There’s been an ongoing debate as to whether the Montreal Canadiens should take Filip Zadina or Jesperi Kotkaniemi, but perhaps there’s a way to get both.

One of the most famous, and at times, most overused lines involves treats. ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it too.’ Many use this to express situations where you can’t have more than is already given to you. The Montreal Canadiens will be facing this kind of thing at the NHL Draft next month when it comes to their third-overall pick.

The debate at first was between taking Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk. The former is a dynamic winger that has had some great performances this season with the Halifax Mooseheads and the World Junior Championships playing for Team Czech Republic. Tkachuk, on the other hand, has the build and hockey IQ to be an effective power forward or maybe a centre in the NHL. His decision to return to college next season could bring out even more than what many have already seen.

Then it turned into the ever-popular choice between the winger and the centre. This is where Jesperi Kotkaniemi comes in. In most years, teams generally follow the board selecting in the order of ‘mainstream’ draft rankings. It isn’t to say that NHL executives go on Google and search ‘2018 Draft Rankings‘, but there is an expectation of where certain players will fall.

Zadina is expected to go third-overall whereas Kotkaniemi is ranked at the ten spot. On the surface, that’s why many have linked the Czech-winger with our favourite Montreal hockey team. However, there’s been a push from others who believe the Habs may go off the board and take the Finish centre instead.

It happens more often than you think. In the 2016 Draft, the Columbus Blue Jacket decided to take Pierre Luc-Dubois with their third overall pick instead of Jesse Puljujarvi who was expected to go then. The same thing happened to Gabriel Vilardi last year who dropped to 11 after being projected as a fifth-overall player.