Has Kent Hughes made a massive mistake? Incredible talent shunned

According to the current NHL standings, the potential draft pick range for the Montreal Canadiens, barring a major surprise with the lottery, is expected to be between the 5th and 8th spot, come next June.

This means that Kent Hughes will have the opportunity to add another high-quality talent to the rebuild of his team.

It is known that the organization will want to add promising offensive potential, and among the most coveted forwards, after Macklin Celebrini who is expected to go first, the most frequently mentioned names are Ivan Demidov, Cole Eiserman, Cayden Lindstrom, and Berkly Catton.

If Demidov and Lindstrom are likely to be chosen before the CH's turn, Eiserman's case is the most interesting.

At 17 years old, this prolific goal scorer is one of the youngest players in the upcoming draft, who was just about two weeks shy of being ineligible for 2024, since he was born on August 29th (with September 15th being the cutoff date).

He has accumulated 48 goals and 73 points in only 45 games this season. He has scored no less than 117 goals in 107 games with his team over two years.

He is an elite-level sniper and already has an interesting build at 6 feet and nearly 200 pounds, despite being very young. Potential 50-goal scorers are not common, and he is exactly what the Canadiens need in their top-6.

However, a statement from Anthony Martineau has literally thrown cold water on the fans who wanted to see Eiserman land in Montreal.

He has just stated that the CH management has still not met with him, which speaks volumes for the future.

Two months before the draft, the fact that Kent Hughes and the team's senior staff haven't even spoken with the young man, even remotely, says a lot about their intentions.

Yet, according to the majority of experts, Eiserman is a prospect ranked around the Canadiens' potential selection range, whereas Iginla is outside the top-10.

I have a hard time accepting that Hughes could genuinely overlook a natural scorer like Eiserman to this extent, especially since he should be available at the time of the Canadiens' choice.

This is a disappointing revelation, but also very concerning for the future of the Montreal organization.