Team: 2024-25 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: May 21, 2024

Published: May 21, 2024

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Now that we know MTL has the 26th overall pick this year (from the Monahan to WIN trade), here are possible targets imo MTL could make if they decide to keep the pick.

Having read a lot of (maybe too much...) pre-draft rankings, and mock drafts, prospect articles and video analyses, this year's 1st rd potential players can be divide in a few groups:

#1 - Celebrini (pretty much all on his own up top)

#2 to #5 (Levshunov and Demidov being pretty secure in these spots, with a majority consensus with Silayev and Lindstrom going next)

#6 to #16 (a lot of variety and difference of opinions of who will be picked when in this group, among the candidates are Iginla, Parekh, Buium, Sennecke, Catton, Helenius, etc.)

#17 to #40 (This is where the term "weak draft" comes in, not because there are no top line star potential players, because there is a solid amount of those in this draft, but due to the fact that there is a significant drop after the top 15 or so. So instead of calling it a "weak draft", it would be best categorized as a "not very deep draft".)



So, without going over every possible choice of a large batch of possible players that could be available at 26. Here are a few targets i would go for, varying from high risk to extremely safe:

Highest risk choice:

- Dean Letourneau (he's called Tage Thompson 2.0 for a reason, he's 6'7'', has excellent hands, and skates very well for his size. What makes him a HUGE question mark is the competition he's played against, having barely sniffed any USHL quality games, and won't play an NCAA game until at least 2025-26. This pick could completely fall flat, but teams looking to take a big swing late in the 1st, Letourneau is probably the biggest swing you could take.)

Safest pick:

- Cole Beaudoin (Perfectly fits the description of high "floor", low "ceiling" player. You know exactly what you're getting with Beaudoin. A 6'2'' 210lbs Middle to Bottom 6 center, who plays responsible hockey, can hit, take a face-off, play the PK, etc. A stereotypical "coaches dream". Will he ever score more than 40pts in the NHL? probably not. but he's the type of player you look for when building a contender. Beaudoin played the perfect support role at the U18 WC, and also had an excellent U18 Hlinka Gretzky. A "can't miss" pick. Comparable probably being a Nick Roy from VGK)


Meet in the middle (little bit of risk, little bit safe) pick:

- Andrew Basha (This pick will gain more steam depending on if MTL can select Lindstrom with the 5th overall pick. Basha was Lindstrom's linemate and had excellent chemistry together. He's not an overly big player at 5'11'', but he plays an aggressive style of hockey with solid offensive potential. Think Konecny or Mangiapane in terms of his "ceiling".)


They go for another defensemen pick:

- Adam Kleber or Dominik Badinka (Both hulking RD, with Kleber at 6'5'' and Badinka at 6'3'', Kleber being the better skater with decent offensive potential, Badinka with being the more well-rounded two-way D who impressed in the SHL at 18 years old. Neither have top pairing potential, but both have that top 4 playoff Dman style of play.)

1.

2.