Without warning, aside from a heads-up an hour before it dropped, the Montreal Canadiens released their behind-the-scenes at the draft video on Tuesday night. With the rookie camp set to kick off the following morning and the anticipation building in town, the timing couldn’t have been better.
The team has long mastered the art of compiling thrilling videos that take the fans not only behind the scenes at the actual draft, but in the run-up to the yearly event. In other words, the video also features the scouting combine in Buffalo, and we get an extended look at the interview the team conducted with Hayden Paupanekis. The center not only came prepared, but he said all the right things.
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After he compared himself to a polar bear or a grizzly bear because they’re vicious, Dr. David Scott, a consultant in sports psychology, challenged him, asking how he could be vicious and only have 29 penalty minutes in 39 games. The youngster calmly replied that you don’t need to get penalties to be vicious and play hard, there’s no need to two-hand people in the face. When asked if he only saw his future at center, he answered that he would play wherever he was asked to by the coach. At the end of the interview, Dr. Scott congratulated him for handling himself well.
Unsurprisingly, the Canadiens drafted the power forward in the third round, as their amateur scout for Canada, Ben Shutron, was quite high on him. It will be interesting to see how he performs with the Memorial Cup hosting Kelowna Rockets under the watchful eye of new assistant coach and former Canadiens blueliner, Josh Gorges. As for the co-director of amateur scouting, Nick Bobrov, he was sold on Bryce Pickford, but Montreal was able to pick him later with the 81st pick.
Clearly, the Canadiens approached the draft with the mentality that they would move; they wouldn’t just pick at 16 and 17. In addition to trying to pull off the trade with the New York Islanders, the team was also evaluating players in case they were able to move up. In the end, the trade materialized, and Montreal didn’t get to pick in the first one. Still, it didn’t matter as they were very high on their second-round pick, Alexander Zharovsky, but they weren’t alone, which is why they had to trade up to get the 34th overall pick to avoid seeing another team snatch him from under their nose.
In a recent episode of the Rebuild: Inside the Montreal Canadiens, we heard that GM Kent Hughes consulted with team captain Nick Suzuki before acquiring Patrik Laine, and in this video, we see Hughes test the waters about a possible pick of Zharovsky. Before trading up to get him, Hughes texted rookie Ivan Demidov asking if he was awake. Not only was Demidov awake, but he was also positive about his work ethic and absolutely sold on his skills and talent. It was no secret that the Russian was on the Canadiens’ radar as they had set a meeting with him in Florida ahead of the draft.
The video goes on to show Hughes and Gorton calling a couple of their draftees, Zharovsky and LJ Mooney, who was clearly over the moon about being drafted by the Canadiens. Gorton made a point of reminding him that the Habs have had a lot of success with undersized Americans like Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield.
What this video highlights particularly well is the fact that the Canadiens have moved forward in their rebuild; it’s not just about the future anymore, it’s about the present. The team didn’t hesitate to send Emil Heineman and two first-round picks to the Islanders for a player that fits the Habs’ timeline age-wise, but can also help solidify their defense right away.
The video also gives us a peek at development camp and one of Martin St-Louis always inspired speech, basically telling the young hopefuls that making the NHL is not just about having the motivation and the will to get there, you need the discipline to stick with your training no matter how hard it is, even if you’re alone in the summer and you do not have the other hopefuls competing for a spot pushing you. The coach has got a knack for making speeches that light a fire under players; he knows how to inspire the same intensity he put forward on the ice when he was playing.
In short, the 23-minute video is an excellent way to get ready for the upcoming season and get to know a little bit more about players who are hoping to be Canadiens players down the line.
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