Ten years ago, the Montreal Canadiens had six players in their sights in the 2014 National Hockey League (NHL) draft.

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A decade later, the results of that auction are not particularly flattering for the organization. Here’s what happened to those who were once considered Sainte-Flanelle’s hopes:

Nikita Scherbak | 1st round | 26th overall

Trevor Timmins, CH’s chief recruiter at the time, already admitted that he really wanted to select forward David Pastrnak with this pick, but that the Boston Bruins pulled the rug out from under him by signing the Czech outsider in the 25th round of talks.

The Canadian therefore opted for the Russian striker “instead.” Scherbak played only 29 games and had only seven points in Montreal. He left the organization in December 2018 when the Los Angeles Kings claimed his name through waivers. Scherbak played eight games with that team and that was it for him in the NHL.

The winger then played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Slovakia, the Czech Republic and France… Scherback played in France last season, collecting 10 goals and 37 assists for 47 points in 41 games for the Dukes of Angers, in the Magnus League, 2023-2024.

Photo credit: Martin Chevalier / JdeM

Brett Lernout | 3rd round | 73rd overall

The CH did not have a second-round pick in 2014, having traded it to the New York Islanders to acquire forward Thomas Vanek, so the Montreal club waited until the third round to acquire a second player: Manitoba defenseman Brett Lernout.

The club wanted the guard so badly that they traded their 3rd round pick (87th overall) and 4th round pick (117th overall) to the Arizona Coyotes to move up. Additionally, a certain Braydon Point came out six rows after Lernout…

The 1.80 meter tall right-hander played 21 games in the Bettman circuit, all with the Canadian. His points total is limited to one assist. The Habs let him go in the summer of 2019 and he signed a two-way contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. In the 2023/24 season, Lernout played in the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League, a Senior A circuit.

Nikolas Koberstein | 5th round | 125th overall

The 1.85 meter tall right-handed defenseman has never played in the NHL or even the American Hockey League (AHL). His professional career in North America included nine games and one goal with the Kansas City Mavericks in the ECHL.

The Canadian never offered Koberstein a contract.

Photo credit: Martin Chevalier / JdeM

Daniel Audette | 5th round | 147th overall

Donald’s son was never able to break into the Habs lineup. Between 2016 and 2019, he played three full seasons with the farm club Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. After one season (2019-2020) with the Springfield Thunderbirds (LAH), he decided to go to Europe. Since then, he has played in Finland, the KHL, Sweden and Switzerland. Last year, Audette scored 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points in 51 games with HC Ajoie.

Hayden Hawkey | 6th round | 177th overall

Montreal got a goalie at the 2014 auction, but it was not a success. Hawkey, an American, never played for CH. However, the organization traded him to the Edmonton Oilers in 2019 for a fifth-round pick. That selection became Rhett Pitlick.

Hawkey played three seasons in the ECHL before making the jump to the Alps Hockey League, which includes teams from Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia, defending the Cortina team’s cage in 2023-2024.

Photo credit: AFP Photo

Jake Evans | 7th round | 207th overall

If Timmins and his team missed out on all the other hockey players mentioned above, we can say they hit a home run by selecting Evans in the seventh round. The center has been playing full-time for Sainte-Flanelle for several seasons. He has scored 92 points, including 27 goals, in 268 NHL games in his career. Evans has been used on the Habs’ last two lines and has developed into a specialist in defensive operations. Last year, he scored seven goals and provided 21 assists for 28 points in 82 games.

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