Canadiens Add Eight Selections Through Rounds 3-7

Paupanekis is a product of the Western Hockey League, who finished the year with the Kelowna Rockets, after playing much of his junior career with the Spokane Chiefs.

Paupanekis is a six-foot-five, 212-pound right-shot center from the Western Hockey League, an obvious lean towards adding some size and grit up front from Hughes. In 71 games this past season, Paupanekis scored 22 goals and 21 assists.

There is some scoring upside, but his defensive game is likely what stood out to the Canadiens; the package of size, grit and defensive effort was too enticing to pass up.

With the 81st overall selection, Hughes selected defenseman Bryce Pickford from the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. He is an overager, but the six-foot, 183-pound right-shot defenseman is 19 years old, and his numbers were promising (20 goals, 27 assists in 48 games).

With the very next pick (82), Hughes selected Arseni Radkov, a six-foot-four, 190-pound goaltender from Mogilev, Belarus, who played his draft season in the Russian MHL, but most intriguing is that Radkov is committed to play for the University of Massachusetts in 2026-2027.

Hughes has made an effort to select a goaltender in each of his drafts since taking over in 2022, and he continued that trend here with Radkov, who was the 12th-ranked European goaltender, according to NHL Central Scouting.

The Canadiens' next selection is 113, and with the pick, they selected center LJ Mooney out of the United States National Team Development Program.

Mooney scored 10 goals, 41 assists for 51 points in 51 games with the NTDP. He is projected as one of the most talented players in the draft, but the Lane Hutson effect was the case here; he is five-foot-seven, 157 pounds, and the Canadiens are hoping things play out much the same way. Mooney also has NHL bloodlines, as he is a cousin of Utah Hockey Club center Logan Cooley.

Mooney is committed to playing for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers for the 2026-2027 season, and if all things go right, Mooney could be a player for Canadiens fans to keep on their radar.

With pick 145, the Canadiens drafted goaltender Alexis Cournoyer, which marks the second netminder selection of the '25 draft. Cournoyer is a 19-year-old who is committed to playing his 2025-2026 season for Cornell University, which makes him more of a project.

But the Trois-Rivieres, Quebec native has the physical traits; at six-foot-four, 205 pounds, and the second-half of Cournoyer's draft season spent with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, saw him post a 13-6-1 record, along with a 1.82 goals against average, and a .942 save percentage.

The Canadiens used the 177th selection on German defenseman Carlos Handel, who played his draft season in the QMJHL with the Halifax Mooseheads. Handel is a six-foot-one, 176-pound right-shot defenseman, hailing from Erlangen, Germany.

Handel plays a confident game, never rushing decisions, but often in the right place at the right time. The Canadiens are betting on a smart, poised puck mover with some offensive upside; after he scored three goals, 26 assists in 52 games.

Pick 189 was used to select six-foot-three, 200-pound right-shot defenseman Andrew MacNeil, out of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers, who posted three assists in 33 games during his draft season. MacNeil is projected as a depth defenseman who is proficient at killing plays with a smart defensive stick and great instincts. He has limited offensive upside, but adds to the Canadiens' right defence pool depth.

The 209th selection, the Canadiens' final pick of the draft, was used to select 19-year-old, left-shot defenseman Maxon Vig out of the United States Hockey League's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. At six-foot-two, 212 pounds, Vig showed some solid numbers, posting 10 goals, 22 assists for 32 points in 64 USHL regular season games.

Vig is committed to playing his draft-plus-one with Bemidji State University, where he should add some muscle to his frame and undergo some great development with head coach Tom Serratore.

That wraps up the Canadiens' draft haul for 2025, and now the focus shifts to July 1, which kicks off the Free Agency season, where Hughes is projected to be active.