"Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier belives you can never have too many defencemen.

That philosophy was reflected in this year's National Hockey League entry draft. After picking Saint John Sea Dogs defenceman Nathan Beaulieu in the first round Friday, the Canadiens selected four other defencemen on Day 2 Saturday.

"The second day is all about looking at players you can develop," Gauthier said. "The one common thread among the players we selected is that all have good hockey sense,"

The Canadiens didn't have a pick in the second round and Gauthier raised some eyebrows when he traded his third-round pick to Winnipeg for two fourth-round picks.

"We felt there were a lot of good players available and, while they wouldn't be the same player who was available in the third round, there were players we liked."

The Canadiens started their day by selecting defenceman Josiah Didier from Cedar Rapids in the United States Hockey League at No. 97 overall. The 6-foot-2, 199-pounder is headed to Denver University in the fall.

"We feel he a tremendous upside and he's going to a strong college program," Gauthier said.

Next up at No. 108 was Olivier Archambault, a left winger who scored 20 goals and had 33 assists with Val d'Or last season. The Repentigny native is a former No. 1 overall pick in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft. He's on the small side at 5-foot-10 but, Gauthier noted: "He has skills you can't take away from him."

Archambault said he'll spend the next two years in junior working on his strength and playing better defence. "I know that I have to be good defensively if I want to play in the NHL."

The Canadiens picked Swedish defenceman Magnus Nygren at No. 113. The 6-foot-1, 191-pounder had four goals and 11 assists in 22 games with Farjestad."