5 biggest surprises from Day 1 of 2018 NHL Draft

4. Montreal drafts C Jesperi Kotkaniemi

While surprising, it wasn’t a complete shock that Marc Bergevin selected center Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall. Leading up to the draft, the Finnish center revealed that Montreal had been one of just three teams that took him out for a steak dinner.

The Habs inability to find a true No.1 center for the last couple decades has become deafening. It also made it fairly safe to assume that Montreal would go off-board with the third overall pick in search of the best center available, even if there were higher ranked players.

This is one of those gambles that will look awful if it doesn’t go well, and will make the Canadiens look like geniuses if it pays off. The consensus with such a high pick is to simply draft the best player available, regardless of positional need.

It will be a few years before the hockey world will have a better idea of how the first round of the 2018 draft really went for Montreal. Even after the blockbuster trades and major contract signings, this sole draft pick has the ability to define Marc Bergevin’s time as general manager of Quebec’s team.