The Montreal Canadiens Select D-Man Luke Mittelstadt 197th

The Montreal Canadiens have made their final pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee.

They settled on defenceman Luke Mittelstadt, brother of Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt.

This may end up being the best value pick from the team at this year’s draft, since Mittelstadt was ranked among the top 100 available prospects by many outlets. He scored 5 goals and 16 assists in 38 games last year, though it should be noted he’s an overage prospect who is currently 20 years old.

The Montreal Canadiens moved two picks this draft, the 31st and 37th overall picks, in exchange for Alex Newhook, which means their first pick of day two was the 69th overall selection. Newhook, 22, is joining the Canadiens from the Colorado Avalanche. He should serve as a middle-roster forward for the team, however, given his age and style of play, there could be significant potential left to tap.

It’s also worth noting David Reinbacher, who the Canadiens picked 5th overall, carries significant value despite not being the most exciting player in the top 5. Much has been made about the Canadiens avoiding forward Matvei Michkov, and there’s definitely an argument to be made about the importance of adding elite forwards to the lineup given that every Stanley Cup winner, except for St-Louis, has had a roster overflowing with talent, but we should not underrate Reinbacher.

He should end up playing a crucial role for the Canadiens in their rebuild, and projects as a top-four defenceman with top-pairing potential. He was rated as the consensus pick as the best defenceman in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which is always an encouraging detail when drafting in the first round.

MUST READ: David Reinbacher’s Scouting Report From A Swiss League Expert

In addition to picking talented defenceman Reinbacher with the 5th overall pick, the Canadiens also picked goaltender Jacob Fowler (69th) and forward Florian Xhekaj, Arber’s brother, with the 101st overall pick. They also chose Russian defenceman Bogdan Konyushkov and American/Swedish forward Sam Harris, goaltender Yevgeni Volokhin, and centre Filip Eriksson.