Montreal Canadiens - 10-Year Draft History

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

2003 Andrei Kastsitsyn 10th LW CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow
2002 Christopher Higgins 14th C Yale (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2001 Mike Komisarek 7th D Michigan (NCAA) Montreal
2001 Alexander Perezhogin 25th RW Omsk Avangard Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Ron Hainsey 13th D Mass-Lowell (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Marcel Hossa 16th C Portland (WHL) Hamilton (AHL
1999 No Pick
1998 Eric Chouinard 16th C Quebec (QMJHL) Minnesota
1997 Jason Ward 11th C Erie (OHL) Montreal
1996 Matt Higgins 18th D Moose Jaw (WHL) Iserlohn
1995 Terry Ryan 8th LW Tri-City (WHL) N/A
1994 Brad Brown 18th C North Bay (OHL) Buffalo

- from www.tsn.ca/nhl/draft/feature.asp?fid=7069

[blaise]

M. said:

2003 Andrei Kastsitsyn 10th LW CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow
2002 Christopher Higgins 14th C Yale (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2001 Mike Komisarek 7th D Michigan (NCAA) Montreal
2001 Alexander Perezhogin 25th RW Omsk Avangard Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Ron Hainsey 13th D Mass-Lowell (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Marcel Hossa 16th C Portland (WHL) Hamilton (AHL
1999 No Pick
1998 Eric Chouinard 16th C Quebec (QMJHL) Minnesota
1997 Jason Ward 11th C Erie (OHL) Montreal
1996 Matt Higgins 18th D Moose Jaw (WHL) Iserlohn
1995 Terry Ryan 8th LW Tri-City (WHL) N/A
1994 Brad Brown 18th C North Bay (OHL) Buffalo

- from www.tsn.ca/nhl/draft/feature.asp?fid=7069

That list suggests a squandering of potential assets during that decade by S. Savard and Houle (particularly the latter, since the 1994 cutoff mercifully excludes David Wilkie, Brent Bilodeau, Turner Stevenson, Lindsay Vallis, and Eric Charron). All of the 1st round picks from 2001 on look as though they'll make it. We remain indebted to S. Savard for Saku Koivu.

[Deleted]

I thought Koivu was a first-pick in 94? Hmm, guess I was wrong.

[PTH]

Mattias said:

I thought Koivu was a first-pick in 94? Hmm, guess I was wrong.

He was our first pick, but in 1993.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Blaise said:

That list suggests a squandering of potential assets during that decade by S. Savard and Houle (particularly the latter, since the 1994 cutoff mercifully excludes David Wilkie, Brent Bilodeau, Turner Stevenson, Lindsay Vallis, and Eric Charron). All of the 1st round picks from 2001 on look as though they'll make it. We remain indebted to S. Savard for Saku Koivu.

You are right Mr. Blaise.
Houle could have the first two picks from Quebec and still come up with AHL journeyman. Serge was better at picking 3 year old horses than 18 year old hockey players. Then again he spent more of his time on it.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

M. said:

2003 Andrei Kastsitsyn 10th LW CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow
2002 Christopher Higgins 14th C Yale (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2001 Mike Komisarek 7th D Michigan (NCAA) Montreal
2001 Alexander Perezhogin 25th RW Omsk Avangard Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Ron Hainsey 13th D Mass-Lowell (NCAA) Hamilton (AHL)
2000 Marcel Hossa 16th C Portland (WHL) Hamilton (AHL
1999 No Pick
1998 Eric Chouinard 16th C Quebec (QMJHL) Minnesota
1997 Jason Ward 11th C Erie (OHL) Montreal
1996 Matt Higgins 18th D Moose Jaw (WHL) Iserlohn
1995 Terry Ryan 8th LW Tri-City (WHL) N/A
1994 Brad Brown 18th C North Bay (OHL) Buffalo

- from www.tsn.ca/nhl/draft/feature.asp?fid=7069

Better Choices

1994 James Brown
1995 Meg Ryan
1996 Matt LeBlanc
1997 Jason Priestly
1998 Guy Chouinard
1999 Trevor Kidd
2000 Marcel Marceau
2001 Jason Alexander
2002 Christopher Wren
2003 Andrei Rooney

Komisarek, Higgins, Ward and Kastitsyn still could develop into very good players, but they haven't fulfilled the wild expectations we dreamed about in the unrealistic timeframe we hoped for.

[Cranky]

Why are we so far from the Promised Land? Because IDIOTS ran the Hab's for a LONG time.

2003
10 Andrei Kostitsyn
40 Cory Urquhart
61 Maxim Lapierre
79 Ryan O'Byrne
113 Corey Locke
123 Dany Stewart
177 Christopher Heino-Lind
188 Mark Flood
217 Oskari Korpikari
241 Jimmy Bonneau
271 Jaroslav Halak

2002
14 Christopher Higgins
45 Tomas Linhart
99 Michael Lambert
182 Andre Deveaux
212 Jonathan Ferland
275 Konstantin Korneyev

2001
7 Mike Komisarek
25 Alexander Perezhogin
37 Duncan Milroy
71 Tomas Plekanec
109 Martti Jarventie
171 Eric Himelfarb
203 Andrew Archer
266 Viktor Ujcik

2000 So far, NOTHING that one can write home about.
13 Ron Hainsey
16 Marcel Hossa
78 Josef Balej
79 Tyler Hanchuck
109 Johan Eneqvist
114 Christian Larrivee
145 Ryan Glenn
172 Scott Selig
182 Petr Chvojka
243 Joni Puurula
275 Jonathan Gauthier

1999 Special year for futility.
39 Alexander Buturlin
58 Matt Carkner
97 Chris Dyment
107 Evan Lindsay
136 Dusty Jamieson
145 Marc-Andre Thinel
150 Matt Shasby
167 Sean Dixon
196 Vadim Tarasov
225 Mikko Hyytia
253 Jerome Marois

1998 One of the better years.
16 Eric Chouinard
45 Mike Ribeiro
75 Francois Beauchemin
132 Andre Bashkirov
152 Gordie Dwyer
162 Andrei Markov
189 Andrei Kruchinin
201 Craig Murray
216 Michael Ryder
247 Darcy Harris

1997 On third liner out of this lot..
11 Jason Ward
37 Gregor Baumgartner
65 Ilkka Mikkola
91 Daniel Tetrault
118 Konstantin Sidulov
122 Gennady Razin
145 Jonathan Desroches
172 Ben Guite
197 Petr Kubos
202 Andrei Sidyakin
228 Jarl Ygranes

1996 A backup goalie and a third liner.
18 Matt Higgins
44 Mathieu Garon
71 Arron Asham
92 Kim Staal
99 Etienne Drapeau
127 Daniel Archambault
154 Brett Clark
181 Timo Vertala
207 Mattia Baldi
233 Michel Tremblay

1995 Special year for futility.
8 Terry Ryan
60 Miloslav Guren
74 Martin Hohenberger
86 Jonathan Delisle
112 Niklas Anger
138 Boyd Olson
164 Stephane Robidas
190 Greg Hart
216 Eric Houde

1994 Two goalies out of this.
18 Brad Brown
44 Jose Theodore
54 Chris Murray
70 Marko Kiprusoff
74 Martin Belanger
96 Arto Kuki
122 Jimmy Drolet
148 Joel Irving
174 Jesse Rezansoff
200 Peter Strom
226 Tomas Vokoun
252 Chris Aldous
278 Ross Parsons

1993 Best year. 3 NHL'ers.
21 Saku Koivu
47 Rory Fitzpatrick
73 Sebastien Bordeleau
85 Adam Wiesel
99 Jean-Francois Houle
113 Jeff Lank
125 Dion Darling
151 Darcy Tucker
177 David Ruhly
203 Alan Letang
229 Alex Duchesne
255 Brian Larochelle
281 Russ Guzior

1992 Two decent players out of this draft.
20 David Wilkie
33 Valeri Bure
44 Keli Corpse
68 Craig Rivet
82 Louis Bernard
92 Marc Lamothe
116 Don Chase
140 Martin Sychra
164 Christian Proulx
188 Mike Burman
212 Earl Cronan
236 Trent Cavicchi
260 Hiroyuki Miura

[BadCompany]

2001
7 Mike Komisarek
25 Alexander Perezhogin
37 Duncan Milroy
71 Tomas Plekanec
109 Martti Jarventie
171 Eric Himelfarb
203 Andrew Archer
266 Viktor Ujcik

2000
13 Ron Hainsey
16 Marcel Hossa
78 Josef Balej
79 Tyler Hanchuck
109 Johan Eneqvist
114 Christian Larrivee
145 Ryan Glenn
172 Scott Selig
182 Petr Chvojka
243 Joni Puurula
275 Jonathan Gauthier

1999
39 Alexander Buturlin
58 Matt Carkner
97 Chris Dyment
107 Evan Lindsay
136 Dusty Jamieson
145 Marc-Andre Thinel
150 Matt Shasby
167 Sean Dixon
196 Vadim Tarasov
225 Mikko Hyytia
253 Jerome Marois

1998
16 Eric Chouinard
45 Mike Ribeiro
75 Francois Beauchemin
132 Andre Bashkirov
152 Gordie Dwyer
162 Andrei Markov
189 Andrei Kruchinin
201 Craig Murray
216 Michael Ryder
247 Darcy Harris

1997
11 Jason Ward
37 Gregor Baumgartner
65 Ilkka Mikkola
91 Daniel Tetrault
118 Konstantin Sidulov
122 Gennady Razin
145 Jonathan Desroches
172 Ben Guite
197 Petr Kubos
202 Andrei Sidyakin
228 Jarl Ygranes

1996
18 Matt Higgins
44 Mathieu Garon
71 Arron Asham
92 Kim Staal
99 Etienne Drapeau
127 Daniel Archambault
154 Brett Clark
181 Timo Vertala
207 Mattia Baldi
233 Michel Tremblay

1995
8 Terry Ryan
60 Miloslav Guren
74 Martin Hohenberger
86 Jonathan Delisle
112 Niklas Anger
138 Boyd Olson
164 Stephane Robidas [/color]
190 Greg Hart
216 Eric Houde

1994
18 Brad Brown
44 Jose Theodore
54 Chris Murray
70 Marko Kiprusoff
74 Martin Belanger
96 Arto Kuki
122 Jimmy Drolet
148 Joel Irving
174 Jesse Rezansoff
200 Peter Strom
226 Tomas Vokoun
252 Chris Aldous
278 Ross Parsons

1993
21 Saku Koivu
47 Rory Fitzpatrick
73 Sebastien Bordeleau
85 Adam Wiesel
99 Jean-Francois Houle
113 Jeff Lank
125 Dion Darling
151 Darcy Tucker
177 David Ruhly
203 Alan Letang
229 Alex Duchesne
255 Brian Larochelle
281 Russ Guzior

1992
20 David Wilkie
33 Valeri Bure
44 Keli Corpse
68 Craig Rivet
82 Louis Bernard
92 Marc Lamothe
116 Don Chase
140 Martin Sychra
164 Christian Proulx
188 Mike Burman
212 Earl Cronan
236 Trent Cavicchi
260 Hiroyuki Miura

Ten years (dismissed 2003 and 2002, as it is still too early), from 1992 – 2001:

Total players drafted: 109

Playing with the team: 9 (8.25%) (Komisarek, Ribeiro, Markov, Ryder, Ward, Garon, Theodore, Koivu, Rivet)

Playing elsewhere in the NHL: 10 (9%) (Chouinard, Asham, Clarke, Robidas, Brown, Kiprusoff, Vokoun, Fitzpatrick, Tucker, Bure) NOTE: Balej, Carkner and Dyment are still considered prospects, in other organizations.

Total players drafted by Montreal, who are playing in the NHL: 19 (17%) NOTE: Chris Murray had a decent career as a goon, until injuries finished him. Sebastien Bordeleau, and Gordie Dwyer also played enough in the NHL to qualify (I think) for some sort of pension plan.

So 17% of the players drafted by Montreal in the last decade or so, went on to NHL careers. Another dozen or so still have a shot, with maybe 3-4 or them pretty good bets. Round that off to about 22% will or did make the NHL.

Course, that says nothing about impact players…<br>
Still, I wonder how that compares to other NHL teams…

[Bob]

And if you go back further you will see the continuation of a sorry record:

1985 - Jose Charbonneau
1986 - Mark Pederson
1987 - Andrew Cassels
1988 - Eric Charron
1989 - Lindsay Vallis
1990 - Turner Stevenson
1991 - Brent Bilodeau
1992 - David Wilkie
1993 - Saku Koivu

S. Savard didn't exactly leave the cupboard full for his successor and it left the Canadiens hamstrung for a long time.

While other teams were stocking up on highly talented Europeans, these players were largely ignored under Serge Savard. There was very little scouting and Savard, unlike many other GM's, rarely interviewed players before the draft.

We can point our fingers at Houle for the demise of the Canadiens but the groundwork was laid long before he arrived on the scene.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

Bob said:

And if you go back further you will see the continuation of a sorry record:

1985 - Jose Charbonneau
1986 - Mark Pederson
1987 - Andrew Cassels
1988 - Eric Charron
1989 - Lindsay Vallis
1990 - Turner Stevenson
1991 - Brent Bilodeau
1992 - David Wilkie
1993 - Saku Koivu

S. Savard didn't exactly leave the cupboard full for his successor and it left the Canadiens hamstrung for a long time.

While other teams were stocking up on highly talented Europeans, these players were largely ignored under Serge Savard. There was very little scouting and Savard, unlike many other GM's, rarely interviewed players before the draft.

We can point our fingers at Houle for the demise of the Canadiens but the groundwork was laid long before he arrived on the scene.

Absolutely correct Bob!
Serge Savard was very astute in picking horses and managing real estate while chomping on cigars in the pressbox. His problem was neglect.
Rejean Houle was very good at playing hockey and selling beer. He was in over his head as a GM. He did his best though which is more than I can say for Serge.

[Skilly]

Didn't Kiprusoff play in Switzerland the last 2 years? I'd scratch him from your list.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

It's very useful to look at these lists when we talk about trading up in the draft.

The draft is a big risk! Even with good astute judges of talent picking. When you have proven commodities (who were former draft choices and former stars in Jr. leagues) like Ryder and Ribeiro, you don't give them up for a maybe?

We have three needs.

1. A star. A Guy Lafleur, Lemieux, Lecavallier. We don't find them on trees. We don't find them drafting 7th or 18th. Crosby is the next one, but it will take a kings ransom and even then we probably won't get him. Only players in our system with a chance of stardom are Locke and Kastitsyn, and they are admitted longshots.

2. A power forward. A big guy with a mean streak who can stand in the slot and bang in rebounds. There are a lot of big (lets not revisit size matters) guys available, but which one will be a good one. May be available at #18. The closest thing we have to a power forward is Steve Begin, all 185 lbs of him and as much as I like him, he isn't a scoring machine.

3. A big MEAN defenseman who knocks their power forwards out of the slot. Komisarek is big and we all hoped he would knock Sundin into the third row of seats. Komisarus improved his defensive play and takes a regular shift, but he isn't the KomisarusRex we were hoping for. May be available at #18.

Tampa and Calgary spent a lot of time banging bodies along the boards and behind the net. They didn't dazzle with shifty forwards freewheeling at center ice like the Oilers or Flying Frenchmen of old. There weren't a lot of openings and they capitalized on the chances they had to counter attack.

The game has changed. Fewer fifty goal scorers. More clutch and grab. I'm not debating which is more fun to watch, but simply saying what we need to have to adapt.

[insomnius]

Komisarus Rex did show up for at least one shift against Joe Thornton during the playoffs...methinks you're a mite impatient with his development. I still think he is the bruiser we want...not that it hurts to have more than one of course....

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

Insomnius said:

Komisarus Rex did show up for at least one shift against Joe Thornton during the playoffs...methinks you're a mite impatient with his development. I still think he is the bruiser we want...not that it hurts to have more than one of course....

Komisarek has said on a number of occasions, and I think he's basically repeating what his coaches have asked him to do, that he wants to be comfortable with his positional play before he starts slamming people.

We've seen the force he can bring, and I'm sure we'll being seeing a lot more of it as he grows into his game. After all, he's only 22.

[HabbaDasher]

If there's one 'prospect' I'm not worried about, its Komisarek.
He is keeping things simple, and learning the NHL game.
Young guys, especially D-men, focus on limiting errors.

Another is his buddy Higgins.
From what I've seen and heard about his ability/and character, he 'should' be able to fit into an NHL lineup at some point.

[Deleted]

Insomnius said:

Komisarus Rex did show up for at least one shift against Joe Thornton during the playoffs...

I haven't stopped grinning since.

[franko]

What's our draft history re: goalies still playing in the NHL and (because I can't resist the tease) a bang for the buck comparison. Anyone? Bueller? (My window for play has gone out the door for at least another week, and I don't even work in PTH's office).

[M. Beaux-Eaux]

franko said:

What's our draft history re: goalies still playing in the NHL and (because I can't resist the tease) a bang for the buck comparison. Anyone? Bueller? (My window for play has gone out the door for at least another week, and I don't even work in PTH's office).

Marc Lamothe $325,000.00
Jose Theodore $5,500,000.00
Tomas Vokoun $1,200,000.00
Mathieu Garon $1,000,000.00

Lamothe + Vokoun + Garon = $2.525M
Théodore - (Lamothe + Vokoun + Garon) = $2.975M
$2.975M > Luongo ($1.9M) + Kiprusoff ($0.88M)
Lamothe + Vokoun + Garon + Luongo + Kiprusoff = $5.305M
Théodore - (Lamothe + Vokoun + Garon + Luongo + Kiprusoff) = $0.195M
$0.195M > Yeats ($0.18M)
Théodore - (Lamothe + Vokoun + Garon + Luongo + Kiprusoff + Yeats) = $0.15M