2026 Draft: Three Players I’d Target If I Were Kent Hughes

Michaël Petit
2026 Draft: Three Players I’d Target If I Were Kent Hughes
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

The Stanley Cup Final certainly provides fans with some great hockey, but for Montreal Canadiens fans, there's one thing on their minds: finding out what Kent Hughes will do to improve the team this summer.

Hughes has several options available to him to improve the team, and there are several logical targets.

However, it will be interesting to see what KH does with his 28th overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.

The obvious choice would be to trade it as part of a package deal to acquire an intriguing player.

There is still the option of using that pick to draft a player with an intriguing profile, and a few names have caught my attention.

We recently discussed the Ruck twins, but given the Habs' draft picks, it will be difficult to draft both of them together.

So here are three interesting targets for the Habs, should the Montreal club draft with the 28th pick rather than trade it.

William Hakansson, left-handed defenseman, 6 feet 4 inches, 216 pounds

I know what you're going to say: “Another left-handed defenseman?” I agree that the Habs don't necessarily need another left-handed defenseman, but his profile is very interesting. We also need to consider prospects who are already physically mature, capable of making the jump to the NHL sooner than expected.

First off, the Swede is big and strong. He played with men in the SHL this season and performed very well at this year's World Junior Championship, where he won the gold medal.

Hakansson is a big, defensively minded defenseman who plays a simple but effective style of hockey. In other words, he's not the type to carry the puck up the ice and beat a few players along the way. However, he's still very good at getting the offense going, boasting an 86% success rate on his attempted passes.

Despite his size, he is very mobile and also possesses a powerful shot.

Furthermore, Hakansson is older than most of his draft class, turning 19 on October 8. This makes him an attractive prospect for the Habs, who are looking for immediate help.

The advantage is that he's already physically mature and has played with men in the Swedish professional league. He'll still need more experience before making the jump to the NHL, but he has everything it takes to become a reliable, physically strong fifth defenseman.

In an ideal scenario, he could eventually take the place of a Jayden Struble or Arber Xhekaj. Both Habs defensemen could very well be part of a trade to improve the Habs' top-six.

Maksim Sokolovskii, left-handed defenseman, 6 feet 8 inches, 238 pounds

Yep, another left-handed defenseman. 

However, when you see a defenseman this big and massive at such a young age, it always makes you do a double take.

Sokolovskii is a Russian born in Kazakhstan who played in the OHL with the London Knights. So he's already somewhat accustomed to the North American style.

At 6 feet 8 inches, he's obviously a terrifying presence in front of his goalie and easily clears the crease to make the goalie's job easier.

He's also very reliable defensively and isn't afraid to block shots: That fits well with the profile of most of the Habs' current defensemen.

Just like Hakansson, Sokolovskii is very mobile for a 6-foot-8, 238-pound defenseman.

We know he won't become an offensive force like Lane Hutson—far from it—but he knows how to clear the net area effectively, and I'm pretty sure Sokolovskii's opponents keep their distance when he's on the ice.

Maddox Dagenais, center, 6 feet 4 inches, 196 pounds

You're starting to get a sense of the pattern I'm following here: The Habs need to bulk up.

And how could we not mention Pierre Dagenais's son? Maddox has a very interesting profile for the Habs with his big frame and power-forward build, while also possessing a very intriguing offensive touch. He's actually scored 30 goals this season, in addition to racking up 32 assists in 62 games with the Quebec Remparts.

He's tall, he's big, but he's got quite a shot. We can all agree he won't be as electrifying as a Gavin McKenna or an Ivar Stenberg, but he has some very interesting assets for a prospect who could slip late in the first round.

The Quebec native protects the puck very well and has excellent speed for his size, just like Hakansson and Sokolovskii.

There are, however, two aspects of his game he could improve upon: He tends to play too much on the perimeter rather than driving to the net and using his size to his advantage. Additionally, he lacks a bit of consistency defensively, though he has shown progress this season in both areas.

In short, these are all attractive options for the Habs if Kent Hughes decides to keep his first-round pick.

We agree that there's a better chance this pick will be used in a trade to improve the team right now, but it was still worth taking a look at the options.


In a nutshell

– Darren Dreger believes the potential trade involving Matthew Knies to the Habs wasn't close to happening.

– Impressive.

– Must-read.

– The Blue Jays are back in the game.

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