MONTREAL –– The Canadiens landed the best player in the first round of the 2025 National Hockey League Draft –– and didn’t make a single pick to do it.

In a year defined by change –– namely, the historic debut of the decentralized draft outside the pandemic era –– the Habs embraced their own outside-the-box approach, opting to trade potential for certainty.

“When we were going into the Combine, we definitely didn’t think we were going to have picks 16 and 17,” the Canadiens’ vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, told canadiens.com in an exclusive post-draft interview.

“Maybe we would have one; maybe none. But I don't think any of us really thought we would have both.”

Gorton described the interview process at the Combine as ‘speed dating.’ Little did he know then, however,

See Full Page