Habs News: NHL Entry Draft, Montreal Canadiens Selections, Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins, Logan Mailloux, Riley Kidney, Oliver Kapanen, Dmitri Kostenko, William Trudeau, Daniil Sobolev, Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau, Joe Vrbetic

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens fans have been through a roller coaster of emotions as of late. An unexpected Stanley Cup Final appearance brought joy, and pride to the fan base. That was immediately followed by a punch in the gut when news broke about Shea Weber‘s future, and nervousness about Carey Price being available to Seattle as part of the expansion draft.

The Canadiens first round selection in this weekend’s entry draft, Logan Mailloux, divided the fan base and drew a lot of attention from the hockey world.

In total, Montreal called out a name nine times at the draft. The Canadiens selected four forwards, four defencemen, and one goalie.

Logan Mailloux, D, 1st round, 31st overall

Marc Bergevin stunned the hockey world when announcing Mailloux as the organization’s first round draft pick. Multiple teams had reportedly removed the 18-year old from their draft list after he was charged for taking and distributing an offensive photo without consent. The incident took place in Sweden in November while Mailloux was loaned to SK Lejon by the London Knights.

Three days prior to the beginning of the first round, Mailloux posted a statement on his Twitter account requesting teams not to select him over the weekend.

https://twitter.com/loganmailloux_/status/1417454073582850048?s=20

“It was a totally irresponsible and stupid act that I committed without thinking twice. For that lack of judgment on my part, I was fined by Swedish law. I know I caused a lot of harm to this person and their family, and I regret doing this stupid and egotistical act. I deeply regret it,” Mailloux said on Saturday about his actions.

“The Canadiens are aware of the situation and by no means minimize the severity of Logan’s actions. Logan understands the impact of his actions. His recent public statement is a genuine acknowledgement of his poor behaviour and the first step on his personal journey,” Bergevin said. The organization committed to provide Mailloux tools to mature and the necessary support for his development.

“I think being in Montreal is definitely going to be big for me. Being such a storied franchise as they are, they know what they’re doing. They’re going to be able to help me along my journey here of bettering myself as a person and my character,” Mailloux said. The defenceman added that he’s been meeting with a therapist for multiple months.

Trevor Timmins said that Mailloux is a big physical defenceman with a good shot, that can play on the power play and penalty kill.

Riley Kidney, C, 2nd round, 63rd overall

Riley Kidney has played with Acadie-Bathrust Titan for the last two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In the regular season, he recorded 13 goals, and 38 points in 33 games, and in the playoffs, he collected 17 points in nine games.

“The playoffs were a big thing for me. It was a big time for my team. I was trying to make a statement. I knew it was a time that I needed to kind of show all the scouts all my skills and all the different aspects of my game. Before the playoffs started, I really focused on that. I focused on being focused before every game, before every shift,” Kidney spoke about his playoff performance. He added that he tries to model himself after Nick Suzuki and Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner.

“Riley Kidney had a bit of a slow start with Bathurst at the center ice position, but he really got things moving as the season finally got into full gear. He really stepped up in the playoffs and took his game to another level,” Timmins said. “We like his combination of grit, tenacity and hockey sense. He’s able to make plays and kill plays.”

Oliver Kapanen, C, 2nd round, 64th overall

Oliver Kapanen played for KalPa in Finland, where he scored 25 goals, and 41 points in 37 games. Kapanen was selected to be part of Finland’s World Under-18 Championship roster, but injury forced him to play in only four games of that tournament.

“I can be a two-way center who can score goals and make plays with or without the puck. I understand the game well and I have a good hockey sense,” Kapanen described his play.

“We like his growth potential. We think he’s going to continue to physically grow. He has very good hockey sense,” added assistant general manager Timmins. Kapanen is listed at 6-foot-1-inch, and weighs 179 pounds.

Kapanen will be working at following the footsteps of his uncle Sami and cousin Kasperi. Sami played 831 career regular season games in the NHL, while Kasperi is currently playing for the Penguins.

“They’ve been a big part of my hockey career so far. They gave me some tips on how to play. They had all kinds of experiences in their careers that will help me,” Kapanen on support from his family.

Dmitri Kostenko, D, 3rd round, 87th overall

Dmitri Kostenko played with Lada Togliatti in Russia last season, where he recorded one goal, 10 points, and finished plus-6 in 40 games. This season, the 18-year old will play for Spartak Moskva in the KHL.

“We see a lot of potential there. He’s a skilled, offensive defenseman with a big shot. We’re trying to add some right-shot defensemen, if they became available,” Timmins shared.

William Trudeau, D, 4th round, 113rd overall

William Trudeau completed his second season with the Charlottetown Islanders in the QMJHL. The defenceman collected 31 points in 40 regular season games, and finished plus-34. In the playoffs, he obtained two assists and finished minus-6 in eight matches.

“I can play at both ends of the rink. My breakouts and my first pass really help me stand out. I use my hockey sense to make plays that some players wouldn’t think of. I think that the progress I’ve made over the last few years really helped me get drafted today,” Trudeau said. The Varennes native liked watching P.K. Subban for the energy that he brought on the ice, and he would like to work on his back skating and his pivot.

“He just has that uncanny patience with the puck. We see him being able to help a power play. He has good offensive hockey sense. He’s going to be playing on a good team next year. He had a lot of success this season. We like his ability to move pucks up the ice,” Timmins said.

Daniil Sobolev, D, 5th round, 142nd overall

Daniil Sobolev was the third right shooting defenceman drafted by the Canadiens over the weekend. The Canadiens were looking to add some depth in their cupboard. With Shea Weber’s potential career ending injury, along with the losses of Noah Juulsen in January on waivers, and the Kraken selecting Cale Fleury last week, it leaves Jeff Petry and Josh Brook as the only right shooting defenders in the organization.

Sobolev was planning on playing with the Windsor Spitfires last season. As the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) never got the 2020-21 off the ground, the Russian spent time with coaches in Ohio, and Michigan.

“I’m a two-way defenseman. But, in Russia, they don’t allow you to play like a forward. I’ve basically been a stay-at-home defenseman because of that. Overall, though, I like to play a more offensive style of hockey,” Sobolev said via a translator.

“He’s more of a shut-down type of defenseman. He’s really hard to play against and a really fit individual,” Timmins added.

Joshua Roy, F, 5th round, 150th overall

Joshua Roy scored 22 goals and collected 35 points in 35 games in the QMJHL last season. The forward was traded after 15 games from the Sea Dogs to the Phoenix, following a trade request. Roy requested because he didn’t like the environment in Saint John.

“It’s an incredible organization that develops its players well. It’s a perfect fit for me. They put an emphasis on player development. I’ve seen real improvement in my game since I got to Sherbrooke. I’m very happy,” Roy said about his new club.

“We feel that he’s going to be a late-bloomer. He’s got natural ability. This summer, he’s just really realizing what it takes to be a pro. We really believe in our development staff and our coaching staff. I think we’re going to be able to help him become a pro. We’re looking forward to working with him and helping him take his natural abilities even further,” Timmins said. The Canadiens assistant general manager added that Roy’s conditioning has improved as it wasn’t where it should have been in the past.

“I’m a really offensive player. I have a good shot and good hockey sense. I make a lot of good offensive plays,” Roy described his style.

Xavier Simoneau, C, 6th round, 191st overall

Xavier Simoneau completed his fourth season with the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs, where he recorded 10 goals, and 37 points in 27 games. Simoneau was invited to the world junior selection camp, but was released for being unfit to continue to play based on return-to-play protocols, after testing positive with COVID.

The 20-year old was entering his third and final year of draft eligibility. “I’m a competitor. I always expect the best of myself. It was disappointing when it didn’t happen before. It’s a dream to be drafted. But, I wasn’t going to let it stop me. I just tried to control what I could control so I could come back stronger in the future,” said the forward.

“He was a fit right now where we were in the draft. Based on what he showed this season, and seeing some of the smaller players around the league be able to come in and have some success, and with the success that we had with Harvey-Pinard, it lent itself to drafting him at this point,” Timmins said.

“You can never be fast enough. I’m fast, but I still want to improve my speed,” Simoneau said, and added that he also wants to work on his play without the puck.

“The issue with him in the past was skating. His size-skating ratio wasn’t where we would like it. We see it has improved, and we think we can help him with that moving forward. He’s always had that drive, tenacity and hockey sense. His skating has come up now, and we’ll continue to help him to move that forward,” added Timmins.

Joe Vrbetic, G, 7th round, 214th overall

Joe Vrbetic is property of the North Bay Battalion. He didn’t play last year while the OHL was shutdown due to COVID. In 2019-20, he played in 42 games, winning 14 games, while earning 4.23 goals against average, and .881 save percentage.

“He’s a big goalie. He played on a bad team a couple of years ago for North Bay. I’m looking for him to really take his game forward. You never know when a goalie hasn’t played for so long, but I know he’s working on his game. Off the ice, he’s put a lot of work and effort into becoming even a better athlete,” Timmins said about the 6-foot-6-inches goalie.

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