MONTREAL –– The Canadiens landed the best player in the first round of the 2025 National Hockey League Draft –– and didn’t make a single pick to do it.

In a year defined by change –– namely, the historic debut of the decentralized draft outside the pandemic era –– the Habs embraced their own outside-the-box approach, opting to trade potential for certainty.

“When we were going into the Combine, we definitely didn’t think we were going to have picks 16 and 17,” the Canadiens’ vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, told canadiens.com in an exclusive post-draft interview.

“Maybe we would have one; maybe none. But I don’t think any of us really thought we would have both.”

Gorton described the interview process at the Combine as ‘speed dating.’ Little did he know then, however, Montreal’s perfect match wouldn’t come from the interview room at all.

At 9:20 p.m. ET on June 27 –– in what had become the worst-kept secret of the night –– the Canadiens announced they had acquired defenseman Noah Dobson in exchange for both of their first-round picks, plus a little extra, in the 2025 NHL Draft.

By then, the announcement was more of a formality, as news of the blockbuster trade had already broken on social media. But as Kent Hughes explained, the delay inside Peacock Theater in Los Angeles wasn’t just for drama.

“[The trade] came down to the very last minutes,” the Habs general manager outlined. “I don’t know why it was circulating in the media before that, because it wasn’t the case.”

The holdup, Hughes clarified, stemmed from contractual negotiations. Fortunately for both him and the Canadiens, they reached an agreement with Dobson on an eight-year extension, locking down a bona fide top-pairing defenseman through 2033.

An alumnus of Bishop’s College School in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, Dobson brings an impressive resume back to La Belle Province. The 25-year-old has posted 50-180—230 totals in 388 NHL games with the New York Islanders since being selected 12th overall in 2018 and is just two seasons removed from recording a career-high 70-point campaign in 2023-24. In doing so, he became only the second defenseman in Islanders history to reach that mark –– and the first since Denis Potvin in 1983-84.

“When you have the chance to acquire a player like Noah Dobson, even if it means giving up two first-round picks, you have to do it,” said Montreal’s director of player personnel and amateur scouting, Martin Lapointe. “Nick [Bobrov] and I were absolutely aligned that [Hughes] should pull the trigger, and he did a great job making it happen.”

For Hughes, the deal was about more than acquiring a talented player –– it was about timing and opportunity.

“It’s not often that a 25-year-old player, with the experience Noah has and what he’s accomplished, becomes available at age 25. For us, it’s really important to have the chance to get someone who’s pretty young, and who we think we’ll be able to sign for the entirety of the prime of his career.”

Dobson, a Prince Edward Island native, has also represented Canada on multiple occasions, including at the IIHF U18 World Championship, World Juniors and Men’s World Championship.

Now he has the chance to do something just as special: represent the team he cheered for as a kid in a hockey market, he says, is the best in the world.

“The opportunity to be a Canadien is something you don’t take lightly,” Dobson said after the deal was finalized. “As a kid in Canada growing up, it’s a dream come true.”

For Habs fans, Friday night felt like a dream, too –– and by Saturday, the future got even brighter with nine new prospects entering the fold.