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More Montreal Canadiens Prospects That Could Be Turning Pro

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1 week ago

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Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens could see more than just a couple of prospects jump to the pros in the coming weeks.

The Canadiens have a handful of prospects that are on the cusp of jumping to the NHL or AHL in the immediate future; which will help inject some excitement for fans.

Some could be making the jump by the end of the month, while others could be last-minute additions in April; depending on how their seasons go.

Here’s who to watch for:

Emil Heineman

Emil Heineman, who already plays professional hockey in Sweden, is likely to make the trip across the pond in the coming weeks, after his club’s conclusion in the SHL playoffs.

Leksand is currently engaged in a play-in series against Rogle, which includes Canadiens prospects, Tony Sund and Adam Engstrom.

Already signed to a contract by the Canadiens last year, Heineman would simply need to be reassigned to the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the year, once Leksand’s season comes to a close.

Leksand is currently tied with Rogle in their series and will play their final game of the play-in today. Should Leksand lose this game, his season will end in a matter of hours.

Should they prevail, the SHL playoffs are expected to conclude in late April. However, Leksand is not favoured to go very deep this season.

Heineman is expected to play in North America full-time next season; and could be getting a head start in the coming weeks.

Sean Farrell

Sean Farrell is currently ripping up the NCAA as we speak, but his time in the college ranks is slowly coming to an end.

Having registered 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points in just 31 games this season, there isn’t much left for Farrell to learn in the NCAA.

The expectation is that he will sign his entry-level contract once his season concludes, either in late March or early April.

It wouldn’t be surprising in the least to see him sign his entry-level contract right out of the gate and join the Canadiens for their final few games of the season.

It would give the youngster just rewards for an exceptional development curve so far, while preparing him for the style of play that awaits him at the next level.

Jayden Struble

The clock is now officially ticking on Jayden Struble, as his NCAA season has indeed come to an end after a shocking overtime loss by the Northeastern Huskies to the Providence Friars on Saturday.

The 21-year-old defenceman is in the last year of his NCAA eligibility and could become a free agent in August if he chooses not to sign with the Canadiens.

However, given his relationship with general manager Kent Hughes and his ability to play both the left and right side on defence, it would be shocking to see him snub the Habs.

The 6’0, 205lbs defender may not have had the flashiest offensive numbers (one goal and 11 assists for 12 points in 31 games), but he did have some of the best underlying numbers in the NCAA on a defensive-minded Huskies team.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Struble follow the same path as former teammate Jordan Harris and join the Canadiens for their final few games of the season.

Filip Mesar

Filip Mesar has had an up-and-down season in the OHL this year, but has seemingly gotten hot as of late.

The smooth-skating forward has posted one goal and six assists in his last seven games; all while helping to thrust the Kitchener Rangers into a better playoff position.

The issue is that the Western Conference in the OHL is absolutely stacked at the top, with the London Knights, Windsor Spitfires and Sarnia Sting separating themselves from the pack.

It’s not expected that Kitchener would get farther than the first round at this point, meaning that Mesar could be free to join the Laval Rocket after the conclusion of his OHL season, should the Rangers suffer an early exit in the first week of April.

Mesar has already played a game for the Laval Rocket earlier this season, before being assigned to the OHL by Kent Hughes.

With all the injuries on the Rocket roster as of late, Mesar could jump into an important role right off the bat as the Canadiens’ farm team looks to replicate last spring’s performances in the AHL playoffs.

Jakub Dobes

This one is a little more of a mystery, as it is very tricky to determine when a goaltender is truly ready for the next step.

However, if you watch Jakub Dobes play, you’d tend to think that a move to the AHL was in order.

It could be argued that the Canadiens may have rushed Cayden Primeau out of the NCAA at 20-year-olds, and thus being patient with their goaltending prospects may be more attractive in light of Primeau’s development so far.

Dobes has had a stellar season for Ohio State University, despite playing on a weaker team this season; at least from a defensive standpoint.

Posting a 0.918 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average, the 21-year-old could be ready to take the next step in his development and sign with the Canadiens.

If the Canadiens would rather take the patient approach, Dobes does have another two years of NCAA eligibility before the end of his senior year.

That being said, the Habs likely want to streamline the development process of certain goaltending prospects, as they look for a long-term solution in nets.

NB: Other junior-based prospects like Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, Riley Kidney and more could also join the Laval Rocket at the end of their seasons. Their respective teams are expected to have deep playoff runs and might not be ready in time, depending on how far the Rocket’s playoff journey takes them.

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morrisk

This article kind of proves my point made in a previous article…that we will have way too many wingers to sort out come camp next Sept…unless a few are jettisoned by then. You got high-end prospects Farrell, Mesar, Beck, Roy, and then including Guri, Slaf, RHP, Belz, and Ylonen already playing with the Habs now. Then add in at least one high end winger from the draft to camp. That’s 10 wingers. And there’s then others under contract (CC, Anderson, Gally, Hoff, Armia, Rem, Pezz). 17 Total! So only 9 or 10 will make it to start. So who is out? Obviously, a few will be sent to Laval, but that can’t be 7 or 8. Some will be too good to send back. Trades need to be made, involving two or three of the current players…most notably Anderson, Armia, and maybe Hoff (although keeping him is not bad because he could be traded at any point due to pending UFA status). Otherwise, this becomes a big mess fast…

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Viper180

I don’t see it as a problem I see it as an opportunity yes we have to get rid of some players to enable the young guns to play but I don’t think we should get rid of Anderson I also think it’s time to say goodbye to gally I know he’s a warrior but his time has come and he’s getting hurt every year now I think we keep Matheson let Savard Edmonson and the other vets go and play the young d let them grow together

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morrisk

Anderson is way more trade-able than Gally…would fetch a small haul. No team would take Gally at that cap hit and his injury history.

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John Spearing

Beck is no winger… he’s one of the best face-off guys in the entire CHL and he plays a 200 foot game… he’s clearly our 3C of the future.
Belzile will be back in Laval where he was the captain, but he’s also a center.
You did miss Kidney on the winger list, he’s on fire since his trade.
But not everyone is making the jump next year – some of these kids will continue there development in the CHL.

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Curtis Ault

Nice to see Jakub Dobes get a mention. He has had 2 good seasons at Ohio State. I would expect he will stay there for at least another year.
You are correct in your assessment of the Ohio State squad, they are defensively woeful. Dobes is getting alot of work.

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John Spearing

Dobes actually cares about his education as well – I wouldn’t expect him to leave the NCAA before he graduates and I doubt he graduates from his International Business coarse after just 2 years.. I expect at least 1 more season in the NCAA maybe 2

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Tyrone

Definitely leave Dobes in the NCAA. Why expect a different result from the Primeau error? Learn from previous mistakes. It’s all fine and dandy having all these guys turn pro, but where are they all going to play? We are overrun with wingers and LD already in Montreal. Right now injuries will allow some to find a spot in the NHL or AHL, but what happens when people get healthy? Where are they all going to play? Remember Roy riding the press box in Laval last year? What’s the point of that? There’s going to have to be some major surgery (to borrow a term from Vancouver’s Rutherford) here and Laval to make room for all these bodies in the future.

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