Speaking to host Tony Marinaro on The Sick Podcast earlier this week [https://www.youtube.com/live/XoZ88jgYS74], TVA Sports’ Nicolas Cloutier mentioned that at the NHL scouting combine, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] met a lot of players who are slotted to go top 10. He added that it could mean they’re gathering intel for the future in case they trade for them somewhere down the line, or it could mean they are considering trading up in the draft. One of those players was St-Hyacinthe-born center Caleb Desnoyers. The 6-foot-1.5 and 178-pound Moncton Wildcat left-shot pivot is ranked seventh in the Central Scouting ranking of North American skaters. He should be long gone by the time the Canadiens are scheduled to talk in the first round. But the Habs have two first-round pick and they could be open to trading them both to move up in the draft. Canadiens: How Much Will It Cost To Keep Hutson In Montreal Long Term? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-how-much-will-it-cost-to-keep-hutson-in-montreal-long-term] Leon Draisaitl Beats A Canadiens’ Legend Record [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/leon-draisaitl-beats-a-canadiens-legend-record] Canadiens: More About Malcolm Spence [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-more-about-malcolm-spence] Desnoyers has had a great season with the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL, picking up 84 points in 56 games and being his team’s most important player. His production even increased at the right time, in the playoffs, when it mattered most, scoring 30 points in 19 games or 1.88 points per game (up from 1.50 in the regular season). He’s an elite playmaker with a high hockey IQ who scans the ice and works out the best play to make. Or, as Martin St-Louis calls it, he makes good reads, and that’s hard to teach. You can have the best system in the world, but if the other team doesn’t play the way you expect them to, your system may be useless, and then, you’ve got to rely on your players’ ability to read the game. In that sense, Desnoyers is the kind of player the Canadiens’ bench boss would like. His talent and skills mean that he can fool opponents with deceptive passing that’s likely to come from anywhere on the ice, when defenders are going to think “ok, he’s got no angle, no room left, I can ease up”, that’s when he’ll strike. His performance in the playoffs has unsurprisingly made his draft stock rise, and he could even go top-five, so it would take a big trade for the Canadiens to be able to draft him, but never say never. Cloutier also mentioned that he feels the youngster has all the tools to cope with the pressure that comes with being a French-Canadian high draft pick in Montreal. While there’s no denying he ticks quite a few boxes when it comes to what the Canadiens are after and that the team probably does like him, I’m not sure they like him enough to swing the kind of trade it would need to move up to the range he’s being projected to go in. TSN’s Bob MacKenzie has him going at six, Craig Button has him at seventh, THN’s Ryan Kennedy has him at six as well while McKeen’s hockey ranks him at fourth. Photo credit: Michael Augello -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News.
