Montreal Canadiens could be making a big mistake, says expert Craig Button

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Jeff Drouin
May 19, 2022 (4:26 PM)

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We are now less than two months away from the NHL Draft at the Bell Centre and even if center Shane Wright is considered the best prospect of this year, there are still some experts who have doubts about his potential.

But as Marco Normandin of Habsolumentfan.com reports, one expert is warning Kent Hughes that if he doesn't draft Shane Wright at the very top of his class, it would be a mistake.

At least that's the opinion of former scout Craig Button, now an analyst with TSN.

"Slafkovsky and Cooley are not better players than him. If the Habs don't draft Shane Wright, it would be a big mistake!"

He says that even though Logan Cooley and Juraj Slafkovsky have been earning stripes lately, the Habs can't afford to pass up Wright. Even Button sent a pretty clear message to scouts who are placing both of these players ahead of the Kingston Frontenacs' center.

"I don't care about the polls. First of all, only one team matters here and that's the Montreal Canadiens. I don't care what scouts from other teams say. Shane Wright is the best player in this draft. He is a Patrice Bergeron clone. All I hear is that Wright is not really spectacular. Have you seen Patrice Bergeron play? When was the last time he did anything spectacular? Yet every player who has played with or against Bergeron is unanimous about what an impact player he is. That's exactly the game of Shane Wright. He is highly intelligent and competitive. He's the kind of player that helps you win when it counts."

Let's just say that his words have the merit of being clear. We can still ask ourselves the question of whether Shane Wright could fill an important need in the Habs?

Let's take a look back at the 2018 draft when the team selected Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third pick.

At that time, the Habs had a lot of gaps at the center position and the organization decided to pick the best available center at third rather than the best available player, regardless of position.

This time, with the first overall pick and the fact that the draft will be held at the Bell Centre, Kent Hughes and his scouting team will have no choice but to go with the best player available.