With the 2025 NHL Entry Draft now complete, it is time to take a look at the Montreal Canadiens’ results therein, and how they fared at the first iteration of the league’s new decentralized selection.
I’d like a word on that format first and foremost, because I think I speak for most hockey fans when I say that the production value was absolutely terrible. We were treated to far more Gary Bettman than most of us can stomach, a very poorly set up room with an interminable echo where prospects would meet their new management after being drafted, and a silly trade alert button that nobody asked for. Astonishingly bad TV that I personally would never watch if I wasn’t already a member of the NHL’s core audience that they know they’ll never lose.
Rounds two through seven were far more palatable, at least, and that was where the Habs really did their work anyway. So, without further ado, here are my grades for each of the picks made by the Tricolore this weekend.
Round 1, picks #16 & #17 – Traded to NYI for Noah Dobson
Grade: A++
Alright, maybe you don’t want this graded because they didn’t actually pick anyone, but no conversation about the Habs’ performance at this draft would be complete without at least addressing this. The two picks, plus Emil Heineman, netted the Habs an elite right-handed defenceman, shoring up their blue line for the foreseeable future with him inking an eight-year deal.
Anyone they would have picked at those spots would have been years away from making the NHL, and they instead addressed a significant need with an immediate impact player. The fact that one of those firsts was the one they got from simply being willing to take on Sean Monahan’s contract for a year — a player they subsequently traded for yet another first that netted them Michael Hage — is just icing on the cake. A masterclass in asset management from Kent Hughes.
A++ and absolutely no notes. Excellent work.
Round 2, pick #34 – Alexander Zharovsky
Grade: A
It cost the Habs their two second-round picks to move up and get the skilled Russian, but by most accounts it was worth it. Zharovsky has a boatload of skill, and could be a real problem when he fills out his 6’1″ frame. Elite Prospects calls him the most skilled puck-handler in the draft outside of North America. We know the Habs had eyes on Russian hockey last year, and we know that Nick Bobrov has connections there. I’m trusting that they’ve done their homework with an A grade on this one.
Zharovsky has a pro frame and his highlight pack shows him undressing his opponents left and right. Bobrov went so far as to say that they had a first-round grade on him, expecting him around where their two picks traded for Dobson were. If they’re right about him, nobody will even think about the two seconds they had to flip to get to that draft position. A solid A for this pick.
Round 3, pick #69 – Hayden Paupanekis, C
Grade: A
Once again, the Habs traded up, turning picks 79 and 108 into 69. Nice.
In Paupanekis, they get a massive centre from the WHL, and one who likely has fourth-line centre as his floor. He skates better than most players his size, and has a ton of untapped potential he can unlock before he turns pro in a few years. His consensus ranking was actually 60 going into the draft, and I’m giving this one an A because I think they knew the opportunity in front of them and moved up knowing he wasn’t going to fall much longer. This isn’t just a size play, there’s a strong possibility that he has a breakout year for Kelowna next season, and we start wondering how this guy even made it out of the first two rounds.
The Habs have guys like this kicking around the organization already — Florian Xhekaj, Luke Tuch, Tyler Thorpe — and it never hurts to have more in the pipeline.
Round 3, pick #81 – Bryce Pickford, RD
Grade: B+
Pickford is an over-ager who exploded with the Medicine Hat Tigers last season after not being selected in his first year of draft eligibility. This was a slight reach, but for a decent-sized right-handed defenceman who is closer to turning pro than most of his peers in this draft class. This is a swing they can afford to take when their trade for Noah Dobson already signalled that they’re getting ready to compete, not wait five years to find out if someone can surprise them.
He’ll be a player to follow next season, because if he can replicate the success he had in 2024-25, he’ll be in the conversation for a spot with Laval in October of 2026.
Round 3, pick #82 – Arseni Radkov, G
Grade: C+
Immediately after the Pickford pick, we get our first goaltender. Arseni Radkov has the size, he had solid numbers in the MHL over in Russia, and he’s scheduled to come over and play in the NCAA a season from now. I think we’ll learn a lot more from his collegiate play than from his time in the Russian Junior leagues.
I won’t sit here and pretend to have watched him in the MHL last year, so I’m giving this a C+ simply for the fact that a long-term goaltender project is neither an exciting nor a bad thing for the Habs right now.
Round 4, pick #113 – L.J. Mooney
Grade: A+
Now this is an upside swing for the fences on a player that probably deserved to be drafted much higher. Loads of skill, blazing speed, but a frame that will make his path to the NHL much harder than that of his peers.
I know some folks won’t like the A+ grade because of his size, but if this kid hits his ceiling, he has top-six potential at the absurdly low cost of the 113th pick. They already added size earlier in the draft, and taking a swing like this in the middle rounds is exactly what I was hoping they would do. If you don’t believe me, listen to the scouts. His consensus ranking had him going at the tail end of the second round. This is potential highway robbery if things go well with his development.
Round 5, pick #145 – Alexis Cournoyer, G
Grade: C+
Another goaltender project, but this time of the French-Canadian variety. Insanely good numbers with Cape Breton in the QMJHL last year, but he’s 19 years old and that was his first season in the league on a pretty strong team.
Again, goalie projects aren’t a problem to have. He has the measurements of an NHL goaltender, but I can’t justify anything more than a C+.
Round 6, pick #177 – Carlos Händel, RD
Grade: B-
Another decent-sized, right-handed defender as the Habs look to address one of the weakest positions on their organizational depth chart. Our consensus ranking had him at 120, so there could be some value to unlock with this pick. He plays for the Halifax Mooseheads, so I can even give you guys a commitment that I’ll go see him live this year and find out whether this B- was correct.
Round 6, pick #189 – Andrew MacNiel, RD
Grade: C+
Sensing a theme here with the right-handed D? This guy wasn’t even ranked, and barely got his feet wet with 33 games with the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL last season. My sense is the Habs know, or think they know something that the rest of the league doesn’t, since there won’t be a ton of scouting data on the kid.
He’s big and he shoots right, it’s a late-round swing for an area of need in the prospect pool. C+ seems pretty fair.
Round 7, pick #209 – Maxon Vig, LD
Grade: C+
Agree or disagree with the C+, I refuse to make a big deal out of any decision they make with a seventh-round pick. I’ve never seen the kid play, but he’s an over-ager at 19 years old, and he’s 6’2″ and 212 pounds. He’s a big defenceman in a draft year where everybody was taking big defencemen.
He’s also another NCAA commit, so there’s plenty of runway for him to develop his game and try to become the next Jake Evans, but on the blue line.
Overall grade: A
There’s really nothing to complain about with this year’s body of work. They took some swings, and they focused on quality over quantity, leveraging their draft capital to move up whenever they wanted to snag a particular player.
Most importantly, they sent a clear signal to the fan base that they’re ready to start using their draft capital to improve the team right now, not several years down the road. The phase of the rebuild where their lone focus is acquiring picks and prospects is over. They’re ready to move things forward.
That said, they still managed to add some intriguing pieces to the prospect cupboard. They struck a great balance between improving the team now and making sure they still have assets for the future. In a draft where there was no opportunity for them to actually draft talent to help them immediately, they found a way to get that. They had their cake, and they ate it too.
It may not match the incredible excitement of getting high-level talent like Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage last year, but this was a very successful draft for the Montreal Canadiens. Habs fans should be quite happy with the overall results.
