In recent years, the Montreal Canadiens have had a relatively low success rate when drafting in the first round. Highly-touted prospects such as Nikita Scherbak, or to an extent Alex Galchenyuk, simply failed to meet the lofty expectations set by the fanbase. Granted, a bulk of these disappointing draft picks have been late first-rounders, which can be attributed to the team’s playoff success in the early-to-mid 2010s. Nonetheless, numerous prospects received ample opportunity to prove themselves with the big club and ultimately failed to do so.
Related: Montreal Canadiens’ 2013 Draft Class Revisited
The heightened media attention and fanbase expectations are certainly not every NHL player’s cup of tea — some players simply prefer a quieter, smaller market with less scrutiny and media attention on themselves. Some players have even expressed their disinterest in playing in Canada. Evidently, there are endless factors in how a player develops and some are more inclined to be in the spotlight or under a microscope than others. Not every draft pick is going to be a home run, but five recent Canadiens first-round picks have since left the organization and have gone on to blossom with another team, or at least carve out a niche role, which they failed to do in Montreal.
Michael McCarron (25th Overall Pick in 2013)
Michael McCarron was drafted by the Canadiens after proving his physical dominance with the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP). He received a 20-game audition in 2015-16 after two relatively underwhelming Ontario Hockey League (OHL) seasons. He was drafted for his combination of size and skill, standing at a hulking 6-foot-6, though the skill portion never seemed to translate. He split the 2016-17 season between Montreal and the American Hockey League’s (AHL) St. John’s Ice Caps, then spent even less time in the NHL the following season after failing to produce. Ultimately, he scored just two goals and six assists in 69 games in a Canadiens uniform — miserable production from a first-round draft choice.
McCarron was traded to the Nashville Predators in 2019 and spent the majority of his time with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals until 2021, where he has since spent most of his time with the big club. He nearly doubled his Canadiens point total in his first full season with Nashville, scoring seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 51 games. This season, he has taken another step forward, and set career-highs across the board with nine goals (tied for eighth on the team) and nine assists for 18 points in 54 games. He also ranks ninth in the NHL with 91 penalty minutes.
The former London Knight has become a staple on Nashville’s fourth line. He has averaged over 12 minutes of ice time per game this season, a significant increase from the sub-10 minutes he had with Montreal. Since 2021, he has managed to become an NHL regular and has earned his role with the Predators. Coincidentally, he currently has one more goal and an equal amount of points as Josh Anderson, despite playing in six fewer games and averaging more than four fewer minutes of ice time — not to mention being paid just a sliver of Anderson’s whopping $5.5 million salary. For perspective, McCarron, who commands $900,000 annually, has matched the production of a similarly-sized winger that the Canadiens paid over $38 million for while McCarron was still on the team.
Ryan Poehling (25th Overall Pick in 2017)
Every Canadiens fan will remember Ryan Poehling’s NHL debut in game 82 of the 2018-19 season. In one of the most memorable debuts of all time, he recorded a hat trick and the shootout winner against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Additionally, this was just months removed from him being named MVP at the 2019 World Junior Championship. On the heels of both of these accomplishments and another productive season at St. Cloud State, expectations were sky-high for Poehling in 2019-20. Unfortunately, he found himself playing just over 10 minutes per game and recorded just one goal and one assist in 27 games. The following season, he managed to score 17 points in 57 games and was a steady presence and secondary scorer in the Habs’ bottom six.
However, expectations were still higher. After two relatively disappointing seasons with Montreal, Poehling was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Mike Matheson/Jeff Petry trade. He virtually replicated his previous season’s production with Pittsburgh before ultimately joining the Philadelphia Flyers in free agency. In 60 games with the Flyers in 2023-24, he has established a career-high in points (21) and averages almost 15 minutes of ice time per game. His point total would tie him with Jake Evans for fifth on the Canadiens.
His improved play as the Flyers’ third-line centre and regular penalty-killer earned him a two-year, $3.8 million extension in January. With the Habs’ obvious secondary scoring woes on full display, perhaps management regrets shipping the 25-year-old Minnesota native off to Pittsburgh.
Noah Juulsen (26th Overall Pick in 2015)
The Canadiens should probably trade their 2024 pick if it happens to be in the 25-26 range. Noah Juulsen was drafted after a solid 52-point campaign with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Everett Silvertips. In true Canadiens first-round pick fashion, he nearly cut his production in half the following season, scoring just 28 points. He represented Canada at the 2017 World Junior Championship and made his NHL debut in 2017-18. Juulsen, when healthy, averaged almost 20 minutes of ice time per game during his 23-game audition. He averaged over 17 minutes the following season. Unfortunately, a combination of lack of production (two goals and eight points in 44 games with Montreal) and injury troubles led to him being placed on waivers, where he was claimed by the Florida Panthers in early 2021. Resorting to putting a first-round draft pick on waivers is certainly less than ideal.
Juulsen played just four games with the Panthers and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in October 2021 for fellow draft bust Olli Juolevi. After spending most of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, he has appeared in 49 games for the Canucks this season. While he serves as a third-pairing rearguard at best, and a healthy scratch on occasion, he has not spent any time in the AHL for the first time in his professional career. He boasts one goal and seven points, accounting for 42 percent of his career points. Still just 26, he has plenty of time to continue to establish himself on the blue line of one of the league’s top teams.
Jarred Tinordi (22nd Overall Pick in 2011)
Jarred Tinordi’s professional hockey career has been an insanely tumultuous roller coaster ride. After establishing himself as a dominant physical force with the USNTDP, he joined the London Knights for two seasons, where he punished opponents regularly (similarly to McCarron). He required one full season with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs before joining the big club in 2012-13. Though he was never drafted for his offensive abilities, he recorded a measly six points — and zero goals — in 46 games as a Canadien. Consistently up and down from the AHL, he never played more than 22 games in a season with Montreal and was traded to the Arizona Coyotes as part of the infamous 2016 John Scott trade. He played just seven games in the desert, and did not see any NHL action until more than three seasons later, in 2019-20 with the Predators.
Related: Montreal Canadiens’ Biggest Draft Busts of the 2010s
Tinordi scored his first NHL goal that very season, nearly a full decade after being selected in the first round. Since then, he has played just 32 games in the AHL and has been an NHL mainstay for the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and most recently, the Chicago Blackhawks. Since joining the Blackhawks off of a waiver claim in 2022, he has recorded two goals and 15 points in 85 games while averaging approximately 16 minutes of ice time per game. Already at 41 games played this season, he will certainly pass his previous career-best of 44, set last season. He has thrown 135 hits (four off of his career high) and blocked 78 shots (career-high) in 2023-24.
Somehow, at 32 years of age, the Maryland-born Tinordi has wiggled his way into a niche role as a bottom-pairing bruising defenceman.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (3rd Overall Pick in 2018)
Calling Jesperi Kotkaniemi a draft bust may be a bit arbitrary, but when considering lofty expectations and the extended opportunities he received, calling his selection a disappointment is surely warranted. After being controversially drafted third overall due to his natural centre position, he joined the Canadiens immediately and posted an impressive 34-point rookie season. However, his production seemed to worsen or stagnate from there, as he recorded just eight points in 36 games the following injury-riddled season. In 2020-21, which would be his third and final season as a Canadien, he had a modest 20 points in 56 games, scoring just five goals — extremely underwhelming for a player chosen ahead of proven stars such as Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes.
Kotkaniemi was the recipient of a groundbreaking offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2021. This came two years after Sebastian Aho infamously signed an offer sheet for Montreal, which Carolina swiftly matched. The Habs opted not to match it, using the draft pick compensation to acquire centre Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes (a failed experiment thus far). Since joining the Hurricanes, he has recorded 96 points in 212 games (0.45 points-per-game), including a career-high of 43 last season. For comparison, he recorded just 62 points in 171 games with Montreal (0.36 points per game). He has also increased his goals-per-game (0.12 to 0.19), shooting percentage (eight to 12.7), and face-off percentage (45.9 to 51) with Carolina. In 2022, the Finnish-born centre signed an eight-year, $38 million extension to remain in Carolina until 2030.
Related: David Reinbacher’s Season Has Encouraging Signs for Canadiens
The Canadiens have undoubtedly whiffed on several high draft choices, though not all have gone on to find roles elsewhere (Nikita Scherbak and Louis LeBlanc). Contrarily, they have drafted several great players in the first round in recent years (Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle, and Juraj Slafkovsky). The team had quite an interesting draft history, especially in the first round, during the bulk of former general manager Marc Bergevin’s tenure. Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and company will look to fortify their prospect pool for the future, as they possess an astounding 13 picks in the upcoming NHL Draft.