Habs Daily: 2022 Draft Review, Hutson, Reinbacher, Xhekaj Fight

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed on Wednesday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was critical for the Canadiens. It was Kent Hughes’ first kick of the can, not to mention the first time they had an opportunity to pick the first overall player since they chose Doug Wickenheiser way back in 1980.

Unfortunately, it was a relatively weak draft, but the Canadiens still managed to pick the best player, it just took them until the 62nd overall pick to get there. [2022 NHL Draft Deep Review: Canadiens Picked The Best Player]

Speaking of the best player from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Lane Hutson was unable to keep Canadiens hockey off his mind during the 4 Nations Faceoff, and that’s always a good sign. Not only is he supremely talented, he’s always hungry for more.

Reporter: “Were you able to try to switch off during the break? Just stop thinking about hockey?”

Lane Hutson: “Not really…I kept thinking about coming back. I felt like the break was too long honestly.” pic.twitter.com/sBtHDtw64L

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) February 19, 2025

2023 fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher made his return to play following a significant knee injury that forced him to miss almost five months of action. He was expected to miss between five and six months, which means he returned ahead of schedule, but patience is still in order for the 20-year-old player.

As for the game itself, the Laval Rocket lost 5-4 to the Manitoba Moose despite outshooting them 34-22. Logan Mailloux provided two of Laval’s goals, though he was caught out of position on several occasions, leading to an unhealthy number of high-danger scoring chances for the Moose.

Logan Mailloux’s 10th goal of the season comes after he drove the play down low for the Rocket. Tie game. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/qj4HhtPvbb

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 20, 2025

Connor Hughes had a difficult night, and Reinbacher was on the ice for several Moose goals, but I wouldn’t go as far as criticizing him, because that would be unreasonable given how long he missed. The only thing that came to mind when I saw Reinbacher finally take part in a meaningful game is that it must have been a very difficult, and probably a very lonely recovery, even if he did take part in some activities with the Canadiens.

Nothing is more difficult for an athlete than not being able to play the sport they love.

With that in mind, Reinbacher’s agility was a little better than I expected, and his passing was crisp, which is a good first step. I’d suggest we should consider the final games of the AHL season as a long-term tune-up for the 20-year-old defencemen.

In other Rocket news, Sean Farrell recorded his 10th point in the last seven games, a significant uptick in production from the speedy winger. Farrell is currently playing on the top line with Lucas Condotta and Alex Barre-Boulet due to injuries. The game also featured a brief but spirited fight from Florian Xhekaj and Mark Liwiski.

Florian Xhekaj vs. Mark Liwiski pic.twitter.com/XYux4HNdv0

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 20, 2025

After putting up absolutely jaw-dropping numbers in the MHL, Russia’s equivalent to the CHL, Montreal Canadiens prospect Yevgeni Volohkin started his KHL career on a shaky note. That’s not exactly surprising given that he’s still just 19 years old, but you never want to see a prospect struggle, regardless of the situatio0n.

Fortunately, Volokhin’s numbers have stabilized recently. He saved 28 of the 31 shots he faced on Wednesday as Sochi defeated Dynamo 5-3.

National Hockey Now Network

There is no breaking news on Gabriel Landeskog, let’s start there. We have all been waiting for it, but head coach Jared Bednar had nothing new to report. He did touch upon some other things for a bit more clarity surrounding the captain. [Colorado Avalanche]

The longtime voice of hockey in Pittsburgh has gone silent. Mike Lange, the play-by-play man for the Pittsburgh Penguins for nearly five decades, died Wednesday at age 76. [Pittsburgh Penguins]

Patrick Kane was caught up in the excitement of Team USA’s trip to the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-off. [Florida Panthers]