Canadiens Draft Day Success: How Things Have Changed

[nam]

Drafting is anything but an exact science, some teams have shown a much better track record than others over the years. Some teams remain competitive due to good draft choices while others remain stagnant due to poor choices, both regardless of draft position. A teams minor league affiliate as well as scouting staff can have a huge impact on the NHL teams success, not necessarily instantly, but over a period of time. Teams with affiliates which have good coaching and a solid foundation can turn picks which may have gone on to be career minor leaguers to NHL players. Most of the credit however should be given to the scouting staff and the people responsible for the picks.

With the Montreal Canadiens things started to turn for the better when Trevor Timmins and Bob Gainey were brought in, Timmins from Ottawa and Gainey from Dallas. Throughout the 90’s the Canadiens had a good run of bust picks as well as some poor trades on ones that did work out. Gainey and his cup in Dallas and Timmins and his solid draft record in Ottawa.

During the pre- Gainey & Timmins era (1990‘s before 2003(Bob) 2002(Trevor)) the Canadiens picks were mediocre at best as there is still only one remaining with a positive impact on the organization.

1990 - Round 1 - 12th - Turner Stevenson - 644GP 190Pts in the NHL.

1991 - Round 1 - 17th - Brent Bilodeau - 0GP in the NHL

1992 - Round 1 - 20th - David Wilkie - 167GP 36Pts in the NHL.

1993 - Round 1 - 21st - Saku Koivu - 727GP 592Pts in the NHL.

1994 - Round 1 - 18th - Brad Brown - 330GP 29Pts in the NHL.

1995 - Round 1 - 8th - Terry Ryan - 8GP 0Pts in the NHL.

1996 - Round 1 - 18th - Matt Higgins - 57GP 3Pts in the NHL.

1997 - Round 1 - 11th - Jason Ward - 335GP 81Pts in the NHL.

1998 - Round 1 - 16th - Eric Chounard - 90GP 22Pts in the NHL.

1999 - No first round pick, of the 11 players picked that year one (Matt Carkner now in the Ottawa organization) player played a total of 1 game in the NHL.

2000 - Round 1 - 13th - Ron Hainsey - 245GP 85Pts in the NHL, currently playing in Atlanta.

2000 - Round 1 - 16th - Marcel Hossa - 237GP 61Pts in the NHL.

So from 1990 to 2000, a span of ten years, the Canadiens picked two players that were more than a third liner to a complete bust. Hainsey was lost on re-entry waivers to Columbus and Koivu is still with the team.

The next two years which are still pre-Gainey & Timmins era, began to for the Canadiens into the team they are today. Komisarek and Plekanec were taken in 2001 and Higgins in 2002. Following that the Canadiens have gone on an impressive draft streak including current players such as A.Kostitsyn, Lapierre, O’Byrne, Halak in 2003, Chipchura, Yemelin, Grabovski, Streit and Stewart in 2004, Price, Latendresse, S.Kostitsyn, D’Agostini in 2005, Fischer, Maxwell, Carle, White, Valentenko in 2006, McDonagh, Pacioretty, Subban, Weber in 2007. The players listed above from 2001 to 2007 have made an impact currently with the team, by trade or have a good chance to make it in the next few years and or are making an impact in Hamilton. One notable missing as he only played one game as a member of the Canadiens, but was solid with their minor league affiliate is Corey Locke, drafted in 2003.

The current roster boasts a wealth of home grown talent, most of which has been picked by Gainey and Timmins. The following is not exactly how lines should be or what side each person is on, but how they were acquired, not including the picks traded for picks to move up or down in the draft. Age shown in ().

A.Kostitsyn (23) Plekanec (25) Kovalev (35)

(Rd 1 10th Overall ‘03) (Rd 3 71st Overall ‘01) (Trade)

Tanguay (28) Koivu (33) Latendresse (21)

(Trade) (Rd 1 21st Overall ‘93) (Rd 2 45th Overall ‘05)

Higgins (25) Lang (37) S.Kostitsyn (21)

(Rd 1 14th Overall ‘02) (Trade) (Rd 7 200th Overall ‘05)

Begin (30) Lapierre (23) Laraque (31)

(Waivers) (Rd 2 61st Overall ‘03) (UFA)

Dandenault (32) Chipchura (22) Kotsopoulos (29)

(UFA) (Rd 1 18th Overall ‘05) (UFA)

Markov Komisarek

(Rd 6 162nd Overall ‘98) (Rd 1 7th Overall ‘01)

Hamrlik O’Byrne

(UFA) (Rd 3 79th Overall ‘03)

Brisebois Gorges

(Rd 2 30th Overall ‘89 & UFA) (Trade)

Bouillon

(Undrafted & Waivers)

Price

(Rd 1 5th Overall ‘05)

Halak

(Rd 9 271st Overall ‘03)

Kovalev was acquired for Jozef Balej (Rd 3 78th Overall ‘00) and Rd 2 51st Overall ‘04 Pick.

Gorges was acquired with Rd 1 22nd Overall ‘07 Pick (Pacioretty) for Craig Rivet (Rd 3 68th Overall ‘92).

Tanguay was acquired with Rd 5 138th Overall ‘08 (Trunev) for Rd 1 25th Overall ’08 & Rd 2 ‘09.

Lang was acquired for Toronto’s Rd 2 ‘09 Pick, previously acquired with Greg Pateryn (Tor - Rd 5 128th Overall ‘08) for Mikhail Grabovski (Rd 5 150th Overall ‘04).

Personal Observation: Latendresse is only 21 years old, he was taken the same year as Price, S.Kostitsyn, D’Agostini, yet many people talk about him not living up to his potential and demanding trades. He is a young power forward who will need time to develop. He was taken in the second round, yet he has the pressure of a high first round pick. A player of similar size and skill is Todd Bertuzzi who was drafted 2 spots behind Koivu in 1993, but never really had a NHL breakout season until 99-00. A current accurate comparison could be Steve Beriner, he was a mid first round pick who played in the same junior league as Latendresee and is a couple years older. So when you look at Bernier, think two years back and Latendresse is not really bad opposed to what many people think.

As you can see the current team is make up of many Canadiens draft picks and the missing parts were brought in using other picks and drafted players. The bulk of this group was constructed over a five year span from 2001 to 2005 drafts, 2003 and 2005 being the most productive.

Even though the Canadiens current line-up contains many of their own picks, the system remains strong as they have not traded away many picks or prospects. The Hamilton Bulldogs won a championship in 2007 with a few key members of the Canadiens today. They struggled last season due to these losses, but are looking just as strong this year with a large group of the Canadiens prospects graduating from the junior ranks to the AHL. The following is a brief list of the current players in the system which have a legitimate chance of playing in Montreal at some point this year or in the next few years as they have stood out at the Junior world stage, the AHL or in the Canadiens camp.

2004 - Round 8 - 246th Overall - Greg Stewart - Hamilton AHL

2004 - Round 3 - 84th Overall - Alexi Yemelin - Russia

2005 - Round 6 - 190th Overall - Matt D’Agostini - Hamilton AHL

2006 - Round 1 - 20th Overall - David Fischer - Minnesota NCAA

2006 - Round 2 - 49th Overall - Ben Maxwell - Hamilton AHL

2006 - Round 2 - 53rd Overall - Mathieu Carle - Hamilton AHL

2006 - Round 3 - 66th Overall - Ryan White - Hamilton AHL

2006 - Round 5 - 139th Overall - Pavel Valentenko - Hamilton AHL

2007 - Round 1 - 12th Overall - Ryan McDonough - Wisconsin NCAA

2007 - Round 1 - 22nd Overall - Max Pacioretty - Hamilton AHL

2007 - Round 2 - 43rd Overall - P.K Subban - Belleville OHL, Canada WJC

2007 - Round 3 - 73rd Overall - Yannick Weber - Hamilton AHL

2008 - Round 2 - 56th Overall - Danny Kristo - USA WJC

2008 - Round 5 - 138th Overall - Maxim Trunev - Russia - 3rd Overall Pick CHL Import Draft (Portland)

To summarize, the organization has improved in their scouting and drafting over the years which has directly impacted the franchise for this season and many seasons to come. If the Canadiens can keep this trend there will never really be a need to tear down and rebuild completely (See Detroit). By surrounding their current players with young talent which allows for better development, the cycle can continue for years.

[MMPL]

Great summary.

You make some very good points. I can't believe how shitty we drafted back in the day.

In Bob we Trust!

[CerebusClone]

Just one note: it's a little unfair and biased to only name the first rounders from the previous years, and naming all the good picks from Trevor Timmins. After all,

Andrei Markov in perhaps in the top 5 defensemen in the NHL.

Mike Ribeiro had a huge season last year.

Tomas Vokoun is one of the top goaltenders in the NHL.

Francois Beauchemin has been a rock for the Ducks.

Michael Ryder had two consecutive 30-goal seasons for us, and is off to a good start with Boston.

Craig Rivet was solid for us, the number 1 man in San Jose, and today captain for the Sabres

Jose Theodore won a Vezina and a Hart.

Valeri Bure was a star player before his numerous injuries.

Stephane Robidas has done a great job for the Stars for years.

Mathieu Garon is a number 1 goaltender in the NHL today.

Darcy Tucker is a great agitator, and decent offensive player.

Arron Asham has been a strong grinder for years.

Craig Conroy has been a fairly decent player for the Flames and the Blues.

Jason Ward is a more than decent forth liner.

Jozef Balej was also a solid minor leaguer, which allowed us to trade for Alex Kovalev (instead of giving up Plekanec like many speculated).

And there have been others such as Brain Savage, Petrov, Fitzpatrick (almost an All-Star last season ), Darby, Gilbert Dionne, Paul DiPietro, ...

[nam]

Just one note: it's a little unfair and biased to only name the first rounders from the previous years, and naming all the good picks from Trevor Timmins. After all,

Andrei Markov in perhaps in the top 5 defensemen in the NHL.

Mike Ribeiro had a huge season last year.

Tomas Vokoun is one of the top goaltenders in the NHL.

Francois Beauchemin has been a rock for the Ducks.

Michael Ryder had two consecutive 30-goal seasons for us, and is off to a good start with Boston.

Craig Rivet was solid for us, the number 1 man in San Jose, and today captain for the Sabres

Jose Theodore won a Vezina and a Hart.

Valeri Bure was a star player before his numerous injuries.

Stephane Robidas has done a great job for the Stars for years.

Mathieu Garon is a number 1 goaltender in the NHL today.

Darcy Tucker is a great agitator, and decent offensive player.

Arron Asham has been a strong grinder for years.

Craig Conroy has been a fairly decent player for the Flames and the Blues.

Jason Ward is a more than decent forth liner.

Jozef Balej was also a solid minor leaguer, which allowed us to trade for Alex Kovalev (instead of giving up Plekanec like many speculated).

And there have been others such as Brain Savage, Petrov, Fitzpatrick (almost an All-Star last season ), Darby, Gilbert Dionne, Paul DiPietro, ...

I wasn't saying we did not have any good picks, I was just pointing out how poor our first round record was. I could have added in the rest although I didn't think anyone would read it if it got even longer.

Vokun(expansion), Beachemin (waivers), Robidas (waivers), Tucker (trade to Tampa), Conroy (trade to St.Louis) all never really did much in Montreal, and why they were never mentioned as well as they had no significant impact on how the current team was constructed. Ward was never more than a 4th liner other than maybe one year, he had 28 points in 81 games with the Rangers. His next highest was 14 with Tampa, hardly acceptable for a 11th overall pick. That still leaves your list relatively weak compared in length and skill compared to the current organization.

Out of that list the ones who had a current impact as of this season would be Balej (Kovalev)(Steal), Rivet (Gorges, Pacioretty)(Armed Robbery), and Markov.

[Colin]

Ward. HA

A significant population of this board and many others thought he was the next John Leclair. "Get him on the top line" they said. Ward still can't turn unless he hits the boards first.

[MMPL]

Francois Beauchemin has been a rock for the Ducks.

I never knew we drafted Beauchemin

[MAK]

I never knew we drafted Beauchemin

yep

the same year we had Ryder, Markov, dwyer, ribeiro, bashkirov and Chouinard. all of them have been playing little to significant time in the NHL.

http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00006929.html

Edited October 13, 2008 by marky_and_komi

[bombTHEice]

Ward. HA

A significant population of this board and many others thought he was the next John Leclair. "Get him on the top line" they said. Ward still can't turn unless he hits the boards first.

Awesome way to turn ...

Ward was useless, even for a 4th liner.

[Habsfan]

Great Summary nam! Excellent job.

I agree with most of what you said. Before the arrival of André Savard and then Trevor Timmins, the Habs drafting record wasn't very good, espcially in the 1st round.

[huzer]

Judging from that list, the Habs draft best in odd number years. Might as well trade all picks in the even years. Ha! You can even say what you want about Savard's contracts, but he helped start the draft "turnaround". Timmons has done a great job since he's been running the draft (started in '03, I believe)