Gorton and Bobrov are performing (much) better in Montreal than in New York

When Jeff Gorton joined the Montreal Canadiens, there were a thousand and one reasons to be optimistic. The guy had about 30 years of experience in the NHL (with the Bruins and the Rangers).

However, two things worried me: he hadn't had very successful drafts during his final years with the Rangers—selecting Brennan Othmann, Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, and Lias Andersson in the first round drew a lot of criticism in the Big Apple—and he seemed to underestimate the physical and rugged nature of the NHL while rebuilding the New York team.

As for toughness, we're still wondering if the Habs have enough to ever hope to win a 25th Stanley Cup. When the playoffs begin, the Habs get roughed up too often. We'll see if Montreal's front office can add the right amount of grit when the team is truly aiming to hoist the Stanley Cup.

On the other hand, when it comes to the amateur draft, we can only praise Jeff Gorton and his team so far.

Since taking the helm of the Canadiens' sports operations department, Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes have had more hits than misses. As a reminder, Nick Bobrov—who worked alongside Gorton on amateur scouting for the Rangers—is still under Gorton in that role with the Canadiens.

Gorton, Hughes, and Bobrov made a big splash right from their first opportunity in 2022: They drafted Juraj Slafokvsky (first overall), Lane Hutson (late second round), Adam Engstrom (third round), and Owen Beck (second round) in the first three rounds. It was their first draft with the Habs!

This 2022 draft could turn out to be just as good as the 2007 draft for the Montreal organization. Need I remind you that 2007 was the year Trevor Timmins selected Ryan McDonagh, Max Pacioretty, and P.K. Subban… and that he's still riding high on that year?

In 2023, the club may have made a mistake by setting its sights on David Reinbacher (rather than Dalibor Dvorsky, Ryan Leonard, Matvei Michkov, or Zachary Benzon), but the Habs still managed to draft Jacob Fowler (third round), Florian Xhekaj (fourth round), Bogdan Konyushkov (fourth round), and Luke Mittelstadt (seventh round). That's no small feat!

Then, in 2024, Gorton, Hughes, Bobrov, and Martin Lapointe set their sights on Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, and Tyler Thorpe.

I still can't believe that the Habs managed to draft Ivan Demidov fifth overall, and then that Demidov was able to join the team in Montreal less than a year later.

It's far too early to start evaluating the 2025 and 2026 drafts, but just seeing Bryce Pickford playing at full throttle in Canadian junior hockey fills me with optimism.

Billy Ryan has received a lot of praise for advocating for the selection of Jacob Fowler in the final days, but he's clearly not the only one deserving of credit today.

The Canadiens have bounced back from a difficult start to the season; as of this morning, they sit fifth in the NHL standings. And they're currently without Nick Suzuki, Ivan Demidov, and Mike Matheson…

Building a strong team starts with making smart draft picks in the NHL. And the Habs have been drafting well ever since a new front office took over from Marc Bergevin.