(Nashville) Deprived of second-round picks, the Canadian made Jacob Fowler his first selection of the day in Nashville.
In the third round, the goalkeeper of the Youngstown Phantoms, in the USHL, thus became the 69e player to hear his name in the 2023 draft.
The young man ranked fifth among North American goaltenders according to the final ranking of the NHL Central Scouting. He has signed up with Boston College for next season.
PHOTO FROM THE HAMILTON BULLDOGS WEBSITE
Florian Xhekaj
In the fourth round, during which the CH has four choices, the organization first set its sights on Florian Xhekaj, brother of Arber. Last season, the 19-year-old forward scored 25 points in 68 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Junior Hockey League. At 6’2″ and 185 pounds, he doesn’t play the rugged game of his older sibling. The NHL Central Scouting placed him at 131e rank among North American skaters. It’s finally in 101e place of the repechage which he found a taker.
With the 110e selection, the Habs opted for Bogdan Konyushkov. This 20-year-old Russian defender has just scored 25 points in 64 points with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. This is the first time that the current Montreal administration has drawn on the KHL.
At the very end of the fourth round (128e rank), we chose goaltender Quentin Miller, of the Quebec Remparts. He was William Rousseau’s assistant in the Remparts’ conquest of the Memorial Cup. He becomes the first QMJHL goalie to be drafted by the Habs since Zachary Fucale in 2013.
PHOTO DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Quentin Miller (29) was second to William Rousseau (35) at the Remparts
In the fifth round, Sam Harris became the second USHL player in this draft to become a member of the Habs. At 19, he also becomes the third oldest player to join the organization today. In 2022-23, he had 56 points in as many games with the Sioux Falls Stampede. He will head to the NCAA next fall at the University of Denver.
With his second selection of this round (144e), the CH drafted its third goalkeeper of the day. Last season, Yevgeni Volokhin, also Russian, played 31 games with the Mamonty Yugry, in the MHL, a circuit lower than the KHL.
In the sixth round, the Canadian turned to Sweden. Center Filip Eriksson took his first steps last season with the Växjö Lakers HC, in the first division, after completing his junior internship. He will likely spend at least one more season in his native country.
At the end of a well-rounded day, the Habs selected another 20-year-old player, defenseman Luke Mittlestadt, from the University of Minnesota. He is the brother of Casey, of the Buffalo Sabers, and participated in the last World Juniors with the American team.