The bet Romanov

While many NHL recruiters have made the leap to the announcement of the selection of the Russian, Timmins is convinced that he has hit the nail. Upon leaving the floor of the American Airlines Center, the CH's draft guru praised the 5'11 "and 185-lb. Defenseman at length.

"We were all excited at the table when we drafted him," said Timmins. We invited him to our camp in Stockholm, Sweden. It makes me think a little Alexey Emelin, but an Emelin with a ton of energy. "

Can not wait

Under cover of anonymity, a recruiter from a team from the Western Association told the Journal that Romanov's name was not on his team's list. Another recruiter from the East spoke of him as a potential third round pick, but not before.

Before the start of the second round, the CH had four choices in the second round. After selecting Finland's Jesse Ylonen with the 35th pick, Timmins bet on Romanov three rows later. By his own admission, the Habs could not wait any longer to claim it.

"I think it would have been impossible to claim it later in the second round," he said. I do not care about the list of the NHL Central Recruitment. They are like the 32nd team. There are 31 different lists for the repechage. We are paid to do this work and we spend a lot of money preparing the draft. Romanov had not received an invitation for the "combine" in Buffalo. But it was the same with Jonatan Berggren, the second choice of the second round (Red Wings). "

"Romanov plays like a pro, he moves the puck quickly and he makes quick readings," he chained. We did not want to miss it. We were looking for a left-handed defender. I think you'll understand quite quickly why we did not want to escape. "

Two more years in Moscow

With the CSKA Junior Moscow, Romanov had 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 37 games. He will not make the short-term jump to North America since he is still two years old on his contract with CSKA. He will play in the KHL this season.

Present in Dallas, Romanov met the journalists with his agent, Dan Milstein, who acted as interpreter.

"I was expecting to go out in the second round, but not in the first half, more towards the end," said Romanov. I had good discussions with the CH in Stockholm. I knew there was interest in me. "

Milstein, an agent who could sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, was making fun of the famous recruiting center list.

"We are not responsible for this list," he replied. But if he had played in North America last season, he would have been among the top ten hopes! "

The grandson of a coach

Romanov comes from a hockey family. His grandfather is Andrei Markov's coach with Kazan AK Bars, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. He won the Gagarin Cup this season in the KHL. In 2014, he was also the head coach during Russia's disappointing performance at the Sochi Olympics.

"I learned a lot from my grandfather, but also from my father, who is also a coach," said Romanov, who describes himself as a defender in the mold of Dmitry Orlov of the Washington Capitals.

Including Romanov, the CH has drafted only five Russians since 2008. Mikhail Sergachev, a first-round pick in 2016, is now a key defenseman with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nikita Scherbak, a first-round pick in 2014, will be fighting for a job in Montreal this season. The other two, Maxim Trunev (5th round in 2008) and Alexander Avstin (4th round in 2009) have never played with the Canadian and they roll their hump in the KHL.