Cam Connor was the first of five first-round draft picks for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1974 Amateur Draft, being selected ahead of Doug Risebrough, Rick Chartraw, Mario Tremblay, and Gord MacTavish. The strategy for the draft was simple that year: draft toughness in order to compete with the Philadelphia Flyers who were in the prime of their Broad Street Bullies years. In a moment of admiration, Flyers captain Bobby Clarke called Connor “a second John Ferguson,” having seen him play for the Junior Flin Flon Bombers.
Along with the five first-rounders, the Canadiens selected recently passed Gilles Lupien in the second round, Gordie Howe’s son Marty in the third, and Mike McKegney, the first Black player drafted and signed by the Canadiens, in the fourth round.