Carey Price Recounts 2005 Draft Year, Other Interested Clubs

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was undoubtedly the team’s franchise player for the last 15 years, but the leadup to the 2005 NHL Draft had him thinking he was going elsewhere.

In a recent interview with La Poche Bleue‘s Maxime Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse, Price pointed out that the Canadiens were the only team in the top 10 interested in drafting him in 2005.

“Back when I was in Tri-City, I had two scouts come to see me; one was from Atlanta and the other from Minnesota, Atlanta showed a lot of interest in me,” said Price about teams that followed him during the 2004-2005 season. “Then fast-forward to the combine. I think I met with 13-14 teams, all in the top 15 teams (in the 2005 Draft selection order) and out of all of those teams I think Montreal was my most difficult interview.”

Carey Price believed he did so badly on the interview that, despite his excellent resume, they wouldn’t pick him due to some of the tough questions. He felt more interest from other teams picking around Montreal like the Wild (4th) and the Blue Jackets (6th).

“Honestly, I think Minnesota picked right before (Montreal), so I thought it might have been them. Then Montreal picked, and I was very unsure about that. Then Columbus picked after, they picked Gilbert,” said Price on where he thought he was going on Draft Day in 2005. “I thought Minnesota or Columbus were going to pick me and a big maybe for Montreal.”

Price was surprised when he heard his name, along with most fans and, most of all, Pierre McGuire.

Price said that, although it was a shock to him, the transition to appreciating and fitting into the Montreal Canadiens culture was seamless almost immediately, as he joined the Canadiens for development camp.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Full interview below, with the 2005 Draft covered as of the 38-minute mark.