Marc Bergevin's first draft as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens has received rave reviews. Granted, Trevor Timmins has rarely fallen short of expectations on draft day, and to suggest he'd goof in the best positions he's held in his time with the Habs would be a gross miscalculation.
All that considered, what do we know about the kids that are now a part of the Canadiens, and those that went to other teams over the weekend? We've all come to our own conclusions based on youtube samples and second hand information.
What we do know is that Bergevin was in search of talent and character--primarily--and his encouragement over the work done by Timmins' staff suggests the Canadiens got everything they wanted out of a draft that was categorized as weak.
And why was it referred to as a weak draft?
One reason has to be because the best players available were defensemen. The other has to be related to the fact that no Canadian forward was slated to go in the top 15.
On Alex Galchenyuk:
I joined the guys from Montreal Hockey Talk Radio on Friday at MaClean's Pub. I was amazed at how excited everyone in the bar was as soon as Murray's name was called by the Blue Jackets, signaling that Galchenyuk would be available at three. Excitement, to nerves, and back to excitement as Bergevin and Timmins took to the stage and drafted their man.
He is a player to get excited about. A big-bodied centre who's been labelled as a player that makes those around him better.
And, once and for all, now that the Canadiens have a star-caliber centre (he's projected to become one, at least), we can officially dismiss those persistent Vinny Lecavalier rumors.
And of course, the discussion has now shifted to Galchenyuk's eligibility to play this year, as if it's a forgone conclusion he'll be centering the team's first line.
I'd never suggest the 15th place in the East Canadiens couldn't benefit from a scoring boost, but we'll have to see how Galchenyuk performs at camp, in his first test against professionals, before he's anointed Montreal's savior.
Chances are that he does in fact have the talent to step into the National Hockey League this season. Whether or not that will be best for his development is the question. We're talking about a kid who missed an entire year of Junior to a knee injury. If there was ever a case to be made regarding the benefit of returning to Junior to dominate and grow, these circumstances fit. Even more so, if there isn't an opportunity for Galchenyuk to usurp Tomas Plekanec's or David Desharnais' position in year one.
Will he get his nine-game cup of coffee? Smart money says, yes.
Will he turn it into his rookie season in the NHL? He'll have to prove he can immediately become an impact player at this level.
As for the other choices made by the Canadiens, they obviously benefited from the record amount of defensemen taken in the first round, having Collberg and Thrower slip to the second.
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So far we've seen Bergevin expand the bureaucracy; create jobs in an unstable economy (ha); he's put a new emphasis on player development; he's hired his coaching staff; he's qualified his RFAs and entered into negotiations with coveted players Carey Price and P.K. Subban, and he's yet to make a single promise about the team making the playoffs this season.
He's building, and he's managing expectations. And his willingness to work openly with so many different people speaks to his security and open-mindedness. Stark contrast from his predecessor, but you probably could've said that of anyone eligible to take over.
With unrestricted free agency around the corner, we're bound to see plenty more action from Beregvin office over the coming days.
Can he strike deals with Price and Subban?
Will he opt to deal with precarious contract situations with Scott Gomez and Tomas Kaberle?
Will he trade some personnel?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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