2018 NHL Draft: 5 players the Montreal Canadiens need to draft
4. D Calen Addison – 2nd round (56th overall – from Toronto)
After trading away P.K. Subban and Mikhail Sergachev, Bergevin needs to find a winner on the blue line in this year’s draft. At No. 3 overall, they need to take the best prospect available, and the rankings don’t have a defenseman in that position. That spot belongs to Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina on most lists. While we could all be blindsided by a selection such as Noah Dobson or Jesperi Kotkaniemi in this spot, safe money is on a forward with scoring potential. It will be up to Montreal to find useful rearguards in the second round.
At just five-foot-ten and 179 pounds, Addison is a bit undersized but still has plenty of time to bulk up. In just his second WHL campaign with Lethbridge he put up almost a point per game. Once the playoffs rolled around, he was even more dynamic — leading his team to the Eastern Conference finals on the back of 19 points in just 16 games. What’s even more exciting about his offensive potential is that he was the youngest player in the top 10 for points by defensemen.
He only improved his goal total from his rookie campaign by 2, however, and while his shooting percentage looked meager at 5.7, it was not far off the average of about six percent for the top 100 blueliners. While he should begin getting more bounces and putting up better goal totals next year, it’s clear his prowess lies in moving the puck and setting up his teammates. Over half of his points were primary points, highlighting the fact that the play often runs through him.
The ISS currently has Addison listed as the 52nd best prospect, so again, there is no guarantee he falls to this position. It will be close, but Bergevin could nab the young power play specialist here and begin building the blue line back up.