For the second time on day two of the NHL entry draft, the Montreal Canadiens traded up. This time in the third round, they moved picks 79 and 108 to get up to 69, where they promptly selected Hayden Paupanekis from the Kelowna Rockets.
A towering centre, it isn’t surprising that the Habs felt like they needed to trade up to grab him, as there has been a pretty significant run on size since the beginning of the second round. But Paupanekis has a little more to his game than just his measurements.
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date of birth: February 4, 2007
Shoots: Right
Position: Centre
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 203 lbs.
Team: Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
After a 20-point rookie season with the Spokane Chiefs, Paupanekis started the 2024-25 season well with 24 points through 39 games before being traded to the Kelowna Rockets. He struggled to score a little more with Kelowna, who were a very young, rebuilding team looking to get ready to host the Memorial Cup in 2026. This coming season, he’ll be an important player for them as they look to prove that they belong in the tournament not just insofar as they are hosting it.
With Spokane, he was firmly locked into a checking role, not all too unsurprisingly with his physical gifts. With Kelowna, he was relied upon far more to drive play, and showed off more depth to his game than he had previously. That shouldn’t change in 2025-26, and he could make the Habs look pretty smart for this selection if he ends up having the breakout year that he’s capable of having.
Hayden Paupanekis is one of my favorite players in this class. Don’t be surprised if he’s gone by the middle of round 2.
— cellycenter (@cellycenter) May 10, 2025
Most of his goals are scored in the blue paint. The physical tools are good- skating and handling are both strong.
Tons of runway for a 6’4 power forward. pic.twitter.com/03Sb5fSQ53
The main worry with excessively large players is generally with respect to their skating, and whether they’ll be able to keep up at the next level. That worry doesn’t exist with Paupanekis, as he possesses good speed, acceleration, and sound skating mechanics. He moves like a much smaller player, and while he surely won’t be the fastest player on a professional roster, his skating won’t be the thing that keeps him from making one.
Elite Prospects was the highest of any scouting service on him pre-draft, and described him as a defensively sound centre with details, pace, and physicality. They feel he has a high probability of being a bottom-six NHL forward, with some real upside if he can continue to develop his offensive game.
That physicality is virtually guaranteed to earn him some opportunities at the professional level. He is extremely strong on his skates, a nightmare to deal with in puck battles along the walls, and he has been in some rather one-sided fights in the WHL. Almost every good NHL team has players like this in their bottom six, and the Habs obviously had that in mind when selecting Paupanekis.
He has good hands, a heavy shot, and decent playmaking skills. He hasn’t quite been able to put all of these things together yet in junior, but that is why he was available at the start of the third round. If he was a complete player already, with his size, he wouldn’t have made it out of the first round. The Habs are making a bet here that he can continue to hone his offensive game, and potentially surpass his relatively high floor.
Rankings
Bob McKenzie: #72
Elite Prospects: #43
Hockey Prospect: #48
Corey Pronman: #58
Scott Wheeler: #81
The consensus ranking had him at 60, with a number of analysts giving him a second-round grade. He may not have a tantalizing ceiling, but with the Habs approaching the end of their rebuild, it makes sense for them to be going after high-floor players who have very projectable NHL attributes. This could be looked upon as a sneaky good pick by Kent Hughes and his scouting staff in a few years.
Down the road, they could be looking at a bottom six with the likes of Florian Xhekaj, Luke Tuch, and Hayden Paupanekis. That is a group of players that few will enjoy being stuck on the ice against.
