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HAF
07-31-2005, 02:34 AM
OTTAWA (CP) - The Montreal Canadiens' highest-ranked draft pick in two decades was enough of a shocker that even the player chosen never saw it coming.

With the No. 5 pick - their highest since 1984 - the Habs selected a goalie Saturday.

The fact that Montreal already has a Hart and Vezina Trophy winner explains the audible gasp in the room when the Habs announced their pick: Carey Price.

Price, a 17-year-old Vancouver native who dominated the Western Hockey League last year, hugged his parents and recovered quickly enough from his own surprise to stride to the stage.

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''I wasn't really expecting to go this high but I'll take it,'' Price said with a laugh. ''I'm numb right now. I don't feel any pressure.''





That aversion to pressure goes a long way to explaining why the Canadiens chose Price as a backup and potential successor to star goalie Jose Theodore.

Price's scouting report raves about his control of rebounds, catching glove and angle and puck coverage. The assessment also cites a wealth of mental attributes that would serve him well in the hockey-rabid, media-frenzied Montreal pressure-cooker.

He is ''very confident,'' has ''excellent focus and concentration,'' maintains ''a level demeanour,'' has ''good practice habits,'' and makes ''key saves in pressure situations.''

The six-foot-two, 225-pounder posted a 2.34 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in 63 games with the Tri-City Americans last season. He was also on Canada's under-18 national team.

Montreal traded away its next two picks for the New York Rangers' No. 45 overall choice and used it to grab Quebec power forward Guillaume Latendresse.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said he was thinking long-term with his top pick. Sources say he has also opened contract talks with Theodore.

''We don't need (a goalie) right now but we're talking about the future,'' Gainey said. ''We selected the player that had the highest ranking for us, the most quality.

''A goalie in today's NHL wins games and playoff series, and takes teams into the playoffs sometimes single-handedly.''

Price handled his first NHL pressure situation - draft day - with ease.

When asked repeatedly about the microscope he will live under, Price kicked back questions with a joke, a shrug, or a reference to the Montreal Canadiens' storied history.

''I'm very excited,'' he said with a smile. ''I'll have to brush up on my French a bit.

''You've got guys like Patrick Roy and Jose Theodore coming through the system. Now, hopefully, I can be the next one.''

Only two questions remain.

How soon will he make the big-league jump?

Is he destined to back up Theodore or replace him?

The NHL's top goalie and MVP in 2002 is a restricted free agent this summer and could be an unrestricted one as early as next year. The Habs must make a $4.56-million US qualifying offer to keep Theodore for 2005-06, and he could test the free-agent market next summer unless he signs a long-term deal.

Price deftly handled a question about how they might work together.

''If Jose does sign, I'm looking forward to working with him,'' he said. ''If he doesn't, it gives me an opportunity to step in.

''Either way, I'm looking at it as an opportunity.''

It will also be an opportunity to play in Quebec, home to the two goalies he cites as his heroes. He says he modelled his hybrid butterfly-standup style on Roy and Martin Brodeur.

Price can look to his own family for other hockey heroes. His father Jerry, also a goalie, was drafted by Philadelphia 126th overall in 1978 but never made it to the NHL. His cousin, Shane Doan, scored 27 goals in the last NHL season with the Phoenix Coyotes, and he has another cousin in minor-league hockey.

Price cracked a few jokes when asked whether Montreal would have been his first choice.

He said the Habs were his favourite team growing up - for about two years in elementary school.

''I always got booed for that,'' he said.

He switched allegiances when the Vancouver Canucks made the Stanley Cup final in 1994, he said.

So were the Habs his first choice?

''Well, yeah,'' he said. Then he chuckled and paused. ''Now (they are).''

Meanwhile Saturday, the Habs made a last-minute deal to get Latendresse.

The six-foot-one, 216-pound right winger earned 78 points in 65 games with the QMJHL's Drumondville Voltigeurs after recovering from a serious shoulder injury that required surgery last summer.

Gainey and Latendresse claimed surprise he'd gone so late in the draft. But Latendresse recovered quickly from the disappointment. The Quebec native said his heart began pounding when he realized the Habs might have been trading up to get him.

Montreal selected Slovakian forward Juraj Mikus with its fourth-round pick. A fast skater and playmaker, he tallied 35 points in 30 games with his national junior team.

In the fifth round, they chose Quebec centre Mathieu Aubin, who had 45 points in 49 games with the QMJHL's Lewiston Maineiacs.

Montreal took right-winger Matt D'Agostini of the Guelph Storm in the sixth round. D'Agostini had 46 points in 59 games last year.

The Canadiens then finished up by selecting Siarhei Kastsitsyn, a winger from Belarus, and Quebec City native Philippe Paquet, who played defence at Salisbury High School, in the seventh round