In the off-season, Higgins was selected 14th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He became the first ECAC Hockey player to be selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft since Normand Lacombe in 1983 (the Buffalo Sabres selected him 10th overall). Returning to Yale for one more season, he improved to 41 points over 28 games, leading his team in scoring for the second consecutive year. Higgins earned ECAC Player of the Year (co-recipient with Cornell Big Red goaltender David LeNeveu) and First All-Star Team honors; he was also recognized regionally on the NCAA East All-American Team.