FEATURE | 2019 NHL Entry Draft: Montreal Canadiens Focus on Skill, Speed, Athleticism

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA – This past weekend, the NHL Entry Draft was held in Vancouver. For the Habs, the theme of this year’s draft was skating, speed, and playing with pace.

Through the work of Trevor Timmins and the scouting staff, Montreal added 10 picks to the prospect pool that made it clear that Marc Bergevin and the Canadiens are moving in the direction of the NHL. To me, it is a style that is similar to the old fire wagon hockey the franchise was known for in the past. 

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the players selected by the Montreal Canadiens at this year’s draft.

Cole Caufield

There were a couple unexpected decisions made early in the draft that caused some players to begin to slide.  The first of these came when Chicago chose Kirby Dach contrary to the anticipated choice of Bowen Byram. Detroit then surprised Red Wings fans by selecting Moritz Seider, creating Twitter celebrities when their reactions were recorded on national television.

These moves caused enough of a disturbance that it allowed Cole Caufield, a top sniper in the 2019 draft class, to fall to Montreal at 15th overall. Caufield, who scored 72 goals in 64 games this season and who tied Alex Ovechkin‘s U18 scoring record, was simply too good to pass up. 

Caufield may be called the steal of the draft by some, but others will say he was a product of playing with Jack Hughes.  Caufield would beg to differ with that assessment. Following his selection, he told media that “[Hughes] wouldn’t have had the number of assists if it wasn’t for me, too.” 

There are few holes in Caufield’s game. He’s a good skater with mobility and an elite shot. In my opinion, Caufield is someone who plays defensively as well as any winger can. The one downside is his size. At five-foot-seven-inches, 162 pounds, he will be challenged to play against NHL defenders.

Caufield is expected to go to Wisconsin this season, but with his skill set, it is likely that he will be joining the Canadiens in less than his four years of NCAA eligibility.

Jayden Struble

Timmins appears to be banking on Struble’s skating abilities, strength and elite athleticism to carry him through.  Struble finished first or in the top tier on nearly every combine test which may be the reason Timmins jumped at the chance to select the young defenceman. As of now, Struble is slated to go to the Victoria Grizzlies for a season before joining the NCAA. However, he could enter Northeastern this fall if he completes his summer courses. 

Struble is a raw prospect but one with high potential.  At six-feet-tall, 206 pounds, the left-handed puck-moving defenceman has NHL size with excellent mobility and skating ability. He plays an aggressive style with or without the puck. With the puck, he can skate it up the ice or make an accurate first pass. Struble has a good shot and can quarterback a power play.  Without the puck, he likes to play a physical game but needs to improve defensively.

Mattias Norlinder

Instead of keeping the 50th overall selection, the Canadiens traded with the LA Kings to move down to the third round at 64th while adding another fifth round pick at 126th.  At 64, they selected the 19-year-old Mattias Norlinder.

Norlinder is another swift-skating, left-handed puck-moving defenceman.  The five-foot-eleven-inch, 179 pound defender can play either side of the blueline and loves to play a physical game.  He uses his skating ability to close with the puck carrier and initiate contact to retrieve possession. He excels in transition, identifying passing lanes to feed his forwards the puck at speed.  Like the other selections, Norlinder likes to play at a high pace.

Gianni Fairbrother

The other third round selection is another swift-skating, left-handed defenceman, Gianni Fairbrother. The six-foot, 174 pound defenceman loves to play a physical game. He is a good skater with good mobility that excels at defensive play and positioning. His offensive skills are solid with a good first pass and strong shot. He provides secondary scoring that teams need.

Jacob LeGuerrier

With the fifth round pick from the Kings, the Canadiens chose Jacob LeGuerrier. The six-foot-three-inch, 198 pound left-handed defenceman is not known for his offensive skills, but he makes up for his low production with solid defensive play. He plays heavy minutes in a shutdown defensive role and on the penalty kill. He can play with an edge and skates well enough to go against top OHL forwards.

Rhett Pitlick

With their second pick in the fifth round, the Habs chose five-foot-nine-inch, 161 pound left winger Rhett Pitlick. He has good NHL bloodlines with his father, brother and cousin all being NHL alumni. Pitlick may be the real steal of the draft for the Canadiens as he plays and thinks the game at an elite speed. He may be a perimeter player due to his size, however if his offensive skills can translate to higher levels, he could become a serious middle six offensive threat.

The USHL forward is committed to the University of Minnesota for 2020-21.

Frederik Nissen-Dichow

With their third pick in the fifth round, the Canadiens surprised a few people when they selected a six-foot-five-inch, 198 pound goaltender.  While the team depth in net seems almost bottomless, there is always a need to look ahead. Dichow, a Danish national, put up a .922 save percentage for their U18 team. He will join Malmo in Sweden’s SuperElite league to get more ice time.

Arsen Khisamutdinov

In the sixth round, the Canadiens took a chance on 21-year-old late bloomer Arsen Khisamutdininov. The six-foot-three-inch, 205 pound right winger spent last season tearing up the Russian junior league, MHL, and in nine KHL games scored five points. His skating is awkward and foot speed is an issue, aspects he will continue to work on in the coming years. But using a late pick on someone that could add some size and scoring in the AHL in the near future is a good choice. It’s a low risk, high reward pick, much like Alexander Avtsin was in 2009.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard

The seventh round started with the now traditional trade of seventh round picks between Montreal and Philadelphia. In this case, the Habs traded up to ensure they brought in the Memorial Cup champion Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. The QMJHL overager played a key role for Rouyn-Noranda all season, especially in the playoffs and Memorial Cup tournament. 

By selecting this young man, the Canadiens added a local player to the prospect pool. With a good showing in camp, the five-foot-nine-inch, 179 pound left-winger can join his teammate Joel Teasdale in adding some scoring to the Laval Rocket roster.

Kieran Ruscheinski

With their last pick of the weekend at 206th in the seventh round, the Canadiens chose the six-foot-six, 201 pound right-handed defenceman Kieran Ruscheinski. The little known prospect is a product of Calgary Midget AAA and set to join Salmon Arm of the BCHL. He is expected to work towards the NCAA.

Adding a behemoth defence project with a late pick is becoming tradition. Timmins chose Arvid Henrikson in 2006, who has now joined Lake Superior State.  Both are seen as long term projects.

It is obvious that the Canadiens use of private combines held in Europe and at Brossard have played a major role in their decisions.  Having the opportunity to meet with more players and assess them on more metrics can do nothing but help to find late round gems that successful teams rely on to become contenders.

We won’t know the full impact of this draft class on an NHL roster for several years. Fans can remain hopeful and look at the work Timmins and his scouting staff completed on draft weekend as nothing but positive.  They added depth to the prospect pool in every position by adding a blue chip scoring prospect and clearly focused on adding several players that fit the new NHL based on athleticism, speed and skill.

By Blain Potvin, Staff Writer. Edited by Cate Racher.
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