Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens hold the 28th overall pick heading into the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, and while there are decent odds they’ll trade it prior to making their way to the podium, there’s still an outside chance that Kent Hughes will want to make the selection.
Before we get going, it’s important to remember that development is the most important factor when discussing a player’s potential. The Canadiens are rather lucky to have an owner who recently invested heavily in player development, a fantastic change of pace considering there was essentially no plan in place under the previous regime.
There is also bevy of variables to consider, including the strength of the draft class, scouting, and organizational needs.
With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at the players drafted in that range over the course of a five-year stretch.
Admittedly, this is an unscientific experiment, and the conclusion relies heavily on one person’s opinion, but it does give us a good idea of the talent-level that is usually available towards the end of the first round.
Rather than evaluating recent drafts, we’ll focus on 2018 to 2022, in a bid to give the prospects involved a legitimate chance to make an impact in the NHL.
2018 Entry Draft
- No. 26 – Jacob Bernard-Docker
- No. 27 – Nicolas Beaudin
- No. 28 – Nils Lundkvist
- No. 29 – Rasmus Sandin
- No. 30 – Joe Veleno
2019 Entry Draft
- No. 26 – Jakob Pelletier
- No. 27 – Nolan Foote
- No. 28 – Ryan Suzuki
- No. 29 – Brayden Tracey
- No. 30 – John Beecher
2020 Entry Draft
- No. 26 – Jake Neighbours
- No. 27 – Jacob Perreault
- No. 28 – Ridly Greig
- No. 29 – Brendan Brisson
- No. 30 – Mavrik Bourque
2021 Entry Draft
- No. 26 – Carson Lambos
- No. 27 – Zachary L’Heureux
- No. 28 – Oskar Olausson
- No. 29 – Chase Stillman
- No. 30 – Zachary Dean
2022 Entry Draft
- No. 26 – Filip Mesar
- No. 27 – Filip Bystedt
- No. 28 – Jiri Kulich
- No. 29 – Maveric Lamoureux
- No. 30 – Brad Lambert
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
Of the 25 players listed, 13 could be considered misses, even though a handful of them did play a few games in the NHL. Seven of the players made the league in a semiregular capacity, though they are yet to make a significant impact.
Five of the drafted players are considered above average, and none of them managed to reach ‘star’ status, at least not yet.
In other words, only about 20% of the players actually reached their potential.
Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean the 2026 Draft class will not yield a star player, and we’re also ignoring all the talented players who were selected after the No. 30 overall pick, such as Lane Hutson (62nd overall) in 2022.
However, it does paint a fairly grim picture when it comes to Montreal’s chances of drafting a player who can move the needle, one of the main sticking points of picking late in the first round. The Canadiens need impact players, and they’re fairly difficult to find in No. 28 overall range.
