Even though it’s the offseason, the Montreal Canadiens’ social media team is still very active. On Monday, they released an interesting video in which GM Kent Hughes answered some fans’ questions ahead of the combine.
The man in charge was asked, amongst other things, which animal he would be if he were one, a question the Canadiens have been asking prospects for the last few combines. Hughes explained that Jeff Gorton had nicknamed him the squirrel because of his enthusiasm to get everything done quickly, much like a squirrel gathering all the acorns at once. He counterattacked by calling Gorton a polar bear, because of the way he hibernates first and then wants to do everything.
The next time they do the exercise, Hughes may be ask if he would snitch on Nick Suzuki to Martin St-Louis if he saw him at the casino at 3 AM the night before or what he would do if he were stuck on a desert island with another person and that they grabbed the only water bottle and he was left with a baseball bat. I’ve got to admit I’d be curious to hear his answers to those questions. Top QMJHL prospect Caleb Desnoyers answered the desert Island question by saying he’d hit a homerun…One has to wonder if that’s what they were after, but it’s certainly better than saying you’d knock the other person down to grab the bottle.
Asked how many prospects the Canadiens planned to interview at the combine, he replied that they expected to interview 65 to 70 players. As for what the fact the draft would be held remotely for the first time would change in proceedings, he mentioned that it won’t be possible to walk to their table to discuss when they are on the clock to pick, and that they’d probably need to have a few phone lines available to field offers.
As for his favourite moment as a GM so far, he replied that seeing a group that finished dead last and then fifth from the bottom twice qualify for the playoffs had to be it. Seeing the way his young group lost eight of the previous nine games before the 4 Nations Face-Off break and then came back to overcome incredibly tough odds was satisfying for the team’s architect. It will be interesting to see if his young team can find him a new favourite moment next season.
