Canadiens Acquisition Alert: Kent Hughes acquires two defensemen

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Elias Edmonson
June 29, 2024 (5:50 PM)

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After Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage yesterday, Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens continued their momentum today.

As we reported to you earlier today, it all started with the selection of Aatos Koivu with the 70th overall pick and the selection of Logan Sawyer with the 78th overall pick.

Indeed, there's more. Montreal then added six other players, including two defensemen.

Numerous interesting acquisitions for Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Martin Lapointe, and Nick Bobrov today in Las Vegas

See the various announcements.

«With the 224th overall pick, the Canadiens select defenseman Rasmus Bergqvist from Skelleftea Jr.» - Montreal Canadiens

Bergqvist, 19, is a 5-foot-6, 128-pound defenseman, according to Hockey DB. He scored 22 points in 67 games over his last two seasons in Sweden.

«With the 210th overall pick, the Canadiens select forward Makar Khanin from Dynamo St. Petersburg Jr.» - Montreal Canadiens

Khanin, 19, is a 5-foot-11, 161-pound forward. He scored 27 points in 35 games this season in the VHL.

«With the 166th overall pick, the Canadiens select forward Ben Merrill from St. Sebastian's School.» - Montreal Canadiens

Merrill, 18, is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward who scored 0 points in two games this season with the Chicago Steel in the USHL (Michael Hage's team).

«With the 102nd overall pick, the Canadiens select defenseman Owen Protz from the Brantford Bulldogs.» - Montreal Canadiens

Protz, 18, is a 6-foot-1, 213-pound defenseman. He scored 12 points in 30 games this season in the OHL, but he was possibly known as the most physical player in his league. He intimidated his opponents.

«With the 130th overall pick, the Canadiens select forward Tyler Thorpe from the Vancouver Giants.» - Montreal Canadiens

Thorpe, 18, is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward. He scored 44 points in 51 games this season in the WHL, including 23 goals.

So there are your acquisitions of the day, your draft picks of the day, and your new Montreal Canadiens prospects.

They also drafted a goalie, who we will talk about (in detail) later. His name is Mikus Vecvanags.

Congratulations to Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, Nick Bobrov, and Martin Lapointe for the incredible work done over the past few weeks and months.

They can be very proud of the result, in our humble opinion.

We can now turn the page on this 2024 Las Vegas draft and, in just a few hours, move on to the opening of the NHL free agent market!

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What grade would you give the Montreal Canadiens' management for this 2024 draft?
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4/5	356	32.2 %
3/5	59	5.3 %
2/5 and less	15	1.4 %
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