Unexpected turn of events involving one prospect of the Montreal Canadiens
Upon his arrival as the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Kent Hughes did not hesitate to trade a few veterans to accumulate draft picks, thus initiating a rebuilding process within the organization.
Moreover, one of his first transactions was the one involving defender Ben Chariot and the Florida Panthers. In return, the Tricolore acquired the 31st overall selection in the last draft (a choice that was used to acquire Alex Newhook), the prospect Ty Smilanic, and a fourth-round pick that turned into Cedrick Guindon.
However, the Panthers' third-round pick in 2020, Ty Smilanic, made a rather unexpected decision today. Indeed, the 21-year-old forward decided to leave the University of Wisconsin in hopes of securing a professional contract with the Canadiens.
This is rather surprising given that the 2023-2024 season was shaping up to be extremely important for the Denver native, who wanted to bounce back after a meagre harvest of only two points in 14 games in the NCAA last season.
Although his progression has somewhat stagnated over the last few years, there is no doubt that Ty Smilanic possesses very interesting offensive abilities, having scored 14 goals and recorded 7 assists (21 points) in 29 games in his first season in the collegiate ranks.
One thing is certain, he will need to have an excellent rookie camp if he hopes to secure a contract with the Montreal organization. Will he be able to convince Kent Hughes to offer him a one-season deal with the Laval Rocket or the Trois-Rivières Lions? This will be a matter to watch closely in the coming weeks.
| POLL | ||
Do you believe that Ty Smilanic will be able to convince the Canadiens' organization to offer him a professional contract? | ||
| Yes | 18 | 52.9 % |
| No | 16 | 47.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
