The Montreal Canadiens made a splash on the Draft’s opening day by acquiring Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders for Emil Heineman and their two picks in the first round.
“It’s not often a 25-year-old player that has Noah’s experience and accomplishments is available. It’s important for us to get a young player that we can sign for the prime of his career,” said Kent Hughes speaking about the trade.
The addition creates a tougher path for David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux to crack the opening night roster on defense.
“We have young players that we feel will benefit from more time in the AHL. We will see how their development progresses and take decisions accordingly,” said Hughes addressing the situation.
Draft Recap
On Day 2, the Canadiens selected nine players in total: three forwards, four defensemen, and two goaltenders.
“We’re really satisfied. We drafted young men with character and got stronger on defence,” co-director of amateur scouting Martin Lapointe commented.
To kick off the day, the Habs traded their two second-round picks to the Carolina Hurricanes to move up seven spots. They used the pick to select Alexander Zharovsky from Tolpar Ufa (MHL), a forward and longtime friend of Ivan Demidov. Nick Bobrov, co-director of amateur scouting with Martin Lapointe, said the organization had Zharovsky ranked as a first-round selection.
“He’s very smart. He has good size and he will get bigger. He can make plays, slow the play down, restart the offence quickly, good vision, and he’s really strong with the puck,” added Lapointe. “In the corners, he won’t be intimidated, and he competes for the puck. He’s a top-6 talent.”
The 6-foot-1-inch forward has two years left on his contract with Ufa Jr. in the MHL and will attend development camp if his visa arrives in time.
Although the draft was trending toward bigger players, Montreal selected 5-foot-8-inch center L.J. (John) Mooney from the USNTDP in the fourth round. “In the fourth round, you’re trying to hit the home run [… ] Mooney has a lot of character, competes, and is very dynamic on the ice,” Lapointe said. “He has talent, and we’re not worried about his size. That’s why we took him.'”
For the complete list of the Canadiens 2025 draft class, visit the NHL Draft Tracker on Hockey HotStove.
