It’s not every day that a team can draft someone that they had at their development camp, but that is exactly what the Montreal Canadiens did when they drafted defender Cooper Cleaves.
Cleaves was an invite at last year’s development camp, and clearly made an impression before spending last season at Dartmouth College. He is in his third year of draft eligibility, and wasn’t seen by many as a potential draft target. The Canadiens have liked going the overage route when drafting players in recent years, and the fact they have a few days of hands-on experience with him at their camp may give them a bit more intel on him than most.
While he wasn’t necessarily expecting the Canadiens to call his name, he did say that he built and maintained relationships with the staff after last summer’s camp.
Birthplace: Riverside, CT, USA
Date of birth: January 5, 2006
Shoots: Right
Position: Defence
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 205 lbs.
Team: Dartmouth College (NCAA)
At Dartmouth, Cleaves had four goals and six assists in 30 games this past season, playing on a team that included his older brother. Prior to Dartmouth, he spent time in the BCHL and USHL.
At their post-draft press conference, Canadiens director of player personnel and amateur scouting Martin Lapointe was asked what they saw in Cleaves over the season that made them want to draft him after seeing him at their camp last summer.
“We saw a good progression,” he said. “He’s a big player who plays simple. He makes a good first pass, he’s able to play physically. He can skate with the puck. We love his upside, what he’s going to bring in the future. He’s a big body who is capable of moving with the puck. That’s what we loved and that’s what we wanted.”
When you read scouting reports on Cleaves, you get the profile of someone whose calling card will be his play in the defensive zone. McKeen’s, who ranked him 134th, says he has the potential to be a diamond in the rough. Despite being in his final year of draft eligibility, his game is seen as raw. He has good instincts and can break up plays, but his execution doesn’t always catch up to the idea.
Taking the step from the BCHL and USHL to the NCAA and playing a role on the ECAC champions is notable, and it is likely that the Canadiens wanted to see how he would make that adjustment. It’s also easier to draft a player in this case rather than sign them after last year’s camp because they get to keep their NCAA eligibility and you have even more time to allow them to develop.
The way he took on a significant role on a top college team as a freshman, which is something that drew some attention to him.
Cleaves is able to break up plays in transition both at his blue line and in the neutral zone which in turn allows him to transition the play to offence. He uses a mix of poke checks and well-timed hits to separate player from puck, and that is one of the strengths of his game.
He isn’t known for his offensive ability, but getting 10 points in 30 games in the NCAA as a freshman is not insignificant. Scoring in college is typically not as high as junior leagues.
There is a lot of work for him to do to make it to the NHL, but there is a lot of positive in the way his game has developed over the last year. He’s already a heavy player, and will have the ability to fill out his frame even more to become even more imposing physically. The good news for his long-term outlook is that the things that need to improve are things that have already seemed to develop in his game. The degree of the rest of the development will likely play a part in his outlook.
At the draft, Cleaves said that what changed over the last two years was his game lacking an identity. He wasn’t necessarily seen as a shutdown defender, and wasn’t great offensively. He says going to Green Bay in the USHL and Dartmouth really allowed him to develop his game and style.
Cleaves will go back for his sophomore season at Dartmouth. The right side of the Canadiens organizational depth chart wasn’t the deepest but the additions of Cleaves and Timofei Runtso will look to shore up that pipeline.
