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In Hainsight: That Draft Documentary… |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The Canadiens launched their draft documentary this week and some fans were disappointed, mainly because they felt it didn’t show enough of the debate that went into picking David Reinbacher at fifth if Michkov was still on the table. The closest they came to showing that was when Jeff Gorton told the room that opportunities to pick very talented players are few and far between these days, they’re hard to find, hard to draft and to trade for, adding that if you get them in free agency, you need to break the bank for them and that he wanted to be sure that the whole room didn’t want to gamble on that pick and the right decision was made.
It felt like a “speak now or forever hold your peace” moment there and it’s a moment that needed to happen. Ultimately, the Habs decided not to take a risk there, as I’ve said before, they walked away without playing Russian roulette and I’m fine with that decision. Especially these days when we see Flyers’ Russian prospect goaltender Ivan Fedotov play in the KHL when he’s got a valid contract with Philadelphia and the IIHF ruled, he couldn’t play in Russia until January 1st, 2024. Hopefully for Danny Brière and co., the same situation won’t happen when they sign Matvei Michkov.
Even though the video didn’t show much of the debate everyone wanted to see, it showed interesting parts of the interviews held at the combine. Much like Canadiens’ scout Billy Ryan, I expect numerous Canadiens fans became Jacob Fowler fans watching his interview. Hearing him explain that he’s motivated by proving people wrong after being ignored in multiple drafts despite his accomplishments with fire in his eyes was quite a moment. The way Ryan fought for him in the pre-draft meeting was also interesting, he seemed to clash a bit with Vincent Riendeau, but ultimately, Ryan won the battle and the Canadiens selected Jacob Fowler with the 69th pick.
It was also interesting to see Bobrov call Florian Xhekaj a “unicorn”, for the Habs, even though he was an “overager”, Arber’s younger brother was quite a catch, and they didn’t feel comfortable picking another player with the 101st selection and just hoping the younger Xhekaj would still be available with their next pick. Fortunately for them, the other player they were interested in, Russian defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov, was still available at pick 110. Better yet, they also got their man at pick 128 when they selected Quentin Miller, making it a perfect round for the Canadiens.
We won’t know for a while how these young men will do in the NHL, they’ve still got some growing up and polishing up to do, but the documentary was still interesting viewing and I liked hearing Jacob Fowler call the pressure a privilege. It reminded me of Jonathan Drouin when he was first traded to Montreal, saying that he welcomed and liked the pressure. Six years on, now a member of the Colorado Avalanche, Drouin said a few days ago that you can’t know what the pressure in Montreal is like unless you’ve experienced it. Hopefully, Fowler’s development goes well and when he gets to man the Canadiens’ crease, he can handle the heat.
For those who were hoping the video would show the Canadiens talking about Michkov, you’ve got to remember that an organization cannot speak about players that belong to another team, that rule makes the documentary less juicy, but it is what it is. For now though, you can just sit back, relax and ready yourself to watch the Canadiens’ prospect compete in Buffalo in less than two weeks. Hang in there, this seemingly never-ending offseason is almost over!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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