Kent Hughes’ first-round work with the Montreal Canadiens is already starting to tell a story, and it’s one that looks pretty good so far.
Since arriving as general manager in January 2022, Hughes has been steering a rebuild that put a premium on getting the draft right. Five drafts later, the results are mixed in the way draft boards usually are: a couple of clear wins, one major unknown, and at least one pick that hasn’t worked out the way Montreal hoped.
The headline selection from Hughes’ first draft came with the first overall pick in 2022, when the Canadiens surprised some observers by taking Juraj Slafkovsky instead of Shane Wright. Four years on, that choice looks justified.
Slafkovsky’s path hasn’t been perfectly smooth, but that’s hardly unusual for a player who entered the NHL at 18. He has grown into a major part of the Canadiens’ core and now sits alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield as one of the key pieces in Montreal.
His size, puck protection and offensive skill make him a difficult player to replace, and while he may not end up as the best player from that draft, the Canadiens still landed a legitimate foundation piece at No. 1 overall.
That same draft also produced Filip Mesar at 26th overall, and the returns there have been far less encouraging. Mesar hasn’t developed into the offensive prospect Montreal was expecting, and at this stage his chances of becoming a meaningful NHL contributor look slim.
So the simplest read on 2022 is one hit and one miss. Even so, when the hit is a first-overall pick who becomes part of your core, that’s a strong outcome. It helps that Hughes also found Lane Hutson in the second round.
The 2023 first-rounder, David Reinbacher, is a tougher case to judge. Montreal took the Austrian defenseman fifth overall, passing on a number of talented forwards to address a long-term need on the right side.
Since then, injuries have made the evaluation much harder. Reinbacher was already a player who needed patience as a young defenseman, and missed development time only adds to the challenge.
He still has the size, skating and defensive tools that made the Canadiens believe he could become a dependable top-four blueliner.
At the same time, the pick looks more uncertain now than it did on draft night. Fifth overall comes with heavy expectations, and some players selected around him have moved faster.
That doesn’t make Reinbacher a bust, and it doesn’t mean Montreal was wrong to take him. It just means the answer isn’t in yet.
He needs more healthy hockey before anyone can fairly settle the debate.
If 2023 is still waiting on a verdict, 2024 is already pushing toward the other end of the spectrum. Ivan Demidov falling to fifth overall gave Montreal the kind of elite offensive talent a rebuild needs, and everything since has only reinforced the belief that he can become one of the franchise’s most important players. His creativity, hands and ability to create offense give the Canadiens another potential star to build around.
And Hughes didn’t stop there. Montreal traded up to 21st overall to grab Michael Hage, a move that was aggressive at the time and looks easier to understand by the day.
Hage has become one of the organization’s best prospects and gives the Canadiens another possible offensive center. There’s still work ahead, but the early signs are excellent.
There was no 2025 first-round selection for Montreal, which brings the conversation to 2026 and Gleb Pugachyov. The Canadiens moved up in the first round to take the Russian winger, adding another intriguing name to a prospect pool that already has plenty of skill.
At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Pugachyov offers a different kind of profile: size, skill and power. That matters for a system already stocked with smaller, highly skilled players.
It’s also far too soon to say anything definitive about the pick, since he was drafted only a few months ago and still has years of development ahead of him.
The common thread through Hughes’ first-round picks is pretty clear. Slafkovsky and Demidov look like major parts of Montreal’s future, Hage is trending in a very promising direction, and Pugachyov is just getting started. Mesar has been the biggest miss so far, while Reinbacher remains the biggest question mark.
That’s the nature of drafting. Nobody bats a thousand in the first round. The real job is landing impact players near the top of the board, and Hughes has already done that more than once.
In Other News...
Brendan Gallagher Sent Canadiens Fans A Clear Message After His Exit
Brendan Gallagher is already framing his next stop in familiar terms after his move from Montreal to Vancouver. In a recent interview, the longtime Canadiens winger said he wants to bring a steadying presence to the Canucks, with an emphasis on helping younger players and reinforcing the habits that make a team function beyond the box score.
Gallagher also spoke about the value of culture, and how his years in Montreal left a lasting mark on the way he views leadership. His comments pointed to an approach built around patience, accountability and setting a tone in the room, a reminder that even as he changes organizations, the lessons from his Canadiens tenure are coming with him. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Will Recognize Who Stepped Into Logan Cooleys Scuffle
Summer hockey can still carry a little bite, and Logan Cooley found that out in Pittsburgh during an IC Hockey 3v3 Elite League game. What started as a confrontation with Artem Kulakov escalated quickly, turning into a brief scuffle that brought a familiar face into the mix for Canadiens fans keeping tabs on former Laval Rocket players.
Peter Laviolette III stepped in once the gloves came off, adding a Montreal connection to an otherwise routine summer skirmish. Cooley was the player who set things in motion, but he did not stay involved after the fight between Kulakov and Laviolette broke out, leaving the moment to unfold without any further escalation. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Rookie Camp Has Two Names Fans Should Track Closely
The Canadiens will open rookie camp on Sept. 11 with 23 players headed to the CN Sports Complex in Brossard and the Slush Puppie Arena in Gatineau, where the first real look at this prospect group will come in exhibition games against the Jets and Senators. It is the sort of stretch that can quickly separate the names with a path from the long shots, especially for a club that is always watching for the next player to make himself useful in a hurry.
Two of the players worth tracking are Tyler Thorpe and Luke Mittelstadt, each bringing a different kind of intrigue. Thorpe arrives as a big winger with a year of pro experience under his belt, while Mittelstadt comes in as a defender with a long college rsum and the kind of two-way profile teams like to test in a setting where details matter as much as highlight plays. [Read more 🡒]