30 Notable Habs Draftees: A Decade Of Talent

The amateur draft is a year-round job, a domain where instinct and gut feelings sometimes overrule stats, height, weight and hockey sense. 

Great organisations usually have a knack for discovering talent and a priceless gift for correctly developing that talent.

Make the right decision for the future of your club and you look like a genius.

Skip a player that produces in the long run and you hear about it forever, especially in articles like this one and in a hockey-addicted town like Montreal.

Regardless whether you want to call this a crapshoot or a skill, drafting is one of the most essential parts of running a successful franchise. Here’s an analysis of thirty notable players drafted by the Montreal Canadiens since the year 2000.

Selection 13: D Ron Hainsey, UMass Lowell

The 6'3" defenseman played 31 games with the big club, was placed on waivers on November 25, 2005, and was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 2008 he signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Atlanta Thrashers, where he now serves as an alternate captain.

Selection 16: F Marcel Hossa, Portland Winterhawks

Brother of 2010 Stanley Cup winner Marian, the 16th selection by the Habs played 59 games with the Canadiens and was traded to the New York Rangers for Garth Murray in 2005. He recently signed a contract with AK Bars Kazan of the KHL.

Skipped Players

F Alexander Frolov - 20th overall

D Brooks Orpik - 18th overall

 

2001

Selection 7: D Mike Komisarek, University of Michigan

The towering D-man played five full seasons with Montreal, not really living up to his potential, although he would often crush the oposition with very aggressive play. On the defensive side of things, Komisarek made many bad decisions in the back end. He signed a five-year contract with longtime rivals Toronto as a free agent in the 09’ offseason.

Selection 25: F Alexander Perezhogin, Avangard Omsk

After playing 128 games with the Canadiens, Perezhogin signed a contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the RHL/KHL in 2007.

Selection 71: F Tomas Plekanec, HC Kladno

Plekanec recently resigned with the Canadiens for six years to the tune of $30 million. When paired with able wingers, the Czech can easily obtain 70-75 points a season.

Skipped Players

F R.J. Umberger - 16th overall

F Colby Armstrong - 21st overall

 

2002

Selection 14: F Chris Higgins, Yale

Higgins played four seasons with the Canadiens before being traded away to the New York Rangers in 2009. The Rangers then traded him to Calgary on February 2, 2010.

Skipped Players

G Cam Ward - 25th overall

D Duncan Keith - 54th overall

 

2003

Selection 10: F Andrei Kostitsyn, CSKA Moscow

Although he’s still on the club, all signs point to him getting traded if he doesn’t clean up his act. After being involved in various scandals with his brother Sergei, AK-46 needs to recapture the glory that once knotted him 53 points in '07-'08.

Selection 61: F Maxim Lapierre, PEI Rocket

The French-Canadian center is a nightmare for anyone on the ice after the whistle. Darcy Tucker’s Quebec counterpart can play the pest role and also dangle with the best of them (when he wants to, of course).

Selection 79: D Ryan O’Byrne, Nanaimo Clippers

The 6'5" defenseman throws a lot of weight around; it definitely comes easy for him at over 230 pounds. With Paul Mara and Marc-Andre Bergeron not being resigned, and Andrei Markov hurt, could this be the year he gets a shot at a full-time spot on the big club?

Selection 279: G Jaroslav Halak, Bratislava Juniors

Tremendously talented young goaltender that led the Canadiens to an appearence in the 2010 Eastern Conference Final. Traded away to St. Louis for prospects Lars Eller & Ian Shultz. Notice the shortness of this analysis: yeah, I’m still bitter.

Skipped Players

F Jeff Carter - 11th overall

F Dustin Brown - 13th overall

D Brent Seabrook - 14th overall

F Zach Parise - 17th overall

F Ryan Getzlaf - 19th overall

F Mike Richards - 24th overall

The list goes on, but we’ve made our point.

 

2004

Selection 18: F Kyle Chipchura, Prince Albert Raiders

Immediately tagged as the future captain of the franchise after his heroics with Team Canada Junior, Kyle Chipchura had lofty expectations. Chipper was traded away to the Anaheim Ducks for a fourth-round pick in 2009 after only 68 games total with the big club. He played 55 in Orange County last season.

Selection 84: D Alexei Yemelin, Samara

The Russian is stacked with potential, but it looks like the KHL is his home of choice.

Selection 150: F Mikhail Grabovski, Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik

Played in 27 games with Montreal before being traded to Toronto for the rights to Greg Pateryn and a 2010 second-round pick.

Selection 262: D Mark Streit, Zurich

With 109 points in 205 games with the Habs, Swiss-born Mark Streit was a great quarterback on the power play when he was with the club. The Islanders grabbed him as a free agent and signed him to a five-year, $20.5 million contract.

Skipped Players

F Travis Zajac - 20th overall

D Mike Green - 29th overall

 

2005

Selection 5: G Carey Price, Tri City Americans

The young Canadian prospect is supposed to be the savior of the franchise. His list of accomplishments is impressive, but he has yet to live up to his full potential. As of publishing time, he remains a restricted free agent.

Selection 45: F Guillaume Latendresse, Voltigeurs de Drummondville

Latendresse played a few seasons where the offensive prowess he had in the Q had suddenly evaporated. The Habs traded "Lats" to the Wild for 2005 first-rounder Benoit Pouliot, where he finished the season with 25 goals and 37 points in 55 games.

Selection 190: F Matt D’Agostini, Guelph Storm

D'Agostini compiled a meager 25 points in 74 total games with Montreal and was then traded away to St. Louis for prospect Aaron Palushaj.

Selection 200: F Sergei Kostitsyn, Gomel

The younger Kostitsyn's tenure in Montreal was filled with controversy. Mobsters, attitude and poor performance overshadowed his very high potential. Pierre Gauthier traded him to the Nashville Predators for Dan Ellis (who later signed with Tampa Bay) and Dustin Boyd.

Skipped Players

F Anze Kopitar - 11th overall

 

2006

Selection 20: D David Fischer, Apple Valley H.S. (Minn)

Drafted out of high school à la LeBron James, Fischer played four years with the University of Minnesota, tallying 38 points. He became a free agent on August 15th and was not signed by the Canadiens.

Selection 49: F Ben Maxwell, Kootenay Ice

The North Vancouver native joined the Hamilton Bulldogs during the '08-'09 season and has accumulated 102 points (38-64) with the Hab’s AHL affiliate. With 20 games as a Glorieux under his belt over those two years, he is still looking for his first official NHL point.

Skipped Players

F Claude Giroux - 22nd overall

F Milan Lucic - 50th overall

 

2007

Selection 12: D Ryan McDonaugh, Cretin Derham Hall H.S. (Minn.)

The Minnesotan has spent three years in the NCAA playing for the University of Wisconsin Badgers. On June 30, 2009, McDonaugh was involved in the trade that sent Chris Higgins out and brought Scott Gomez in.

Selection 22: F Max Pacioretty, Sioux City Musketeers

The 21-year-old American has excellent skating skills and a great release on his shot. In 86 regular season NHL games with the Habs, Pacioretty has 25 points (6-19) and has yet to earn a full-time spot. He needs to unblock this year, or he’ll suffer the same fate as underperformer Matt D’Agostini.

Selection 43: D P.K. Subban, Belleville Bulls

The very talented, puck-moving defenseman spent last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs earning 18 goals and 35 assists. He was called up for a home-and-home against the Flyers during the regular season, as well as for 14 playoffs games, where he notched 8 points.

He enters the season as a very promising Calder Cup contender that is sure to marvel the Bell Center faithful.

Selection 73: D Yannick Weber, Kitchener Rangers

Another offensive defenseman with plenty of promise, the Swiss-born Weber has been with the farm team for two years and has amassed 44 and 32 points, respectively. He has one assist in 8 NHL games. The 21-year-old is another Hab hopeful that is looking for additional callups this season.

Skipped Players

F David Perron - 26th overall

F Wayne Simmonds - 61st overall

 

2008

Selection 56: F Danny Kristo, US Under-18 National Team

The speedy American winger has great skating ability; on the negative front, he is a little undersized to perform effectively in the NHL. He spent time with North Dakota of the WCHA last year, scoring 15 goals and adding 21 assists. Kristo also collected 5 goals and 3 assists at the '09 World Juniors.

Selection 138: F Maxim Trunev, Cherevopets Junior

The KHLer is another undersized player in terms of the NHL average. With 9 points in 62 total games in the Kontinental Hockey League, Trunev is not posting the most interesting numbers. Then again he’s still 19 years old, and it seems like obtaining any young player from the KHL these days is no easy task.

 

2009

Selection 18: F Louis Leblanc, Omaha Lancers

The newly signed Montreal Juniors forward became the first French-Canadian to be drafted in the first round by the Habs since they selected Eric Chouinard in 1998. He boasts great hockey sense to go with a great offensive arsenal. With him playing for the Q in the city that drafted him, it seems like he’s definitely not afraid of the spotlight.

Selection 79: D Mac Bennett, Hotchkiss School (Conn.)

The 5'11", 171-pound defenseman is an odd choice for a team that is currently lacking size. Either this was a ‘’heads or tails’’ pick, or they’re looking for another Franky Bouillon type D-man.

Selection 109: F Alexander Avtsin, Dynamo Moscow

The Russian forward signed a three-year deal with the Canadiens on July 15th. He has expressed a desire to make the jump to North American hockey. The Habs will surely be keeping an eye on the Dynamo Moscow product.

Keeping with the Quebec Theme

F Jordan Caron - 25th overall

F Phillipe Paradis - 27th overall

D Simon Despres - 30th overall

 

2010

Selection 22: D Jarred Tinordi, US National Development Team

The 6'6" American followed in Louis Leblanc’s footsteps by signing with a CHL team during the summer. The towering defenseman will suit up with the OHL’s London Knights during the '10-'11 season and will surely turn some heads in the process.

There’s your thirty notable players. Let’s analyze the numbers shall we?

Out of the players selected in our list, nine of them are American, nine are Canadian, and 12 are European-born. Twelve of these players are no longer with the franchise or in the system.

Three players that had success after being drafted by the Habs are Jaroslav Halak, Tomas Plekanec and Mark Streit.