EU skater, so there’s an excellent chance he will still be available in the seventh round. Other than that, not much is known about Gorbunov, something that didn’t surprise me, considering how late in the draft he’s expected to go, if drafted at all.
But his overall size and age are what got me thinking he’s at least worth taking a flier on, letting him develop overseas, and reevaluating year after year.
Alexandre Blais, LW/Rimouski Oceanic
Another prospect who can go late but one I’m excited about, Alexandre Blais is someone who comes into the 2024 draft with a good deal of experience in the regular and postseason. Through the 2023-24 season, he’s appeared in 174 games, and has put up 149 points and 37 goals.
Yeah, you may take one look at those numbers and scoff, asking me why I’m so excited about a player who has scored 37 goals in 174 contests, or 0.21 per game. For one, let’s check out his breakout 2023-24 season, in which he finished the regular season with 84 points and 24 goals in 68 games. Do the math and you get 60 assists, and when you add in his six points (five assists) in five playoff games, you get 90 points and 65 assists on the season.
If you ask me, that spells playmaker potential, and he’s also a small, fast player, clocking in at just 5’10, 154 pounds. Yeah, he would need to put on at least 15-20 pounds before he’s ready to reach the next level, but let’s remember that Blais still has another full season to go in junior hockey before he’s even eligible to scale up.
But Kent Hughes doesn’t need to spend a third-round pick on Blais. If he’s there in the fourth round, it’s time to consider, and let’s not worry about his lack of size, late breakout season, or any of that. The Canadiens have more than enough picks to take chances on high-potential prospects this coming weekend.
Jimmy Dodig, D/Merrimack
And finally, we got another intriguing and imposing prospect in Jimmy Dodig, who can spend another four seasons developing as he will attend Merrimack this fall to play college hockey. Much like Stepan Gorbunov, Dodig’s size is a reason he’s on here, and at 6’5, 205, he’s not as far from filling out his frame.
He uses that size to his advantage both in landing body checks to disrupt plays and to keep opponents out of the way when he’s in front of the net. But just because he comes across as a defensive defenseman, it doesn’t mean Dodig is a one-dimensional player. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s the second reason he made this list of potential steals.
In high school, Dodig finished the 2022-23 season with 16 points and four goals in 29 games, and that doesn’t count the point-per-game pace he played at 16U. Dodig returned in 2023-24 and finished the year with six goals and 23 points in 30 games, so there is definitely potential for Dodig to develop into a two-way player throughout his time at Merrimack.
So, if Kent Hughes spent a later round pick on Dodig, let him develop for four seasons, and give him a year in the AHL, Dodig, in a worst-case scenario, is a part-time NHL player and sound organizational depth piece. Unlike Gorbunov, who is one to take a chance with, or Blais, whose size can give him limitations, there is potential for Dodig to be a complete player.
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(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference and Elite Prospects)