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“In the sixth round, we were looking for a Quebecer, but he was selected” – Martin Lapointe

 Emily Smith
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“In the sixth round, we were looking for a Quebecer, but he was selected” – Martin Lapointe
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The Canadiens have drafted 10 players since yesterday.

Of the lot, there are three players who are attracting a lot of attention (Ivan Demidov, Michael Hague and Aatos Koivu) as well as seven other players who will be the talk of the town.

No Quebecers or QMJHL players have been called up by the Habs.

Of course, every year, the question comes up: should the Habs do more to make room for homegrown players? How important is it to draft in the QMJHL?

You might think the situation would have been different if the Habs had got hold of Sacha Boisvert, whom the club’s management liked, but that obviously didn’t happen.

But how close did it come later?

Stéphane Leroux asked Martin Lapointe, who appeared in front of the media after the draft alongside Nick Bobrov to talk about their picks, and he said it didn’t work out this year based on the club’s rosters.

He also added that he had nothing against the guys here, but that in the seventh round, for example, there were none left to his liking.

However, a little later, he added that in the second portion of the draft, the Habs had their eye on a Quebecer. However, they didn’t manage to draft him in time.

In the sixth round, they were looking for a Quebecer, but he was selected. – Martin Lapointe

In other words, the Canadiens didn’t want to draft him.

On that subject, I did a little digging and observed that the Habs, in the sixth round, had the fifth pick (166th overall) of the round. The first four picks of the round are not local guys.

If we go back, the first Quebecer we find is Justin Poirier. Well, well.

Would the Habs, who drafted 6’0 guys without exception this year, have been willing to make an exception in order to draft the little goal scorer? You might think that’s what Martin Lapointe is trying to tell us.

Throughout the draft, Quebec fans wanted to see the Valleyfield native selected… and selected by the Habs. In the end, it was the Carolina club that snapped him up.

Will he make the Habs pay?


Extension

Lapointe told the media that he at least drafted guys who speak French. Ivan Demidov speaks a few words, Michael Hage speaks it well, Aatos Koivu Logan Sawyer can speak it too…

And he also announced that goaltender Mikus Vecvanags will play in Blainville next year.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that none of this seems to please Michel Villeneuve, who isn’t buying any of this. In his eyes, seeing the Habs avoid Quebec is clearly not fair.

And Le Dernier Vrai isn’t afraid to say so.

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