Canadiens: Was The 2018 NHL Draft Really That Bad?

The Montreal Canadiens, like every team around the league have had some hits and misses at past NHL Drafts.

Looking back at past drafts usually reveals a lot of “could have beens” for each team as there are always seemingly far better options that are drafted just after your favorite team made their selection. This is kind of foolish when looking at late round picks, as the odd fifth round pick turns out to be fantastic, but your team didn’t “miss” on that player, he just completely defied the odds and came out of nowhere to be a great player.

But when you team has a huge miss in the first round, it stands out as a missed opportunity. When that happens in the top three, it can haunt the organization for years to come.

A quick glance back at the 2018 NHL Draft can be a tough task for many organizations, and right at the top of that list is the Canadiens. They ignored the first-round rule of thumb for drafting, don’t draft for need, especially not in the top three.

Trevor Timmins (Director of scouting) and Marc Bergevin (GM) were desperate for help down the middle, with no number-one centre in the prospect pool or on the roster.

Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov went number one and two, setting up the Canadiens for the third overall pick. Bergevin had a seemingly easy decision to make, grab the big power forward, Brady Tkachuk or the potential top-pair defenseman, Quinn Hughes, but they opted for the top-ranked centre Jesperi Kokaniemi. It was a reach then, no doubt about it, and with the circumstances that have occurred, it wasn’t the right pick.

However, the Habs ’18 draft produced 11 additions to the Canadiens prospect pool. They put a heavy emphasis on centremen, selecting eight centres. The draft class was rounded out by a pair of defensemen and a right winger.