Stocking up on centermen

DALLAS - The Canadiens are leaving the Lone Star State with 11 brand new prospects in tow.

After selecting Finnish center Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall on Friday night at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Habs' brass were a busy bunch on Saturday as they stocked the cupboards with 10 more hopefuls - including six more centermen, two wingers and two defensemen.
To open Round 2, the Canadiens selected Finnish-American right winger Jesse Ylönen with the 35th overall pick. Ylönen is the son of former NHLer, Juha Ylönen.
The 18-year-old Scottsdale, AZ native, who took part in the Habs' first-ever overseas combine in Stockholm earlier this month, registered 14 goals and 27 points in 47 games with Espoo United in Finland's Mestis league last season.
"I'm very, very happy. Very excited, of course," said Ylönen, who was pleased to be joining Kotkaniemi in the Canadiens' prospect pool. "I'm very happy that Jesperi was drafted by the same team as me. He's a very good player."

Ylönen is slated to make the jump to the Finnish Elite League for the upcoming season, joining the Lahti Pelicans on a two-year contract. The move will undoubtedly give him the opportunity to hone a few areas of his game, in particular.
"I have to work on my skating and my skill level," confirmed Ylönen. "I want to play an offensive role someday. I have to work very hard to get there. I have to get much stronger and faster and I have to improve my shot."
Eighteen-year-old Russian defenseman Alexander Romanov was the next player the Canadiens plucked from the crowd, securing his services at No. 38.
Romanov is coming off his second season in Russia's Junior league - the MHL - where he put up seven goals and 14 points in 37 games for Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, an affiliate of CSKA Moscow (KHL). He also scored a goal and collected three points at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship on home soil.
WIth the help of a translator, the young rearguard indicated that he was pleasantly surprised to have been selected so high, but very proud the Canadiens made him their pick.
"It's surreal. It's impossible to explain," said Romanov, who attended the Canadiens' combine in Sweden and also met with the club's amateur scouting staff during the week at the team hotel in Dallas. "One thing I can say is that throughout the entire season, I gave everything I could on the ice and I did everything I could to play and play well."

Romanov mentioned that his plan going forward is to play out the final two years of his contract overseas before making the jump to the North American ranks.
The third and final player the Canadiens selected in Round 2 was 18-year-old Swedish pivot Jacob Olofsson, the first of six centers the Habs picked up on Saturday.
A stellar campaign with Timrå IK in the Allsvenskan - Sweden's second-highest league - earned him a promotion to the SHL side next year.
"I'm a two-way center," stressed Olofsson, who scored 10 goals and registered 21 points in 43 games this past season, and was named the league's top Junior player, joining previous winners Filip Forsberg and William Karlsson. "I'm an offensive, creative centerman. I want to put up points and be offensive."

Olofsson went on to discuss his top assets and expanded upon a few areas he'd like to improve in the years to come.
"My hockey IQ and how I think out on the ice. I think those are my best qualities," explained Olofsson. "I need to be more creative, and I also have to improve my first steps and my strength in my legs."
Ten picks later, the Canadiens gave 17-year-old center Cameron Hillis the best early birthday gift he could ask for by selecting him 66th overall in Round 3.
Hillis, who will turn 18 on Sunday, enjoyed a standout rookie year with the OHL's Guelph Storm, collecting 20 goals and 59 points in 60 games.
It just so happens that the Oshawa, ON native is a big fan of the way Brendan Gallagher goes about his business every single time he steps on the ice.
"He's got that breakaway speed and can kind of push off guys and create that gap for himself. That's definitely something I'm looking to develop down the road. I'm not the biggest guy out there so I have to rely on my speed and smarts to play the game, so skating is going to be a huge aspect for me," noted Hillis, who plans on working with renowned skating coach Barb Underhill during the summer. "I love his tenaciousness. That's what I try to bring. I try to be the hardest working player every night. He's definitely a guy that does that, so I see similarities in our game."

The Canadiens selected another blueliner at No. 71, calling upon 17-year-old Jordan Harris with their second and final third-round selection.
An incoming freshman at Northeastern University, Harris has been a steady point producer for Kimball Union Academy in the American high school ranks over the last three years.
"School is important to me, definitely," said Harris, a Haverhill, MA native. "I think eventually I want to get my degree. That's something that means a good amount. The plan right now is stay at school as long as Montreal wants me there."
Interestingly enough, Harris' father, Peter, was a former eighth-round pick of the New York Islanders - 164th overall - in 1986, before beginning his collegiate career at UMass-Lowell.

Come Round 4, the Canadiens selected 18-year-old center Allan McShane at No. 97.
The Collingwood, ON native enjoyed a career year with the OHL's Oshawa Generals, posting single-season highs in all three major offensive categories with 20 goals, 45 assists and 65 points.
He also represented Canada at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship.
"I'm a pass-first type of center. That's my style of play. I think I see the ice really well," said McShane. "I'm good on my edges, east-west play. I find openings for my players. I think I complement scoring wingers."

Left-winger Jack Gorniak was next up on the Canadiens' draft board at No. 123.
Like Harris, Gorniak is a product of the American high school system where he starred for West Salem High in his native Wisconsin and captained the squad over the last two years.
He earned 2017-18 USHS All-USA Hockey First Team honors after scoring 28 goals and amassing 56 points in 24 games for the Panthers.
"I would say I'm a fast, energetic forward who just causes a lot of havoc for the other team. I like to hunt and stay over pucks. I'm just an energy guy on the ice," described Gorniak. "One thing I need to work on is my shot. That's something I'm working on right now. Not so much accuracy, but getting more power behind it. It's just like a technique thing. It's something I'll continue to work on."
Gorniak, who models his game after both Gallagher and Brayden Point, will be plying his trade at the University of Wisconsin where he'll begin his collegiate career this fall.
He began taking classes on campus in Madison last week and is eagerly anticipating his NCAA debut.
"I chose Wisconsin because of the coaching staff and its history of moving guys up to the next level," said Gorniak, who will play under head coach Tony Granato. "I also look up to Joe Pavelski, who played at Wisconsin, too."

The Canadiens' brass shifted gears back to the middle of the ice for the remainder of their draft haul, picking centers Cole Fonstad (128th overall) and Samuel Houde (133rd overall) in Round 5, before closing out their work day by selecting Brett Stapley (190th overall) in Round 7.
Fonstad registered 21 goals and 73 points in 72 games with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders this past season. The 18-year-old Estevan, SK native then added four goals and five points in seven playoff games.
He also represented Canada at the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship.
Houde, meanwhile, has two years of experience under his belt with the QMJHL's Chicoutimi Sagueneens. The 18-year-old Blainville, QC native amassed 16 goals and 32 points in 54 games this past season.
For his part, Stapley is an incoming freshman at the University of Denver after putting up 50 and 59 points, respectively, over the last two seasons with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers.
The 19-year-old forward hails from Campbell River, BC.
The Canadiens will open their annual Development Camp on Thursday, June 28 at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.