Hockey

The Canadiens drafted the two best available players in 2022, according to Mathias Brunet.
DansLesCoulisses.com
The Canadiens drafted the two best available players in 2022, according to Mathias Brunet.
Credit: The 2022 draft was very exciting for Canadiens fans. The draft took place in Montreal, providing Kent Hughes the opportunity to make his first selections with the Canadiens, and the team had the very first overall pick. It’s also worth noting that Kent Hughes made a big trade during the draft session to acquire Kirby […]

The 2022 draft was very exciting for Canadiens fans. The draft took place in Montreal, providing Kent Hughes the opportunity to make his first selections with the Canadiens, and the team had the very first overall pick.

It's also worth noting that Kent Hughes made a big trade during the draft session to acquire Kirby Dach. However, we will focus on the players selected.

Mathias Brunet conducted a small exercise during his Wednesday segment on Retour des sportifs on BPM Sports by re-ranking the Canadiens' players during their respective drafts.

According to him, the Canadiens did an incredible job in 2022 by acquiring the two best players from this class: Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Even though he was selected first overall, Slafkovsky is not the best player from this draft class, according to Brunet. Hutson ranks first, while the Slovakian is placed second.

Given the performances of the young defenseman this season, it's easy to understand why Brunet came to this conclusion.

Drafted in the second round (62nd overall), Hutson played two seasons at Boston University before joining the Canadiens. He currently has 37 points in just 45 NHL games, making him the player with the highest points-per-game average in this draft class (minimum of 10 games played).

Hutson is also capable of playing big minutes, even at a very young age. He already has an average ice time of 22:42 per game in his rookie season!

For Slafkovsky, the result of Mathias Brunet's ranking is also encouraging. Being surpassed by his teammate, who was not a direct competitor for the first pick and turned out to be a surprise, is not the end of the world.

Brunet is aware that Logan Cooley has a better current point production than Slafkovsky, but he believes that when both players reach their full potential, Slafkovsky's size and playing style will make him a better player than Cooley.

Hutson is not the only Canadiens player who has been “re-ranked” favorably by Brunet. According to the BPM Sports analyst, Kaiden Guhle is the 10th best player from the 2020 draft, having been selected 16th overall.

Cole Caufield, drafted 15th overall in 2019, is now ranked sixth in his draft class, while Nick Suzuki, selected 13th in 2017, sits in 8th position in his draft ranking.

Kent Hughes made excellent decisions in 2022, and the future of Jacob Fowler, also selected in 2022, could further enhance the quality of this draft for the Canadiens.


In Brief

– Fleury is an angel.

– Speaking of Lane Hutson.

– The Sabres are currently playing good hockey.

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