Winner: Montreal Canadiens
Things are starting to look up for one of the most storied franchises in all of sports, and their outlook for the future got a whole lot better on Friday.
Reading the room and sensing that teams were addressing need rather than going for quality, the Canadiens stayed put and that decision paid dividends when Cole Caufield landed in their laps.
Caufield was the best pure sniper in this year’s draft and he averaged nearly a goal per game last year with the USNTDP.
It appears Caufield’s size, he’s 5’7″ and 163 lb, went against him with some teams trying to copy the St. Louis Blues’ throwback model of being big and hitting hard.
However, that is a crazy decision when you consider that the NHL is still in the infancy of its golden age, with the sport filled to the brim with elite skaters and offensive phenoms.
Just look at the Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat. He’s small in size but has thrived in the NHL, scoring 41 goals and 76 points in 2018-19 alone for the Hawks.
Both players are exactly the same size and, like DeBrincat, Caufield possesses the skills required to become an elite scorer at the NHL level.
If Caufield can live up to his potential then the Canadiens may well have just landed themselves an elite goalscorer.
Loser: Offensive Talent
This draft was renowned for being loaded with high-end offensive talent and elite playmakers, especially in the top half of the first round.
However, and as already mentioned, teams decided to go against the grain and draft for need leaving a slew of high-end forwards on the board.
That includes Arthur Kaliyev, Raphael Lavoie and Bobby Brink who were all expected to be taken in the first round but will find themselves still on the board once the second round starts at 10 am PT today.
Kaliyev in particular was a huge shock not to have gone early in the first round given that he scored 51 goals for Hamilton in the Ontario Hockey League.
All three would add a considerable offensive punch to any team in the NHL, and don’t be surprised if some franchises try and trade up in order to take one of those talents off the board early.