Jeff Gorton surprised this winter by hiring a players’ agent rather unknown to the general public. Kent Hughes in turn surprised a few months later by appointing Martin St-Louis as head coach despite his inexperience.
Posted at 11:21 a.m.
In each of those decisions, Gorton, like Hughes, relied on their instincts and hockey background, regardless of public opinion.
Hughes has often repeated in recent months that he is never afraid to think outside the box (think outside of box).
We must therefore not rule out any scenario in anticipation of the NHL draft, Thursday evening at the Bell Center, where the Canadian not only holds the first choice in total, but the 26e first round pick and first round second pick at 33e rank.
Thursday morning, about ten hours from this famous repechage, it was still difficult to guess the intentions of the organization.
Many decisions still depend on the other teams. Will the New Jersey Devils make a fabulous offer to CH to move up a rank to pick up Slafkovsky?
Can the Canadiens be confident of getting their hands on another top-ten or fifteen pick, picking Slafkovsky up front and a quality center with a second second-round pick acquired by Thursday night?
The management of the Canadian could surprise because it operates in its own way. His analysis grid differs from that of several repechage specialists. We will not only take into account the performance of the targeted players, for example, but also their ability to learn and adapt.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi had 32 points in 65 games as a rookie in 2018-19 en route to a 40-point season at just 18 when he hit the wall after the holidays. He never approached that total thereafter in the next three seasons.
Was it a pedagogical problem on the part of the Canadian? A lack of openness and adaptability on the part of the Finn? Hughes and his gang will make sure to draft a player who is not only gifted, but has above-average learning abilities.
Seeing head coach Martin St-Louis make a call to Shane Wright to sound out the youngster confirms that the team is working differently. Coaches are generally not called upon to participate in the process.
Thursday morning, the management allowed itself a final meeting with Slafkovsky. We probably want to confirm certain things with the young man, as Kent Hughes mentioned the day before, and, or, leave the New Jersey Devils on the alert.
With two promising young centers in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, both 23 or younger, not including 25-year-old Pavel Zacha, the Devils need a power winger like Slafkovsky more than another center.
One important thing to remember: no matter the choice, there is no “savior” among Juraj Slafkovsky, Logan Cooley or Shane Wright. These young men can always improve to the point of overturning opinions, but each has their shortcomings and none is unanimous among NHL scouts.
Some blame Wright for a lack of intensity and repeating the same playing patterns; Slafkovsky, despite his fine individual skills, does not have the best hockey IQ and his adaptability remains to be confirmed; We would like to see Cooley more responsible defensively and some wonder if he wouldn’t be better on the wing.
Happy drafting everyone! You can spend the evening on lapresse.ca in a special chat starting at 6:30 p.m. with Simon Boisvert, alias Snake, and myself!
For the pleasure of getting wet!
The Canadian has managed to hide his intentions well since the draft lottery. Let’s have fun slipping into the skin of management, for the pleasure of the discussion! We can all be wrong, of course, but let’s dare…
My top pick would be Juraj Slafkovsky, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound power winger capable of rounding out Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but I’d be trying hard to get my hands on another pick in the top twelve in order to also acquire a center, Marco Kasper or Noah Östlund, with a preference for the latter. There, it is said! Now let’s see what the Canadian will decide on Thursday evening, and who will eventually become the best of this 2022 vintage…