The Montreal Canadiens went way off the board when they selected Alexander Romanov with the 38th pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was ranked 115th by Central Scouting and 83rd overall on Bob McKenzie’s draft rankings. When “The Bobfather” is off by that much, it is a huge surprise.
In the last year and a half, Romanov has made the Canadiens management team look like geniuses for taking a chance on him. The Russian defender had the hockey world take notice of him when he made the CSKA Moscow team in the KHL last season. Not many 18 year olds, especially defensemen can crack a KHL lineup and stay there all season.