Nick Bobrov, the Canadiens’ co-director of amateur scouting, believes a team can never have too many defencemen.
That’s why after taking Russian forward Gleb Pugachyov with their first-round pick (26th overall) in the NHL Draft on Friday, the Canadiens took defencemen with their next three picks when Rounds 2 to 7 were held Saturday in Buffalo.
The Canadiens selected California native Tim Runtso in the second round (57th overall), Connecticut native Cooper Cleaves in the third round (93rd overall) and Calgary native Brayden Klimpke in the fourth round (117th overall). Runtso and Cleaves both shoot right, something NHL teams also can’t have too much of. Klimpke shoots left.
“The Ds are always in demand and we always talk about different buckets and which ones are full and which ones are becoming more empty,” Bobrov said when he spoke with reporters late Saturday afternoon at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard after the draft was completed. “So, where the best fishing holes are — as we say — and it’s different draft to draft. Sometimes a bucket of big forwards might be fuller than on the D side. So in this case, it just so happened that the Ds were the best players in particular spots and, obviously, you want to create more depth — organizational depth — in each position.
“We approached it in a way that every organization needs that depth and we happen to have pretty good depth right now,” Bobrov added. “It never hurts to have a deeper pool, so we felt we addressed (that) with each individual.”
The Canadiens also selected left-shot defenceman Jean-Samuel Daigneault — the son of former Canadiens defenceman and assistant coach J.J. Daigneault — in the seventh round (221st overall) after the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder had 0-5-5 totals in 47 games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks this season.
The Canadiens’ other draft picks were forwards Parker Trottier of the U.S. National Development Team (sixth round, 189th overall), Wesley Royston of the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack (sixth round, 190th overall) and Tyler Deakos of the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks (seventh round, 224th overall). Deakos was the last player selected at the draft.
“It was kind of a conversation: ‘Hey, who’s got the more will?’” Bobrov said about making the late-round selections. “Because from late rounds, will wins, and so we’re trying to get some kids that have that quality covered.”
Runtso, who is 6-foot-2 and 186 pounds, had 11-33-44 totals in 68 games this season with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. The 6-foot-3, 203-pound Cleaves had 4-6-10 totals in 30 games at Dartmouth College, while the 6-foot, 174-pound Klimpke had 4-43-47 totals in 68 games with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.
“Timmy Runtso, obviously, more offensive, more flashy, I guess,” Bobrov said. “Cooper Cleaves, more stay-at-home, mature, big, defends. And Brayden Klimpke, puck mover, elite skater. So we felt that those three at the right spots were the way to go. Again, you can never have enough Ds.”
The 20-year-old Cleaves was invited to the Canadiens’ development camp last year after being passed over at the NHL Draft. Martin Lapointe, the Canadiens’ director of player personnel and amateur scouting, said Cleaves made good progression this season, makes a good first pass, can play physically and can also skate with the puck. Lapointe added he likes Cleaves’s “upside” for the future.
Lapointe said the Canadiens were looking for character and competitiveness with all their picks, adding the players they drafted all have those two qualities.
The Canadiens expect all eight players they selected at the draft to attend their development camp, which will run Tuesday through Thursday at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. Players will report for physical and medical testing on Tuesday and be on the ice Wednesday and Thursday, wrapping up the camp with a scrimmage.
The Canadiens traded up from the No. 28 overall pick to No. 26 in order to select Pugachyov, who was listed at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds by NHL Central Scouting but was measured at 6-foot-2 3/4 and 224 pounds at his agent Dan Milstein’s Gold Star camp in Miami the weekend before the draft. The 18-year-old was ranked ninth among international skaters by NHL Central Scouting after posting 10-14-24 totals in 33 games with Nizhny Novgorod Chaika in the MHL, Russia’s junior league. Pugachyov also played 13 games with the KHL’s Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, posting 2-1-3 totals.
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“For us, we traded up for Gleb because we thought that the type of energy that he brings every shift — his defensive game — is very impressive,” Bobrov said. “He used to be a D growing up, so some of the roots kind of come from that. But it’s infectious.
“We don’t have a lot of kids nowadays who are infectious and who have instant identity and you don’t have to guess,” Bobrov added. “You see it, you feel it. You feel it in the building. You feel it in the locker room. We were in Florida (at the Gold Star camp) and observed the way he interacts with his peers, and it’s impressive. So, yes, shooting, passing, skill — all that — it’s on the margins. They’re all plus/minus five, 10 per cent. But it’s the oomph that the player brings. And we like the oomph.”
Pugachyov still has two years left on his KHL contract.
“Yes, there are two years left and his agent is very good at negotiating,” Bobrov said. “So we’ll leave it to Dan to do it. It’s flexible enough that a lot of different situations can unfold and he knows what he is doing. It’s all about making sure the kid is ready at the right time to come over. It’s a big change, so have to be mindful of timing on a number of different fronts.”