Canadiens likely to continue mining NHL Draft for size and physicality
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Windsor Spitfires centre Jack Nesbitt was sitting on a stool after his successful physical testing at the NHL Scouting Combine on Saturday morning, talking casually about why the Montreal Canadiens appeared, in his view, to like him as a prospect.
His response was very matter-of-fact, very self-aware, and somewhat revelatory of what the Canadiens are likely looking for in this draft, and not just from Nesbitt.
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'I think they like how big I am,' Nesbitt said. 'I use my size to play physical, I'll always fight if I have to, sticking up for teammates. I think they like the gritty part of my game, so we'll see if that transfers to the NHL.'
Nesbitt was a late riser this season, putting up 24 points in his final 23 regular-season games and 10 points in 12 playoff games. However, the context for all this is that he measured in at the combine at 6 feet 4 1/2 inches and 186 pounds. His skating's not ideal, but everything else is right in the Canadiens' wheelhouse for the reasons Nesbitt mentioned.
Several players are available at various points of this draft who fit that profile. The Canadiens dug in on that profile to some extent later in last year's draft when they took Logan Sawyer in the third round, Tyler Thorpe in the fifth round and Ben Merrill in the sixth round. They were ranked, respectively, 114th, 111th and 127th on NHL Central Scouting's final North American list, but they also measured in at 6-1, 173 pounds; 6-4, 209 pounds; and 6-3 1/4, 190 pounds. The three players had frames with room to fill out. This came after taking Florian Xhekaj in the fourth round the year before and watching him blossom in his draft-plus-one year in the OHL. And now that Xhekaj has again blossomed in his first year as a professional in Laval, it's only further validation that this is a strategy worth exploring.
Xhekaj was called a unicorn by Canadiens co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov in their 2023 draft meetings. And then Xhekaj went out and proved he was a bit of a unicorn.
However, it is not smart to simply look for size above all else in the draft. In 2013, the previous Canadiens administration took Michael McCarron, Jacob de la Rose and Connor Crisp in the first three rounds primarily because of their size. They also took one smaller player in the second round, Artturi Lehkonen, and he very quickly became the best of those four players.
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But Xhekaj was not taken solely because of his size. He stood out because of his hands, offensive instincts, combative nature, willingness to be physical and the feet that allowed him to be physical. Size with tools that translate to the NHL is the goal, and it wouldn't be a surprise if that's the Canadiens' goal this year.
Because there are other players like Nesbitt out there.
The thing with Nesbitt is that taking him with the No. 16 or 17 pick might be a bit of a reach, or it might not, depending on who you ask. The Canadiens pick again at No. 41 and No. 49, and that might be too late to grab some of the other guys who fit that goal, including William Moore or William Horcoff.
But we've heard the Canadiens have shown a fair amount of interest in one player who might be right in that second-round wheelhouse. Telling his story is more illustrative than predictive, because he fits a certain type — the Canadiens type.
His name is Matthew Gard.
We don't know if the Canadiens will draft him. But you shouldn't be surprised if the Canadiens draft someone like him.
Gard, a centre for the Red Deer Rebels, is 6-4 3/4 and 195 pounds. And, by his own admission, he's raw.
'I think I'm starting to get closer to what my peak performance is going to be,' Gard said. 'I think I'm probably still three to five years away from it. It's just a gradual climb, year after year.'
The Rebels made a few moves at the trade deadline that allowed Gard to take on a bigger role later in the season, and he wound up playing himself into a spot on Canada's U18 national team, which he never thought was possible.
'I always knew it was in me,' Gard said, 'but it was kind of wishful thinking at times.'
He comes from an athletic family; both his parents played for the national volleyball team, his two older brothers play university volleyball, and his younger brother was just drafted by the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes.
When Gard was 13 or 14, he estimates he grew seven inches in six months, from around 5-7 to 6-2, putting him on the radar for WHL clubs but also completely changing the way he plays hockey. He needed to adjust to going from somewhat average-sized to massive in less than a year, and it's a process that continues to this day.
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'It took me some time to grow into my body. Honestly, I still am, in a way,' Gard said. 'I'm just trying to build some speed with it and get more powerful and stronger in my big, skinny frame.'
That skinny frame has been at the top of Gard's mind for years. At the start of his WHL draft year, he was 6-1 and 140 pounds, so he's added nearly four inches and 55 pounds since.
'Honestly, (adding weight) has been the main part of my summer for the past couple of summers,' he said. 'I've been pretty consistent adding 10 pounds a summer the past couple of years. It's coming, it's going to be gradual, but I think I'm only halfway to where I'm going to be in a couple of years.
'It's going to be exciting to look forward to where I can be.'
Matthew Gard goes upstairs and gets Red Deer on the board @Rebelshockey | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Kb5cOAjdH5
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) March 23, 2025
This is essentially a blank hockey canvas with a very promising physical toolkit and an acute awareness of the work he has ahead of him and what he will be in the NHL.
'I think a middle-six guy,' he said. 'I think I'm pretty versatile in what I can do and where I can play in the lineup. I'll have a defensive role, probably, and bring a lot of physicality. Just chaos and mix that in with some skill.'
We have no idea if the Canadiens will draft Gard, of course, but at some point in the draft, they are very likely to take someone like him: someone with a big frame with room to grow physically and a skillset that gives them some hope he can contribute to a big, heavy team in Montreal one day.
The Canadiens watch the playoffs every year and see how physicality and heaviness help teams advance from round to round, and this year they saw for themselves how that helped the Washington Capitals advance past them.
They will always prioritize skill earlier in the draft. But later on, that physicality and heaviness will surely become an increasingly important factor in how they approach their picks.
(Photo of Matthew Gard: Larry MacDougal / Associated Press)
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