Montreal Canadiens 2019 Draft Class: Habs Select Their Sniper of the Future At 15

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It's officially draft month! For June, we will look back at some of the draft classes to see how the Habs front offices of the past did with their selections. It's too early to examine some of Kent Hughes' first few draft classes. The 2019 class will be the subject of our third look at the history.

Montreal Canadiens 2020 Draft Class: Kaiden Guhle and Luke Tuch Headline Strong Group

The Vancouver Canucks hosted the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, with the Canucks having the tenth overall pick and selecting Vasily Podkolzin. The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery, getting the opportunity to take Jack Hughes with their first overall pick. Kappo Kakko went number two to the New York Rangers, and current Montreal Canadien Kirby Dach went third overall to the Blackhawks. However, the Montreal Canadiens selected a stud of their own at 15th overall.

Let's take a look at the Montreal Canadiens 2019 draft class.

Montreal Canadiens Jayden Struble / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

Round 1

15th Overall - Cole Caufield

Cole Caufield was one of the top snipers in the draft coming out of the United States NTDP. He scored 72 goals in 64 USHL and Exhibition games while playing with first-overall pick Jack Hughes and (future hab?) Trevor Zegras.

Caufield excelled in two seasons at the University of Wisconsin but signed with the Habs in 2020-21 and was a contributor with 12 points in 20 games on the run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

Caufield's scoring hasn't been what Habs fans would like, as he's failed to reach 30 goals yet, but a new-found chemistry with Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky may be the thing to lead him over that threshold in 2024-25.

Round 2

46th Overall - Jayden Struble

Struble went to Northeastern University in 2019 with tons of confidence after going in the second round to the Canadiens. Struble's numbers at Northeastern weren't great considering his spot on the second powerplay unit, but he still recorded 48 points in 104 collegiate games.

Struble made his AHL debut in 2022-23, playing nine games, but spent just 13 games there in 2023-24 before spending his last 56 games in Montreal. The defenseman scored his first NHL goal on December 9th against the Buffalo Sabres.

Montreal Canadiens Mattias Norlinder / Chris Tanouye/Freestyle Photo/GettyImages

Round 3

64th Overall - Mattias Norlinder

Norlinder spent most of his career in Sweden, eventually getting promoted to the Swedish Elite League with Frolunda from 2020-22. He had 12 points in 58 games with the historic club but decided to come to North America for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, splitting 12 games between Montreal and Laval.

It was Norlinder's last glimpse at the NHL level, as he's been relegated to the AHL for the last two seasons. He had a good first full-season in Laval, recording 19 points in 67 games, but regressed to nine points in 50 games this season after losing his spot to better defensemen. Norlinder's RFA contract is up for renewal this offseason but he may end up looking for greener pastures.

77th Overall - Gianni Fairbrother

Fairbrother's lone contribution to the Habs is that he was the player who went the other way in the Alex Newhook trade. The Canadiens sent Fairbrother, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick in the deal before the 2023 NHL Draft. Fairbrother played 28 games with Laval over three seasons.

Round 5

Montreal Canadiens fifth rounder Jacob Leguerrier / Dennis Pajot/GettyImages

126th Overall - Jacob Leguerrier

The Habs relinquished the rights to Leguerrier after the 2020-21 season, and it seems like his hockey career is nearing an end. He played four games in Laval in 2020-21 due to the canceled OHL season from the pandemic but never established a role on the blue line. He is now with the University of Ottawa in USports but doesn't seem to play many games there either. Conflicting reports have him either playing no games or just two games over the last two seasons.

131st Overall - Rhett Pitlick

Pitlick played two seasons in the USHL after the Habs drafted him, but he didn't impress many people. However, he's been excelling at the University of Minnesota over the last two seasons, recording 36 points in 39 games in 2023-24. The Canadiens still own his rights and could bring him in for more scoring depth after his senior season.

138th Overall - Frederik Dichow

Dichow has split his time between Denmark and Sweden since getting drafted, but his performance there wasn't good enough for the Habs to keep him, as they relinquished his rights after the 2023 season. He is now with HV71 in the Swedish Elite League after falling out of favor with Frolunda last season.

Round 6

Montreal Canadiens Rafael Harvey-Pinard / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

170th Overall - Arsen Khisamutidinov

Khisamutidinov spent 15 games in Laval in 2020-21 and 10 games in the ECHL in 2021-22 but bolted for the KHL. He played two games in the KHL in 2022-23 but wasn't active in 2023-24.

Round 7

201st Overall - Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Considering the Habs' success with the Harvey-Pinard selection, the failure of their next pick is okay. Harvey-Pinard was a force in Laval for three seasons, recording 107 points in 145 games. The Canadiens recalled him in 2022-23 to end the season, and Harvey-Pinard captured the hearts of Habs fans with 20 points in 34 games.

The 2023-24 season showed that his output the previous season may have been too lofty to maintain, as he had just 10 points in 45 games.

206th Overall - Kieran Ruscheinski

Ruscheinski was a long shot as the Habs drafted him out of the Alberta U18 League after he played just three games in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He spent three seasons in the BCHL and now plies his trade at Lindenwood University. The 6-6 defenseman was a good idea in theory, but he never panned out for the Habs.

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