Getty Image / Francois Lacasse
- The Montreal Canadiens won the NHL Draft lottery last night
- Now their GM has a tough decision to make
- Read more BroBible articles here
The Montreal Canadiens won the NHL Draft lottery last night, but that might not put them in as comfortable of a position as you might think. Instead, it may have left the team’s new general manager with a tough decision to make.
Kent Hughes was made the new GM of the Canadiens back in January after the team’s disastrous start to this season. This year’s NHL Draft will be his first as an NHL GM and it just so happens that his son is one of the prospects available in the draft.
He was asked about the situation last night and promised that the Canadiens would not be drafting his son first overall.
"Jack is not going to be our number one overall pick, I can guarantee you that!" – Kent Hughes when asked, in jest, by @mikemorrealeNHL, if he'd received a text from his son lobbying to be taken at No. 1.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) May 10, 2022
His son, Jack Hughes, responded to this statement, saying that the Canadiens would be making a big mistake.
Big Mistake! @CanadiensMTL https://t.co/IYuYDrPDCB
— Jack Hughes (@jackhughes4_) May 11, 2022
In his freshman season at Northeastern, Hughes scored 7 goals and added 9 assists in 39 games played. Now he’s being considered a potential 1st round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. He just isn’t considered to be anywhere close to the #1 overall pick.
Instead, the consensus seems to be that the Canadiens will use that pick on Shane Wirght, an 18-year old center currently playing in the OHL. This past season, he scored 32 goals and assisted another 62 in just 63 games.
While there’s no way the Canadiens are taking Hughes with the first pick, things could get interesting if he falls out of the first round and the team’s GM has to consider whether or not to use a second round pick on his son.