Here are the two prospects the Habs are targeting for the 2023 draft

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MarcO
March 13, 2023 (4:01 PM)

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There are now only 16 games left in the 2022-2023 Montreal Canadiens season.

For the team's management, the next few weeks will be crucial in determining the draft strategy for next June's session.

At the time of writing, if the picture were to remain as it is, the Habs would have the fifth pick in the draft, plus a second at No. 15 from the Florida Panthers' pick.

Obviously, the Tricolore should have between 7.5% and 9.5% probability of winning the Connor Bedard lottery.

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However, a team does not set its strategy based on the lottery, but rather on the most probable scenario, and therefore in this case, to draft at the 5th rank.

Recently, journalist Brian Wilde was on TSN 690 and he made an interesting revelation about two players that the Montreal organization would target for the 2023 draft.

The latter mentioned to the team's fans to follow closely the following two prospects: Will Smith and David Reinbacher.

"Those are two players I think they're targeting." - Brian Wilde

It's safe to say that these are two picks that would make a tremendous amount of sense for the Habs, as these two young players would immediately fill an organizational need.

On the one hand, Smith is a 6-foot plus, 175 pound center who plays a very offensive style. What is particularly interesting in his case is that Hughes coached him for a few years when he was playing minor hockey in Boston. The Habs' GM knows his subject very well, having worked closely with him.

According to most experts, the American forward should be taken between the 5th and 7th rank of the draft. To give you an idea of his offensive performance this season, his production is similar to that of Jack Hughes in his draft year and he has already accumulated 20 points more than Logan Cooley last year, with even four games less to play.

Reinbacher, on the other hand, is considered possibly the best defenseman in the draft. Experts are increasingly seeing him as a possible top pairing defensemen .

Despite being 18 years old, he is one of the best defenders in the Swiss league, which is one of the best leagues in the world, and he stands out thanks to his mobility and active play.

In his case, it would be more a question of whether he will still be available at the second pick of the Habs, as his star is shining brighter and brighter in the eyes of scouts. He could possibly become a Moritz Seider type in the draft, that is to say a defenseman who was seen coming out in the middle of the first round, but who made a surprising foray into the top-10.

Of course, the picture of a draft could influence the decisions of the Habs, for example, if a Matvei Michkov were to fall during the draft. However, don't be surprised if the club gets Smith and Reinbacher on June 28th.

Credit: InTheSliders & TSN

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13 MARS \| 66 ANSWERS Here are the two prospects the Habs are targeting for the 2023 draft If the Montreal Canadiens were to draft Will Smith with their first round pick, would you be happy?
Yes	37	56.1 %
No	29	43.9 %
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