The Montreal Canadiens and the history of the 17th overall pick

Canadiens history at 17th

After 60 years of drafting, the Canadiens have selected 17th overall a good number of times. There were some hits, some misses, like at every selection. The first came all the way back in 1966, the fourth NHL amateur draft.

Jude Drouin

Now, that name might look a little familiar to many younger Montreal Canadiens fans, who have distinct memories of the Jonathan Drouin era, which just ended a few years ago. Unfortunately I can't find any relation between Jonathan and Jude.

On top of having some of the best mutton chops to ever grace the ice, Drouin also had a pretty solid career, unfortunately just not with the team that drafted him.

The Montreal Canadiens of the mid-1960s to late-1960s were an absolute powerhouse. It is possibly the most dominant run a team has ever had in the NHL. And that means there weren't a lot of spots up for grabs, even for a promising youngster like Drouin.

Drouin played just 11 games with the Habs, recording one assist. He was then flipped to the Minnesota North Stars, where he evolved into a very solid role player for the team. As a member of the Islanders, Drouin had some success in the playoffs, but never won the Cup.

Drouin retired with 666 games and 456 points.

Glenn Goldup

From one casualty of the great Montreal Canadiens teams to another, the Canadiens selected Glenn Goldup 17th overall in 1973. They also happen to share fantastic facial hair as well.

Like with Drouin, Goldup was being brought into a stacked Canadiens team, and struggled to crack the roster. Over three seasons, Goldup played 18 games and recorded one assist. But he did win a championship with Montreal's AHL affiliate at the time, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.

Goldup joined the Los Angeles Kings, and carved himself a solid, if uneventful career in L.A. Goldup retired in 1984 having played 291 games and scoring 119 points.

Dave Hunter

Five years later, the Canadiens found themselves picking at 17th once again. And once again, another team would be reaping the spoils.

The name Hunter was one of the biggest during the 1980s. Dave Hunter was born on January 1st 1958. His brother Dale was born in 1960, and his other brother Mark was born in 1962.

All three Hunter brothers had good NHL careers. The highlight was definitely Dale, the only NHL player to score over 1,000 points and over 3,000 penalty minutes. He has the most penalty minutes in the playoffs, and second most penalty minutes all time.

But Dave and Mark were no slouches either. Dave was selected by the Montreal Canadiens 17th overall in 1978, but would never play a game with the organization. Instead, he opted to go to the WHA, and play with the Edmonton Oilers, the team he would follow as they joined the NHL.

And while Hunter never put up spectacular numbers, he was a big part of three Stanley Cup winners. Ironically, Dale was the only Hunter brother to not win a Stanley Cup, as Mark won a Cup with the Flames.

Alfie Turcotte

Real Jean Turcotte will probably be better remembered for his son, rather than his time in the NHL. Drafted by the Canadiens at 17th overall in 1983, Turcotte struggled to stay in the NHL, playing a handful of games here and there for the Canadiens, Jets and Capitals.

His son, however, has been a highly touted prospect for a few years now. Drafted fifth overall by the Kings, Turcotte finally played his first full NHL season this year, scoring 9 goals and 25 points.

Andrew Cassels

Andrew Cassels is the best player to be drafted by the Montreal Canadiens at 17th overall, and is one of the best players to be drafted at that position. Of course, most, if not all, of his success was found outside of the Canadiens.

As a young centre, Cassels couldn't crack the Canadiens roster, and was traded to the Hartford Whalers for what would turn into Valeri Bure.

In Hartford, Cassels played the best hockey of his career with Geoff Sanderson, in Hartford and in Columbus. Cassels is one of the seven 17th overall picks to play over 1,000 games, and scored 204 goals and 732 points.

Brent Bilodeau

The odds are that the Montreal Canadiens will get an NHL player if they use the 17th overall pick to select a player. Almost every player that was picked at 17th overall by the Habs played at least a little bit in the NHL. Brent Bilodeau is the exception.

1991 was a pretty good draft year. Eric Lindros went first overall, and the draft class included Alex Kovalev, Scott Neidermayer, Peter Forsberg and Ray Whitney. In fact, every first round pick played at least one NHL game, except for Brent Bilodeau.

Bilodeau was a stay at home defenseman, never scoring much even in junior. However, his shutdown qualities couldn't translate to the higher levels of the game, and retired without making it to the big league.

Nathan Beaulieu

The latest Canadiens player to be drafted at 17th overall had a decent NHL career, and did at least have his best seasons in the Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge. That defender is Nathan Beaulieu.

It is not hard to see where the excitement for Beaulieu came from. As a member of the Sea Dogs, Beaulieu was a winner of the Memorial Cup, and was named an All-Star of the tournament.

After three full seasons with the Canadiens, Beaulieu struggled to produce offensively, and was traded to the Buffalo Sabres. His struggles continued wherever he went in the NHL, with the Jets and the Ducks.

The last team Beaulieu played for was in the KHL with the Barys Astana, where he was cut during the 2024-25 season.

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