The Montreal Canadiens wisely ignored Ryan Poehling’s overall statistics in 2017 and made him a first round draft pick. The Lakeville, Minnesota native had played his first year of College hockey before the draft, and scored just seven goals and 13 points in 31 games for the St. Cloud State Huskies.
He had shown plenty of two-way promise before that season, and was the youngest player in the NCAA circuit that season. Though his offensive totals were not eye popping, his hockey sense and defensive ability showed the potential of a strong two-way forward. Also, it is worth keeping in mind that Poehling graduated high school a year early and played more than half his first college season as a 17 year old.