Around this time every year, everyone gets their mock drafts done even though professional scouts live and breathe junior hockey all year. It’s all good fun, giving us all something to talk about during the offseason. However, at the end of June, the NHL’s 32 teams will be heading to The Sphere in Las Vegas to change the lives of a few young players.
I’m not a specialist in junior hockey, and whenever I try to do a mock draft, more often than not I strike out. Some people on social media are excellent at it though, and one particular former scout always seems to know who the Montreal Canadiens will pick: Grant McCagg. Here’s a look at his past predictions and who he believes will be the Canadiens’ chosen one with the fifth-overall selection.
McCagg and His Obsession With NHL Drafts
According to McCagg’s Recrutes, he grew up a Canadiens fan and got stung by the draft-obsession bug when general manager Sam Pollock managed — with astute trading and pick swapping — to steal Guy Lafleur under the California Golden Seals. Then, he watched the New York Islanders go from an awful team to a dynasty, all thanks to well-executed drafting.
After years of studying journalism, while writing about hockey any chance he got, McCagg started putting out his paper and learning the publishing ropes. At the turn of the millennium, he came across Bob Gainey and Trevor Timmins in the Corel Centre (now Canadian Tire Centre) parking lot in Ottawa during the annual rookie tournament and, showed them his newspaper. A few years later, Timmins (who was the Canadiens’ head scout) offered him a part-time scouting job for Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.
McCagg did his dream job for a few years before Pierre Gauthier took over as GM and eliminated many scouting positions. Mr. McCagg was dismissed (I couldn’t help it. Remember how everyone was a “Mister” for Gauthier? All of his players and staff, he never referred to anyone in another way). The post was never brought back after Gauthier’s departure, which might explain why so few players from the area are picked.
Still, even after losing his dream job, McCagg kept working, which eventually led him to launch his scouting service — or his website called Recrutes, where you can read his material on the Canadiens and his draft-focused content.
McCagg’s Past Drafts Predictions
Year in, year out, McCagg comes out with a name that most people haven’t thought of, and most of the time, he’s right…
2018 NHL Draft
In 2018, thanks to the NHL Draft Lottery, the Canadiens selected third overall even though they had finished fourth-last in the season standings. There were some very good players available in that draft, including big left-shot defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, right winger Andrei Svechnikov, left winger Brady Tkachuk (who plays a tough game not unlike his dad Keith and brother Matthew), Filip Zadina (who was expected to be an elite scorer), Quinn Hughes (an unbelievable attacking defenseman) and many more.
Many Canadiens fans who had seen Zadina light up the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League hoped he would wear the Sainte-Flanelle. Their dream didn’t come true – Zadina was selected sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings, claiming he would fill up the nets of the teams that had passed on him (we’re still waiting for that). The Buffalo Sabres selected Dahlin, the Carolina Hurricanes went for Svechnikov, and with Tkachuk and Zadina still available, the Canadiens drafted Jesperi Kotkaniemi, giving birth to one of the funniest Habs meme ever, “The WHAT!!! Lady.”
It wasn’t surprising to one man though, as McCagg had Kotkaniemi high on his list since April and had him going third overall before the draft (from “L’homme qui nous a fait découvrir Kotkaniemi”, La Presse, 16 Mai 2019).
2022 NHL Draft
In 2022, the Canadiens were headed for the bottom of the standings, and Habs fans were telling themselves it was all worth it to get who they thought was the consensus number one overall pick, Shane Wright. It wasn’t the best year to have the first overall pick, but it was the year the Canadiens hit rock bottom.
The Draft Lottery was held on May 10, 2022, and Montreal won the right to select first at the draft they would be hosting for the first time since 2009 (when they selected local player Louis Leblanc 18th overall). The excitement was palpable, and the Bell Centre was filled to the rafters on July 7, 2022. Around the arena, you could spot a few courageous fans who had jumped the gun and were wearing a Canadiens jersey with Wright’s name and number.
Related: 4 reasons Canadiens Take Wright with #1 Pick at 2022 Draft
The crowd was in great shape and cheered loudly when Martin St. Louis (undrafted as an NHL player) took to the stage and opened his speech by saying “47 years. It took me 47 years to get to my first draft (referring to the fact he wasn’t drafted).” He then congratulated all the players who would hear their names called before adding, “That’s probably the easy part. What’s ahead of you is going to be much harder.” Then, he addressed those who wouldn’t hear their name. “It’s OK. It’s not the end. You just keep pushing, you match work ethic with will. You can accomplish anything.” He left the stage to a resounding “Go Habs Go” chant to kick off proceedings.
Minutes later, Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes announced that with the first overall pick, the Canadiens selected Juraj Slafkovsky. Jaws dropped. Some boos were heard before the Habs faithful shook off the surprise and started cheering.
The hockey world was in shock, but not McCagg. McCagg had said for a while that the Canadiens would pick him.
McCagg’s Draft Choice in 2024?
Those are two instances where McCagg has seen the Canadiens’ moves coming. Last year, he was very high on David Reinbacher. Whether he always makes the right prediction is not the point. The point is that he often knows what the Canadiens are going to do, and this year, he sees the Canadiens selecting Beckett Sennecke. Montreal fans would be well advised to read up on him and not just on Tij Iginla and Cole Eiserman.
