A verdict would now be known for several prospects of the organization?
There is no doubt that the Montreal Canadiens organization is filled with highly promising prospects who could potentially help the team in the long term. However, while many of them would like to secure a spot in Martin St. Louis's lineup at the start of the season, the situation is rather unfavorable at present.
Indeed, even if the Canadiens' training camp is fast approaching and some youngsters could surprise, the Canadiens currently have too many one-way contracts to accommodate prospects in its roster. According to Mathias Brunet, despite the team being in a rebuilding phase, it would not be surprising if no rookie takes part in the season opener against the Maple Leafs.
With 14 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 3 goalies already under contract, Martin St. Louis and Kent Hughes will face tough decisions to respect the 23-player limit. So, we might have to wait and possibly see some players get injured before prospects like Emil Heineman, Logan Mailloux, Sean Farrell, and Filip Mesar don the Canadiens' jersey.
Here are Mathias Brunet's predictions about which team the organization's young players will play for this season:
- Sean Farrell (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Filip Mesar (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- David Reinbacher (HC Kloten / Swiss-A)
- Logan Mailloux (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Emil Heineman (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Owen Beck (Peterborough Petes / OHL)
- Joshua Roy (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Riley Kidney (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Vinzenz Rohrer (Zurich SC / Swiss-A)
- Nathan Légaré (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Jan Mysak (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Xavier Simoneau (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Jayden Struble (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- William Trudeau (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Mattias Norlinder (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Cayden Primeau (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Jakub Dobes (Laval Rocket / AHL)
- Lane Hutson (Boston University Terriers / NCAA, not attending camp)
- Jacob Fowler (Boston College / NCAA, not attending camp)
- Luke Tuch (Boston University Terriers / NCAA, not attending camp)
- Ty Smilanic (University of Wisconsin / NCAA, not attending camp)
- Oliver Kapanen (Kalpa / SM-Liiga, not attending camp)
- Adam Engström (Rögle BK / SweHL, not attending camp)
After all, it might not be a bad idea for these players to have an additional season to continue their development before making the leap to the NHL. The Canadiens have often made the mistake of bringing a prospect into the NHL too quickly, thereby hampering his progression. Thankfully, this will not be the case this season!
One thing's for sure, we're eagerly looking forward to tracking their performances in 2023-2024!
| POLL | ||
Which prospect will play the most games in the NHL this season? | ||
| David Reinbacher | 34 | 14 % |
| Joshua Roy | 112 | 46.3 % |
| Logan Mailloux | 78 | 32.2 % |
| Filip Mesar | 18 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
