Lapointe and Bobrov: Culture an important factor at this year's Draft

MONTREAL - Canadiens director of player personnel and amateur scouting Martin Lapointe and co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov addressed the media in Nashville on Thursday following the conclusion of the 2023 NHL Draft.

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Here are a few highlights from their press conference:

Please note that questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Nick Bobrov on the thought process behind selecting David Reinbacher:

It's no mystery to anyone how difficult it is to acquire certain assets [and] what it takes to acquire them. We all watch the playoffs, and I think for two months of the year, we're reminded of what works and what wins. Then, maybe we tend to forget for 10 months and then we're reminded again. So, we felt that David, given what he's done this year - and last year in fact - his growth and his potential are very intriguing and extremely difficult to obtain. In every Draft, we see teams trying to trade up and get that guy. We were fortunate that he was there for us and we have very high hopes for him.

Bobrov on why they prioritized the elements that Reinbacher offers versus the other players:

I think, in this case, there were not only attributes that we loved in the player, but the knowns that we have in the player versus many of the unknowns that may exist with others. Again, he's a very, very difficult asset to obtain. We felt that it was the right place and the right player. We're building a culture; we want certain things that permeate that culture as we keep building this. We felt that this player embodies the type of culture that Jeff, Kent, Marty and the coaching staff are trying to build, and that was not a trivial matter to us. So, culture was an important word.

Martin Lapointe on drafting Florian Xhekaj:

We know the family. We know Arber [Xhekaj]. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He's a guy who brings a lot of competitiveness in his game. He's a guy that's going to improve year after year. We believe in his talent, and he brings an added physical element to our team.

Lapointe on why they decided to select three goalies:

Goalies take more time to develop. We told ourselves, when the goalies start being called off the board, they're going to go fast. So, we drafted Quentin [Miller], then another and ended up with three. Goalies take some time, so you can never have too many. We thought these goalies fit well to play for the Canadiens.

Bobrov on how he felt he and his team did at the 2023 NHL Draft:

We tried to diversify where we went with each pick. Some players that bring a certain style, a certain brand are hard to get to. So, we felt we accomplished the goal of diversifying the type of player that we go after. One consistent theme was: are they adding to the culture that management and all of us are trying to build here. We feel we accomplished that part. Hopefully all of them play [but] we know the reality. On this day, we feel good and now the work begins.