The Montreal Canadiens entered the 2013 NHL Entry Draft in prime position to give the organization a major injection of young talent. With six picks in the first three rounds, there was a lot hype surrounding the team as it headed to New Jersey.

On the first pick, the team went slightly off the board to grab a player whose main skill was being big, and that particular gamble to select Michael McCarron hasn’t paid off.

The first two of three selections made in the second round haven’t yielded a top roster player, either, as Zachary Fucale toils away in the minor leagues and Jacob de la Rose straddles the boundary between top-line AHLer and NHL fourth-liner.

Their third pick of the second round — the fourth they made at the event — has panned out very well for the team. Artturi Lehkonen overcame some of the injury concerns teams initially had, and built upon a strong draft season in the Finnish league to become a key member of the team right from the start of his rookie NHL season in 2016-17.

He has scored 30 goals over his two seasons with the Canadiens, ranking fifth among the team forwards in that time. He was one of the top players on the team in the only playoff run he has seen since crossing the Atlantic, showing the abilities that allowed him to break a team scoring record, held by Daniel Alfredsson, in the 2016 post-season.

Looking at the 27 skaters selected in the second round, the young Finn is the best from among his peers in every statistical category, having more goals than his closest competitor has points.

Extending the sample out to all players selected after the first round, only Jake Guentzel, Anthony Duclair, and Lehkonen’s former Frölunda HC linemate, Mattias Janmark, have found the net more often than the Canadiens player. (Fellow Habs draftee Sven Andrighetto was also a hit for the scouting staff.)

2013 NHL Draft - Top 10 scorers from rounds 2-7 Overall Drafted By Player Pos GP G A Pts Overall Drafted By Player Pos GP G A Pts 77 PIT Jake Guentzel C 122 38 43 81 80 NYR Anthony Duclair L 213 37 52 89 79 DET Mattias Janmark C 154 34 29 63 55 MTL Artturi Lehkonen L 139 30 19 49 100 NJD Miles Wood L 137 27 22 49 104 WPG Andrew Copp C 224 25 34 59 86 MTL Sven Andrighetto R 152 24 42 66 75 NYR Pavel Buchnevich R 115 22 41 63 89 CBJ Oliver Bjorkstrand R 120 21 40 61 35 BUF J.T. Compher L 90 16 12 28

Three consecutive seasons of trading away all of their second-round picks limited the possibility of adding a key contributor after the first round, but the team opted for two offensively talented prospects in round 2 in 2017, and currently have four picks to make in the second round in 2018.

With a good selection of talent available, and two picks right at the start of the round, there’s a good chance the Canadiens can add another player who eventually climbs to the level that Lehkonen has reached.