The Canadian had two picks in the 5th round.
We are talking here about selection #130… And selection #134.
With its first choice, the CH chose Tyler Thorpe:
Thorpe is a 6’5″, 216-pound right winger who plays in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants.
He had 44 points (23 goals) in 51 games last season.
The CH wanted to grow and Thorpe brought this aspect within the organization.
Remember that the choice used for Thorpe was obtained to keep salary in the Nick Bonino transaction.
To see if the Nick Bonino bet will have worked… We will have to wait and see if Tyler Thorpe will be able to establish himself as an NHL player in the coming years.
With the 134th selection of the draft, CH chose a goalkeeper.
We are talking about Mikus Vecvanags, a goalkeeper from Latvia who played in Europe last season.
Vecnanags is 6’3’… But he weighs 159 pounds.
The goaltender already had several goalies within the organization, but the selection of Vecvanags is not wasted.
For what?
Because you have to draft 5-6 goalies to hope to see one break through.
I don’t hate the choice even if many would have liked to see CH select Justin Poirier with one of the two choices in the 5th round.
Poirier, at 5’7, seems to scare several clubs and he doesn’t really fit the Canadiens’ needs at the moment.
After all, the CH already has a few small players in the training…
Note that with the 166th overall pick (in the sixth round), the Canadiens set their sights on Ben Merrill.
Merrill, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward, played at the scholastic (high school) level last season.
He collected 37 points (18 goals) in 25 games with St. Seabastian School:
Looking at his highlights, we see that we are talking about a creative forward who is able to use his body to create space on the ice.
He scores goals, too, which is interesting for CH.
Note that Merrill will play in the BCHL next year…
Before making the jump to the NCAA for the 25-26 season, which he will play (unless there is a change) at Harvard University.
The CH will have clearly succeeded in its mission by drafting big players for the coming years.
It helps, because when you look at the Montreal club’s talent pool…
We realize that there are not many young people who have a big physique.
A lot of
– That makes Golden Knights cursed… #Fleury
– He still insisted on staying to sign autographs. Hat!
– I like this.
 and Mikus Vecvanags (134th) are chosen by CH){kind=link}