Hughes: 'We'll draft the best player available'

MONTREAL -- General manager Kent Hughes met the media via Zoom from the NHL Combine on Tuesday.

Hughes and other members of the Canadiens' management group are meeting with prospects ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft, which will be held at the Bell Centre in early July.
Here are a few highlights from Hughes' press conference:
Hughes on the importance of the top pick being NHL-ready for next season:
We'll be patient [with the player]. We want the best player for the future, not the best player for next season.
Hughes on possibly targeting a center with the first-overall selection:
I think I answered that on the night of the NHL Draft Lottery. We'll draft the best player available, whether it's a defenseman, a winger, or a center. We won't just fulfill a need with the first-overall pick. We want to draft a player that we believe has the most potential, whether he's a center or not.
Hughes on the importance of the interview process at the Combime:
I would put more weight on the interviews [than the fitness testing] to the extent that some players come very prepared compared to others. We can get below the surface and try to get to know the player a little bit better, know the personality, whether they're characteristics we covet or concern us. Those are important things. The physical testing is a little bit harder to quantify in some ways because some guys have access to training all year, some guys have been out of the playoffs for a long time, and some guys are going to come here and their season has just concluded. All the information is helpful, but if I were to value one over the other, it would be the interview process. As far as dinners, we're taking different players out one-on-one that may be in our range, so to speak, where we're picking at this point. We're trying to get to know them.

Hughes on the interviews ultimately influencing player selection:
They will definitely influence us. I really believe in character and team culture when it comes to selecting players. If we find a player that is successful on the ice, but we get the sense that his success is more important than team success, that would be cause for concern. We'd be concerned about how he would assimilate with our team and our dressing room. It isn't just about the interviews, though. We talk to people in the player's entourage and in their life to learn more. We ask a lot of questions about their family. We gather as much information as possible to know what kind of person we're drafting.
Hughes on Monday night's dinner with top prospect Shane Wright:
Dinners give us more time to talk. The interviews in Buffalo are kind of like speed dating. We have 15 minutes with every player. Sometimes, during an interview, there are questions that come up and we only have 15 minutes to get through everything. During the meal with Shane, we had time to talk and get a better idea of what kind of person he is. I was impressed. He's mature and very intelligent.
Hughes on choosing a player regarded as a "safe bet" versus a player with the best potential:
It'll be the player with the best potential. When I think about potential, though, I also think about a "safe bet." We want to draft a player that has potential. But, we also don't want to draft a player that only might make the NHL and may not make it either. The expectation is that the player will play in the NHL for many years.

Hughes on whether a decision about the top pick has already been made:
A decision hasn't been made. I don't expect that a decision will be made before early July. We have time to do all the research possible and to look at new video from this past season and other seasons. We aren't under pressure to make a decision, so we'll take advantage of the time we have. We aren't just drafting a player, we're drafting a person. We all know talented players in our domain who aren't necessarily good team guys. It'll be important for us to see what kind of people they are and what type of athletes they are during testing. Jeff Gorton, Martin Lapointe, Nick Bobrov, myself and all our scouting staff will spend a lot of time together talking leading up to July 7.
Hughes on the status of Carey Price, who visited a specialist in Pittsburgh regarding his knee injury:
We spoke with Carey, as well as with his agent, Gerry [Johannson]. We also spoke with our doctors. I think that we'll get our answer. I can't tell you that it'll be before July 13, but I'm expecting, in the next few months, in one way or another, to determine if Carey is able to continue playing as a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL.