Montreal Canadiens liven up Defensive Line with 17th Pick, Nathan Beaulieu –NHL Entry Draft Update
It might be a concern Montreal Canadiens is having that its defensive line-up is aging and the need to rejuvenate its roster is essential and doable during the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. Montreal selected Nathan Beaulieu as the 17th
overall player with its first round pick on Friday.
"I said yesterday that this was the sort of draft where there are so many good players that we knew somebody would be available when we picked 17th", Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier said. "We didn't know if it would be this player, but we knew a good player
would be available".
Beaulieu, 18, is a North American skater from Strathroy, Ontario, Canada, and has been playing with Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
He is one of the 9 Sea Dogs on the scouting list, a team which won the Memorial Cup Finals this minor league season that recently concluded.
Playing with Sea Dogs, the 6’2 defenseman registered 45 points last season in 65 games played, including 12 goals and 33 assists.
P.K Subban is known as Montreal’s and one of the league’s exceptionally well performing defenseman and gives Beaulieu hope.
''He's maybe a guy whose footsteps I can follow'', said Beaulieu, who was ranked fifth among North American skaters by Central Scouting. ''I slipped a bit but I don't mind slipping if I end up in an organization like this. I'm pretty happy right now''.
Montreal Canadiens was one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference at the end of the previous regular season and made it into the playoffs against its American rivals, Boston Bruins.
Boston eliminated Canadiens in a close seven-game series, but it was mostly due to Montreal defensemen’s abilities that Canadiens was able to hold on.
In a move to refresh its back-line, Montreal Canadiens continued to add defensemen to the scene.
Montreak picked Josiah Didier at number 97, Val d'Or Foreurs at 108, Magnus Nygren at 113, Darren Dietz at 138 and finally Colin Sullivan at number 198.
Many teams were surprised at how many defensemen Canadiens drafted, but Montreal knows exactly how to play them in future, in the upcoming season.
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