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Berkly Catton in Montreal: possible, according to The Athletic’s mock draft
Credit: Photo by Dale Preston/Getty Images

The Athletic often publishes mock drafts or prospect lists. This allows us to see what the platform’s experts think the closer we get to the draft.

Because, yes, opinions change as time goes by.

In a text published today, we note that the top-4 of the draft, i.e. the four picks before the Habs, open the door to a range of interesting choices for the Habs.

  • Macklin Celebrini to San Jose
  • Ivan Demidov to Chicago
  • Artyom Levshunov to Anaheim
  • Carter Yakemchuk to Columbus
Of course, this leaves the Habs with some interesting choices for the future.

However, we note that in the mock draft, Scott Wheeler, in charge of drafting for the Habs, goes with Berkly Catton, an excellent young WHL forward.

The prospect expert says he’d rather take Catton over Cayden Lindstrom and wing player Tij Iginla. He obviously would have taken a defenseman if the Habs had chosen a forward a year ago.

But he doesn’t seem convinced of the choice. And what that tells me is that he has his doubts about Cayden Lindstrom this high in the draft.

I wonder if he’d go differently if he had the #6 pick in his hands. Would he go for a defenseman at #5 and then feel comfortable drafting Lindstrom sixth?

Maybe he’s also afraid of his injury history.

It’s also worth pointing out that drafting Catton that high could be a risk. As good as he is offensively, I don’t see the Habs taking a chance on a forward under six feet tall.

Maxime Truman and Marc-Olivier Beaudoin don’t seem to think it’s realistic, either.

Note that at #26, Scott Wheeler drafted Sacha Boisvert with the Habs’ pick. He says the Habs, with Catton and Boisvert, would greatly improve their center line.

This seems logical with what we’re hearing about the 26th pick, then.

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