Habs Strengthen Blueline with Cleaves
Montreal Canadiens Select Defense-First Blueliner Cooper Cleaves 93rd Overall in NHL Draft
Key Points
Cleaves split the 2024-25 season across the BCHL and USHL before arriving at Dartmouth, giving him cross-league development experience with Vernon Vipers and the Green Bay Gamblers.
The Canadiens entered the 2026 NHL Entry Draft with eight draft picks, indicating a broad asset base and long-term depth-building strategy.
Cleaves is described as a straightforward, defense-first blueliner who relies on a controlled, simplified style rather than flashy offensive tools.
Dartmouth stats for Cleaves in the 2024-25 season are reported differently across outlets: four goals and six assists in 30 games in one source, while another report lists four goals and 10 points in 30 games.
Cleaves wore number 93 during his time with the Green Bay Gamblers, a notable detail from his junior-era coverage.
The Montreal Canadiens selected Cooper Cleaves 93rd overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on June 27, adding a 6'3
GM Kent Hughes called Cleaves a 'high-floor player who understands the defensive zone,' according to awinninghabit.com. The 20-year-old right-shot defenseman from Dartmouth College brings physical maturity and a defense-first game to a Canadiens blueline that is being rebuilt with size and playoff toughness in mind.
Cleaves Brings Size and Shutdown Skills to Montreal
Cleaves stands 6'3
Director of Amateur Scouting Martin Lapointe championed the pick, telling Sportsnet that Cleaves' 'simplified game' balances the team's more offensively minded defensive prospects. The Hockey News described him bluntly: 'He's the guy you want on the ice in the final two minutes of a one-goal game. His gap control is NHL-caliber today.'
A Cross-League Path Through BCHL, USHL, and NCAA
Cleaves did not take a straight road to the draft. He played in the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers and then the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers before landing at Dartmouth College, according to awinninghabit.com. That cross-league experience gave him a broad defensive foundation before he stepped into the NCAA.
At Dartmouth in 2024-25, Cleaves posted 4 goals in 30 games. Assist totals differ by source — awinninghabit.com reports 6 assists, while other outlets list 10 total points. He also piled up 34 penalty minutes, a sign of his physical edge. As a 'draft-plus-two' player — meaning he went two full draft cycles before being selected — Cleaves is physically ahead of most players his age.
Montreal's Day 2 Strategy Built Around Playoff Muscle
Montreal entered the 2026 draft with eight picks and used them aggressively, according to sports.yahoo.com. Before selecting Cleaves, the Canadiens traded a future fourth-round pick to move into position at 93rd overall. They also selected Timofei Runtso and Gleb Pugachyov later on Day 2, continuing a clear pattern of targeting big-bodied players.
The strategy is direct: counter physical Atlantic Division heavyweights like Florida and Ottawa. sportsnaut.com reported that Montreal closed the draft with Jean-Samuel Daigneault and Tyler Deakos, capping a Day 2 haul that leaned heavily toward size and defensive reliability.
Canadiens Were Watching Cleaves Before Draft Day
The Canadiens are not taking a chance on an unknown. Cleaves attended a Montreal development camp before the draft, giving the front office direct looks at his game, according to awinninghabit.com. That familiarity gave Hughes confidence to use a third-round pick on a player analysts call 'low-ceiling, high-floor.'
Critics at The Athletic argue the pick is 'poor asset management,' saying players with more offensive upside were still available. But Montreal's front office disagrees. Because Cleaves is already 20, the Canadiens could sign him to an entry-level contract sooner than a typical draftee, potentially putting him in a Laval Rocket (AHL) uniform as early as Spring 2027.
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