Kent Hughes and the Habs management team are gearing up for the upcoming draft.
They’re currently at the World Under-18 Championship, spotting the best talent for the 2024 draft…
And that’s important, because the Habs will still have a chance to get a good draft pick this year.
Yesterday, Vincent Lecavalier, Kent Hughes, Martin Lapointe and Nick Bobrov were spotted in the stands watching Canada’s game against Sweden.
They had the opportunity to see Tij Iginla in action, a guy who has been linked to the Habs in recent weeks…
But it was today that Iginla really stood out, scoring two goals against the Czech Republic.
His 2nd was magnificent:
My goodness. Gavin McKenna winds it up then puts it on a platter for Tij Iginla to bury for his 2nd of the game.
That was clinical. pic.twitter.com/KLCMAjRPU3
– Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) April 26, 2024
Cole Eiserman also had some fun yesterday, scoring a hat trick against Slovakia.
Eiserman and Iginla could still be available when the Habs have to make their choice… And that’s why we’ve been watching their performances since the start of the competition.
That said, you have to be careful with the World Under-18 Championship, as Mathias Brunet explained in a recent article.
It’s important to know that if a player performs well during the tournament, usually his draft stock rises considerably… A bit like in 2018, when Jesperi Kotkaniemi wasn’t even one of the most interesting prospects before the tournament started.
In the end, KK had an extraordinary tournament (nine points in seven games) and that forced the Habs to select him with the 3rd pick in the draft.
All this to say that we shouldn’t get too excited about Cole Eiserman’s or Tij Iginla’s goals just yet.
We shouldn’t rely solely on their performances at the tournament, because that can be misleading… For the Habs and for any other NHL team.
In closing, Kent Hughes spoke with Bryan Mudryk (TSN), and repeated what he said in his end-of-season review.
If he can make a deal to improve the team, he won’t hesitate to do it…
And we know he wants to add a scorer to his line-up:
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes spoke to @BryanMudryk about his priorities for the upcoming NHL Draft, where they have a pair of first-round picks and how much fun it has been to watch Juraj Slafkovsky’s growth: https://t.co/5wOGPU4WMt pic.twitter.com/0ukcmbPANX
– TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) April 26, 2024
In gusto
– Slaf=
Which emoji best describes Slaf? 
Slaf is a human emoji machine#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/5shJwkLbYT
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) April 26, 2024
– His move:
Adrian Kempe scored two of five @LAKings goals in Game 2 and can join a rare list of Los Angeles players should he score twice again in Game 3. He takes the ice at 10:30 p.m. ET on @SportsonMax, @tntsports & @Sportsnet. #StanleyCup#NHLStats: https://t.co/YIrH2oVHQx pic.twitter.com/xLHMZOYEzl
– NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 26, 2024
– Love this.
The Smash Car is back in Nashville. pic.twitter.com/pD52BVrkJa
– Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) April 26, 2024
– My goodness!
Coach Bill Belichick and Media Personality Bill Belichick are two men who have never met. And both EXCEL are their craft. pic.twitter.com/sdOnmPHiU4
– Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) April 26, 2024
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