Draft Debacle, Canadiens continue to miss at the Draft.

Forty years ago the annual NHL entry draft was headlined by the Montreal Canadiens and their genius general manger, Sam Pollock, who took Guy Lafleur first overall. Then Murray Wilson, then Larry Robinson, and with the years that followed, Pollock continued to draft well and build a dynasty.

Even after Pollock left for the less notable Irving Grundman, the Canadiens still did well at the draft, and even decently under Serge Savard, but in 1995 the Canadiens history of doing well at the draft was all but a distant memory.

The last four general managers of the Montreal Canadiens: Rejean Houle, Andre Savard, Bob Ganiey and now Pierre Gauthier, and the rest of the Canadiens scouting staff have all but let down in the draft. Sure, with the league expanding it is difficult to always get great players, but when only four draft picks since 1995 have been successful something needs to change.

Over the years the Canadiens have passed on many superstars in the draft for players that have not panned out. In 1998, it was Eric Chouinard over Simon Gange and Robyn Regehr.  In 2003 it was Andrei Kostitsyn over now Hart trophy and fifty goal scorer Corey Perry, along with other stars such as Ryan Getzlaf, Jeff Carter, and Zach Parise. The list can continue on and on.

The only good drafts the Canadiens have had in recent memory were the 2001 draft, picking Mike Komisarek and Tomas Pleckanec. The 2005 draft picking up Carey Price and the 2007 draft landing Max Pacioretty and P.K Subban.  It can be argued that 2009 and 2010 drafts can't be judged yet because the top picks have yet to be given a chance in the NHL. But, it's looking more and more likely that the only productive player will be Louis Leblanc, as Jarred Tinordi is developing below all expectations.

That brings us to the 2011 NHL entry draft where Gauthier has the chance to fix a sinking ship, but by all indication, it is still going down. He had an opportunity to fill holes in the Canadiens forward corps. The hole would be a big winger and the picks were there when the Habs took the podium at 17^th overall. Big 6-foot-2 Tyler Biggs was available as well as Zack Phillips, who also comes in at a little over 6 feet. It appeared as if a hole for the future would be filled but when Nathan Beaulieu’s name was called, the hopeful were still hopeless. And in the rounds that followed, three more defenseman were picked up and a 5’11 forward was taken.

If you are a Montreal Canadiens fan, it is something to really scratch your head about. With the Bruins still reaping the benefit of the Phil Kessel trade and Brian Burke doing everything he can to make up for it, the Habs seem to be falling behind. Maybe the plan is to fill the holes in the UFA market but this year it’s weak and you can’t predict how it will be in the coming years. When the NHL draft is where you lay foundation for your future, you expect your team to be using good materials but the Canadiens, however, are using nothing of the sort.