Up next with the 25th pick is a team that had a dramatic turnaround from last year, but obviously still has some holes to fill in their lineup.
#25 – MONTREAL CANADIENS
May 9, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien during the first period against Ottawa Senators in game five of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
TEAM STRENGTHS: Goaltending, top end defensemen
TEAM WEAKNESSES: size up front, depth on the blue line
HOCKEY’S FUTURE ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT RANK: 6th of 30 teams
UNDER CONSIDERATION: Josh Morrisey, Andre Burakovsky, Laurent Dauphin, Valentin Zykov, Morgan Klimchuk
FANSIDED MOCK DRAFT PICK: A Winning Habit selected Samuel Morin
SENSHOT’S CHOICE: Valentin Zykov from Baie Comeau of the QMJHL. Since no forward on the board really has great size to go with skill, the Habs would be best off drafting one of the more skilled forwards on the draft. Zykov was the CHL rookie of the year in putting up 40 goals and 75 points in the Q, to go with a +29 rating.
SENSHOT’S MOCK DRAFT TO DATE (click on team to view the selection):
PICK | TEAM | PICK |
1 | COLORADO | Seth Jones, Portland (WHL) |
2 | FLORIDA | Jonathan Drouin, Halifax (QMJHL) |
3 | TAMPA | Nathan MacKinnon, Halifax (QMJHL) |
4 | NASHVILLE | Valeri Nichushkin, Chelijabinsk 2 (KHL) |
5 | CAROLINA | Darnell Nurse, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
6 | CALGARY | Sean Monahan, Ottawa (OHL) |
7 | EDMONTON | Nikita Zadorov, London (OHL) |
8 | BUFFALO | Max Domi, London (OHL) |
9 | NEW JERSEY | Alexsander Barkov, Tappera (FIN) |
10 | DALLAS | Hunter Shinkaruk, Medicine Hat (WHL) |
11 | PHILADELPHIA | Zachary Furcale, Halifax (QMJHL) |
12 | PHOENIX | Anthony Mantha, Val D’Or (QMJHL) |
13 | WINNIPEG | Elias Lindholm, Brynas (SEL) |
14 | COLUMBUS | Bo Horvat, London (OHL) |
15 | NYI | Adam Erne, Quebec (QMJHL) |
16 | BUFFALO | Frederik Gauthier, Rimouski (QMJHL) |
17 | OTTAWA | Robert Hagg, Modo (SEL) |
18 | DETROIT | Alexander Wennburg, Djurgardens (SEL) |
19 | COLUMBUS | Samuel Morin, Rimouski (QMJHL) |
20 | SAN JOSE | Kerby Rychel, Windsor (OHL) |
21 | TORONTO | Rasmus Ristolainen, Turko (FIN) |
22 | CALGARY | Nicolas Petan, Portland (WHL) |
23 | WASHINGTON | Ryan Pulock, Brandon (WHL) |
24 | VANCOUVER | Ryan Hartman, Plymouth (OHL) |
25 | MONTREAL | Valentin Zykov, Baie Comeau (QMJHL) |