Canadiens can land either the best or a marquee blueliner
Cole Eiserman isn’t the only ‘cornerstone-caliber’ player who could be available at No. 5 to the Habs, as perhaps someone like Artyom Levshunov falls. Or, because the Canadiens pick fifth in a draft that is beyond rich in talent at the blue line, they could take the second-best-rated defenseman that the draft offers.
That same mock draft has Zeev Buium heading to Utah, and if you watched some of his games during the NCAA playoffs, you would be very excited to have him in the system. Like Levshunov, Buium could break into the pro ranks before his college eligibility is up, while Zayne Parekh could see time in Laval come the 2026-27 season and even before that on a nominal basis, depending on how things go in Saginaw.
All three of the blueliners mentioned above have top-four potential, and they could ultimately create a sensational tandem alongside David Reinbacher, who, at which point, will have played a full NHL season. Imagine your team selecting the top-rated defenseman from last year’s draft and getting the same thing, or at least close to it, this season.
With the fifth-overall pick, Kent Hughes can make that happen, and a few years from now, not many teams would stack up well against a unit with Reinbacher and Defenseman X, which is what we can call them for now. Whether he rolls with a forward or a blueliner at fifth overall, Hughes will ultimately land a player who will break into the pro ranks before we know it.