Drafting 16th and 17th has rarely been convincing for the Canadiens

If Montreal could get their hands on a Justin Carbonneau at No. 16, I think they’d jump at the chance, anyway.

But hey. History shows that drafting at these two ranks has not been fruitful for the club. Apart from Kaiden Guhle (16th) in 2020, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Nathan Beaulieu and Andrew Cassels have had successful careers, but it wasn’t in Montreal that they enjoyed their best years.

In Beaulieu’s case, he played 225 games in the metropolis and 246 elsewhere. As for Cassels, he collected 732 career points, only 27 of them in Montreal.

The others drafted 16th and 17th: Marcel Hossa, Eric Chouinard, Brent Bilodeau, Tom Chorske and Alfie Turcotte. Let’s hope that the players who will be selected (if Montreal keeps its picks) this year will have a better impact with the team than the guys mentioned above…

Even if history doesn’t help the Montrealers’ cause, good players at these ranks are always available. There was Jakob Chychrun (2016), Vladimir Tarasenko (2010), Mathew Barzal and Kyle Connor (2015).

Overtime

– The Mikko of Dallas.

– Still.

– Big game tonight.