One of the top 3 prospects available in the upcoming draft played with Kent Hughes' son

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Jeff Drouin
May 15, 2022 (9:37)

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It's now confirmed, the Habs got the very first pick in the next NHL draft by winning the lottery on Tuesday night.

While the media attention is focused on Shane Wright, the top prospect for the upcoming draft, we should not forget about American forward Logan Cooley.

Considered the second-best prospect in North America, he had 36 points in 24 games with the U.S. Under-18 team, and as reported by my colleague Alex Néron of the Fanadiens site, Kent Hughes made an intriguing statement in a post-lottery interview.

"Cooley is a guy with a great skating stroke. I've been watching him for two years. He played with my son last year!"

These comments collected by Nicolas Cloutier, journalist at TVA Sports, have quickly made the rounds on the web and some Canadiens fans are even wondering who of Logan Cooley or Shane Wright will be the first pick of the Canadiens next July.

We remember that Hughes said when he was hired by the Habs that he wanted to build a team based on speed and the young forward from Pittsburgh could fit in very well with that style. Like Wright, Cooley is also being compared to Patrice Bergeron and the fact that he has already played with Kent Hughes' son, Jack, could give him a slight advantage when the time comes for the Habs to select the first pick.

Could Logan Cooley top Shane Wright with the first pick in the draft?

It's hard to say at this point, but it's a safe bet that Habs fans can't wait until next July to find out who the team's first pick will be.

NDLR: I'd still bet on Wright...