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2020 NHL Draft prospect profile: Topi Niemelä has top-four potential

During the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens stacked up on left-handed defencemen, using five of their 10 picks to solidify that side of the blue line. Add 2018 selectees Alexander Romanov and Jordan Harris to the mix, and all of a sudden there were seven lefties in the pipeline.

This was a natural solution to a roster issue. With Shea Weber and Jeff Petry playing on the right-hand side, the Habs were pretty much set there. On the left, things looked considerably bleaker. Montreal tried to solve the problem by throwing considerable assets on the left-hand side hoping that a few of them eventually would stick.