Montreal Canadiens' Saturday picks 'surreal' for young draftees
Eight players had stars in their eyes Saturday as Montreal locked in their NHL draft picks:
- Forward Riley Kidney (63rd overall)
- Forward Oliver Kapanen (64th overall)
- Defenseman Dmitri Kostenko (87th overall)
- Defenseman William Trudeau (113th overall)
- Defenseman Daniil Sobolev (142nd overall)
- Forward Joshua Roy (150th overall)
- Forward Xavier Simoneau (191st overall)
- Goalie Joe Vrbetic (214th overall)
Riley Kidney of the Quebec Junior Hockey League's Acadie-Bathurst Titan joined the Canadiens prospect pool at the end of the second round, picked 63rd overall.
The five-foot-11, 168-pound centre said being drafted was "a dream come true."
"It kind of feels surreal right now. My phone's blowing up," he said, silencing a call. "Words can't describe how I feel right now."
“When I was younger, I was always watching them,” he said.
It's a Canadian team. It's a historic franchise.”
For those unacquainted with the young player, he described his playstyle as “aggressive,” adding that he takes tips from Mitch Marner and Montreal’s own Nick Suzuki.
“They both have great vision. When I watch them, I try to model my game off of them.”
Oliver Kapenen, who followed Kidney’s pick, didn’t hide his excitement to join Montreal.
“I can't believe it happened,” he said, speaking to reporters via video conference.
“I'm feeling good right now,” he said, adding fans can expect him to make plays with or without the puck.
Kapanen is the cousin of Kasperi Kapanen, who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played for the Kalevan Pallo junior team in Finland, recording 41 points in 37 games. He also represented Finland at the World Under-18 Championship.
William Trudeau, a Quebecer himself, “jumped with joy” when he heard his name.
Trudeau joined the Charlottetown Islanders as a defenseman in 2019 and has played 98 games with the franchise. So far, he’s scored 12 regular season goals and eight more in the playoffs.
He promised the team “won’t regret their pick.”
Russian-born Sobolov, who responded to reporter questions with the aid of a Russian-language interpreter, has never been to Montreal.
He’s been to the playoffs twice in his home country, offering two goals and four assists over 48 games in the 2019-2020 season.
He’ll stay on with the Windsor Spitfires, with whom he has yet to play a game, until he’s called to Montreal.
“I know Montreal is a beautiful city,” he said, according to his interpreter.
Another Quebecer was next in line – Joshua Roy said he was playing softball with his family when he heard the news.
“Everybody came running to tell me that I was picked by Montreal in the sixth round. It was fun to experience that moment with them. I left the game because I was too excited.”
The 17-year-old made the QMJHL playoffs most-recently with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, scoring once and assisting three times, with 13 goals in his back pocket from the regular season.
“I've been following the Canadiens since I was a kid,” he told reporters. “It's also an honor for my parents and my grandparents because they're big fans of the Canadiens, too.”
The third Quebecer to be called to the Bleu Blanc Rouge was Xavier Simoneau.
Simoneau, who stands at 5’7”, brought the Drummondville Voltigeurs to the QMJHL playoffs three times since 2017.
Most recently, he pushed 10 goals and 27 assists in 27 regular season games.
“It's a dream to be drafted,” he said. “I feel like a kid. I was really moved and happy.”
Dmitri Kostenko and Joe Vrbetic did not give interviews after their picks.
Kostenko, another Russian-born player, represented his country twice in the international junior team before joining the grown-up league. He's had two playoff runs in Russia's U18 and MHL providing 2 goals and 22 assists after 18 playoff games.
Ontarian goalie Joe Vrbetic logged a .881 save percentage with the OHL North Bay Battalion across 42 games last year.
-- With files from Canadian Press Reporter Gemma Karstens-Smith
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.