Draft preview 2021

MONTREAL -- Like most things this year, the 2021 Entry Draft brings with it a certain amount of excitement and uncertainty.

Some may say the Draft is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get.
But this Draft? This Draft is like a box of chocolates mixed with chocolate-covered firecrackers. And that box? It has been opened by someone looking to avoid getting stuck with all the coconut-based treats. And then the box was tossed off the back of a plane that has no GPS.
In other words, it's going to be fun.
And chaotic.
Also, it was me. I wanted to avoid the coconut chocolates. They're terrible. And so very unnecessary. It's like playing minesweeper every time you open a box. All I want is a bunch of coconut-free chocolate. Is that too much to ask? I'm quickly approaching 40 years on this earth, and I have to say, I've met a grand total of two people who genuinely enjoy chocolate-coconut. And I'm fairly certain one of them was lying. The other was a coal miner approaching retirement.
Anyhow, where were we? Oh yes, the Draft.
Here's what we do know concerning the Canadiens: Even though the NHL has welcomed a new team into the mix, the Seattle Kraken, the Canadiens will make the 30th selection in the first round, due to the Arizona Coyotes forfeiting their pick. However, the pick itself is officially listed as 31st overall.
Pending any pre-Draft transactions, the Canadiens possess 11 total picks, including eight in the first four rounds. (31st, 63rd, 64th, 76th, 87th, 113th, 126th, 127th, 142nd, 191st, 223rd).
If they choose to draft 11 players, they'll bring their four-year Draft total to an astounding 40 players, which translates to 40 percent more picks than the team was originally allotted. Given the arrival of the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the ECHL, and the recent success of the Laval Rocket, who handily won the AHL's North Division last season, the Canadiens are in a perfect position to maximize the organizational talent they've acquired in the last few years.

As for the prospect pool, the Canadiens have lost a fair amount of talent recently, though not in any sort of manner that should be cause for concern for fans. Players such as Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Cole Caufield, and Alexander Romanov have all graduated to the status of NHL players, leaving an opportunity for the recently drafted players to earn their spot in the AHL or ECHL once they're ready to make the jump to professional hockey.
When it comes to defensive prospects, the Canadiens are loaded with talent. Mattias Norlinder, who recently signed his entry-level contract, is among the most skilled prospects in the organization, though he's far from the only defenseman that has a reasonable chance of making the NHL. Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Jayden Struble are all teeming with talent, intelligence, and size: the ideal combination for any defenseman hoping to earn a spot in the NHL.
But as we all know, there's no such thing as too many mangoes, and the same logic applies to defensemen. Experts predict teams will pick anywhere from 8 to 12 blue-liners in the first round, but given the bevy of question marks surrounding most players, don't be surprised if the number varies wildly. Among the most coveted defensemen is Owen Power of the University of Michigan (NCAA), Simon Edvinssson (Vasteras, Allsvenskan), Luke Hughes (USNTDP, USHL), Brandt Clarke (Barrie, OHL), Danil Chayka (CSKA Moscow, KHL), Artyom Grushnikov (Hamilton, OHL) and Carson Lambos (Winnipeg, WHL). Though realistically speaking, the vast majority of the top available D-men will be off the board once the Canadiens take their turn at the podium.
As for the goaltenders, both Jesper Wallstedt (Lulea, SHL) and Sebastian Cossa (Edmonton, WHL) are expected to be drafted in the first round, though, given the Canadiens have 7 goaltenders in the organization, including the very promising Cayden Primeau, there are good odds we probably won't see a goaltender join the team on Friday night.
This brings us to the forwards, the most exciting players in any given year. The Canadiens already possess a bevy of young, promising centers, and have consistently reinforced the position by drafting an abundance of centers in recent Drafts, but that doesn't mean they won't add yet another centerman to the mix with their first-round pick. Players such as Matthew Knies (Tri-City, USHL) and Matthew Beniers (Michigan, NCAA) will be long gone, but there's always a possibility that versatile forwards Zachary Bolduc (Rimouski, QMJHL), Zachary Dean (Gatineau, QMJHL), or Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener, OHL) will be available for the Canadiens late in the first round.
And finally, we arrive at the wingers, an area the Canadiens could stand to bolster with a little more talent. With the exception of Cole Caufield in 2019, the Canadiens haven't used their first-round pick on a winger since Nikita Scherbak in 2014. They do have several talented wingers in the system, including Sean Farrell, Luke Tuch, and Jesse Ylönen, but if you were to identify an area of "weakness" in the system, this would be it. William Eklund (Djurgardens, SHL) is the top winger available, but when discussing prospects that will potentially be available at 31st overall, players such as Zachary L'Heureux (C/LW, Halifax, QMJHL), Logan Stankoven (C/RW, Kamloops, WHL), and Sasha Pastujov (US NTDP, USHL) spring to mind.
There's also Matthew Coronato, the incredibly talented winger that played alongside Farrell for the powerhouse Chicago Steel of the USHL this season. Like Farrell, Coronato is slated to join Harvard in the NCAA next season, and like Farrell, he's well below 6 feet tall, standing at a generous 5-foot-10 on most listings. He should be gone by the time Trevor Timmins is ready to make the pick, but as we've seen in the very recent past, small stature has a funny way of scaring off some teams and rewarding others.

Will yet another talented winger drop to the Canadiens on Friday night?
Will the Habs package their bevy of picks to move up in the Draft as to take advantage of the chaos provided by the past year?
Will they ever stop adding so many coconut flavors to mixed boxes of chocolates?
Just like the potential involved in every single player that will proudly hear their names called on Friday night, only time will tell.