Next acquisition for the Canadiens: it's happening for Kent Hughes

The Under-18 World Championship is currently underway, and Kent Hughes and his team are in Finland to scout some targeted prospects.

From the list, the one turning heads is undoubtedly Connor Bedard's cousin, Gavin McKenna. The young prodigy was granted exceptional player status at the age of 14 to play in the WHL, imagine that!

In his first season, he totaled 97 points in 64 games, all while playing against much older players. It's truly incredible, but he won't be eligible for the NHL draft until 2026.

So you'll understand that besides appreciating his talent, the Canadiens shouldn't, hopefully, be at the bottom of the league in 2026. The chances of drafting him would be almost nil.


However, looking ahead to the next draft, there are other names causing a lot of buzz, including Tij Iginla. The son of Jarome, the former NHL star, has met several times with the Canadiens' management, and the chemistry seems very good between the two parties.

We know that Kent Hughes and his team assess a player's qualities both on and off the ice when making their selections, which says a lot about the young man.


With a guaranteed top 7 pick, I'm not sure if the Canadiens will select him, as he's more around the 10th spot, but you should never take the Canadiens for granted, especially with their first-round pick.

Two years ago, everyone thought Shane Wright was coming to Montreal, then last year, it was Matvei Michkov.