The Montreal Canadiens passed on a few wingers with the third overall pick and decided to fill an organizational need. There is not question that the team was lacking at the center ice position for most of the past two decades. They attempted to fill that void by taking Jesperi Kotkaniemi instead of Filip Zadina or Brady Tkachuk who were ranked higher by most draft prognosticators.
It wasn’t that far of a reach. No one had Kotkaniemi falling to the second round, or even beyond the top ten of the draft. He was definitely the best center available in the draft and the Canadiens were happy to take him with the third overall pick.