1st: Montreal Canadiens – Thomas Chabot
Chabot and Brady Tkachuk were (spoiler alert) the only two players in consideration for the top pick. But when it comes to Montreal, the Quebec-born Chabot was the only choice.
Considering Montreal just has so much gosh-darned talent at forwards that they simply can’t find a spot for Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Cole Caufield in the lineup, the move makes sense from a positional standpoint too.
Chabot had a bit of a down year by his standards but was still one of the top players on the ice for Ottawa game after game. Assuming his late-season upper-body injury was only minor, seeing Chabot line-up alongside Jeff Petry or Shea Weber could go a long way towards the Habs stopping Toronto’s potent offense.