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Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings: Farrell’s Impressive Scoring

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1 year ago

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Montreal Canadiens prospect Sean FArrell Habs News

As has been the case for the last month, the Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings were rather difficult to put together this week. We extended the rankings to the top 15 this time around, as to allow some of the underlooked prospects a little time in the limelight.

Players like Anthony Richard, for example.

Yes, he’s 25 years old, but he’s also leading the AHL in scoring, with 15 goals.

Or Logan Mailloux, who had a slight downtick in production towards the end of November, but kicked it up a notch with four points in his last two games, including a great end-to-end effort that led to a highlight reel goal which you can find near the bottom of the article.

Let’s get right into it!

Reminder: 

The Canadiens prospect power rankings are based on the overall season, as well as the most recent week of action.

Factors such as the strength of a prospect’s team, the league in which they play, their age, and expectations related to their draft position will also be considered.

Seeing as Juraj Slafkovsky has earned a job in the NHL thanks to some solid play, he will not be considered for the power rankings at this time.

Prospects playing in professional leagues based in Europe, will, however, be included.

Week 1: Lane Hutson Takes Top Spot

Week 2: Owen Beck Jumps To First

Week 3: Lots Of Movement In The Top 10

Week 4: Lane Hutson Back In First Place

Week 5: Prospects Heating Up Ahead Of WJC

Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings Week 6

 

1. Lane Hutson, 62nd overall (2022), Defenceman, Boston University (NCAA)

Points This Week: 2 GP, 0 G, 3 A. Season Totals: 14 GP, 6 G, 11 A, 17 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 1st (Unchanged)

Due to yet another fantastic week which saw him earn three assists in the Terriers’ 6-3 win over New Hampshire, Lane Hutson maintains his reign as the king of Montreal Canadiens prospects.

His fantastic three-point effort was his seventh multi-point game this season, which covers half his games in the NCAA.

If you’d like to read about how Hutson is well on his way to shattering scoring paces set by elite 18-year-old defencemen in the NCAA that came before him, or how he’s leading all collegiate defencemen in scoring, you can click here, but suffice to say, the 2022 second-round pick has hit the ground running and there seems to be no end in sight to his offensive ways.

Hutson was held off the scoresheet for just the fifth time this year in Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Wildcats, but he still managed to take five shots on net, a career-high in his short tenure in the NCAA.

The shot rate is especially encouraging because it has become a trend of late. Hutson has generated 14 shots on the net in his last three games, which indicates that his historic scoring pace has the potential to improve.

There are a lot of exciting prospects in the Canadiens’ prospect pool, but at the moment, Hutson stands alone.

2. Sean Farrell, 124th overall (2020), C/LW, Harvard University (NCAA) 

Points This Week: 2 GP, 3 G, 2 A  Season Totals: 11 GP, 7 G, 11 A, 18 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 3rd (+1)

Sean Farrell has found a different gear this season.

He’s scoring shorthanded, powerplay, over time, as well as even-strength goals, and thanks to back-to-back multipoint efforts against Cornell and Colgate, he finds himself among the most productive players in the NCAA.

His five points this week didn’t just push him past Owen Beck for the second overall spot on our Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings, it also propelled him to second overall in the NCAA in terms of points per game, with 1.64.

After a very strong start to the season, Harvard has lost two of their last three games, but the downtick in results for the team has not hindered Farrell’s impressive scoring rate.

3. Owen Beck, 32nd overall (2022) Centre, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)

Last Week: 3 GP, 0 G, 1 A.  Season Totals: 23 GP, 15G, 15 A, 30 PTS

Previous Ranking: 2nd (-1)

It was a difficult week for Owen Beck, and that’s the first time anyone has written those words since the versatile centre was drafted by the Canadiens this summer.

Having earned just one point in three games, Beck falls to third in our Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings, but he probably won’t lose any sleep given he was named to Team Canada’s World Junior Championship selection camp earlier this week.

You’d be hard-pressed to come up with a legitimate argument as to why Beck should be left off the roster.

 

4. Joshua Roy, 150th overall (2021), Right Wing, Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMHJL)

Points This Week: 3 GP, 3 G, 4 A.  Season Totals: 25 GP, 18 G, 24 A, 42 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 5th (+1)

When it comes to rating this particular Canadiens prospect, I’ve been rather harsh since we rolled out the power rankings.

Perhaps it’s because I expect so much from him following a breakout season that saw him lead the QMJHL in scoring.

But with an impressive seven-point week in the books, it’s hard to deny Roy’s offensive prowess.

Roy jumps to fourth this week, the third week in a row he’s climbed the list.

He was also named to Team Canada’s WJC selection camp, but his nomination to the selection camp was nothing more than a formality. Roy will be on Team Canada and he should play a crucial role in the bid to defend their gold medal.

 

5. Cedrick Guindon, 127th overall (2022), Centre, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

Points This Week: 3 GP, 2 G, 1 A. Season Totals: 26 GP, 11 G, 24 A, 35 PTS.

Previous Ranking:  7th (+2)

All Cedrick Guindon does is produce, and make his way up our rankings.

You could argue he deserved to be invited to Team Canada’s selection camp, but seeing as he’s one of the most productive players in the OHL, Guindon probably isn’t overly worried about the snub.

 

6. Riley Kidney, 63rd overall (2021), Centre, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)

Points This Week: 3 GP, 0 G, 2 A. Season Totals: 27 GP, 13 G, 28 A, 41 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 4th (-2)

Earning two points wasn’t enough to keep Riley Kidney in the top 5, and that’s simply a testament to the strength of his competition in the Canadiens prospect pool.

Kidney will join Roy and Beck at Team Canada’s selection camp for the WJC and should be considered a favourite to make the roster.

 

7. Adam Engstrom, 92nd overall (2022), Defenceman. Rogle BK Angelholm (SHL)

Points This Week: 2 GP, 0 G, 0 A. Season Totals: 21 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS. (Rogle BK U-20: 7 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 PTS)

Previous Rank: 8th (+1)

He’s playing on the top pairing of a professional hockey league at just 18 years old, and he’s doing a great job holding the fort given his lack of experience.

The smooth-skating Engstrom should be a lock for Sweden’s roster at the upcoming WJC which will take place in Halifax and Moncton.

 

8. Filip Mesar, 26th overall (2022), Right Wing, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

Points This Week: 1 GP, 2 G, 0 A. Season Totals: 15 GP, 8G, 10 A, 18 PTS.

Previous Ranking: 9th (+1)

In previous weeks, I’ve complained about Mesar’s lack of production, particularly when it came to his relatively underwhelming goal-scoring rate.

The 26th overall pick at the 2022 Draft returned to the Rangers roster in style, following a wrist injury that had sidelined him for previous games.

Mesar’s first game led to two goals against the Guelph Storm, not to mention, he also put eight shots on the net, which is exactly what Canadiens fans were hoping to see from the talented forward.

9. Oliver Kapanen 64th overall (2021), Centre, Kalpa (Liiga),

Points This Week: 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A . Season Totals: 28 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS. (Finland U-20: 5 GP, 5 G, 2 A, 5 PTS)

Previous Ranking: 6th (-3)

Kapanen did not hit the scoresheet this week and is at risk of falling into the best of the rest category. But he’s still leading all Liiga U-20 players in scoring, and it’s worth keeping in mind his quality of competition is much higher than most other Canadiens prospects.

Like many of his prospect counterparts, Kapanen will be among those who Canadiens fans will be able to watch at the WJC.

Kapanen did suffer a fall on Dec.5, which puts his health status in doubt for the tournament for the time being.

 

10. Vinzenz Rohrer, 75th overall (2022), C/RW, Ottawa 67’s (OHL)

Points This Week: 2 GP, 1 G, 1 A. Season Totals: 23 GP, 9 G, 20 A, 29 PTS.

Previous Rank: 10th (unchanged)

There’s a legitimate argument to be made when it comes to the final spot in the top 10.

You could easily convince me Richard or Mailloux deserve the spot, but in the end, I’m giving it to Rohrer due to his age, his solid effort this week, as well as his consistent production throughout the season for the 67s.

As was the case with almost every other player in the top 10, Rohrer was also named to his country’s WJC preliminary roster.

Best Of The Rest

11. Anthony Richard

12. Logan Mailloux

13. Jared Davidson

14. Xavier Simoneau

15. Jakub Dobes

Do you agree or disagree with the Canadiens’ prospect rankings? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for next week’s list.

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