Habs Daily: Canadiens Prospect Highlights, Hage’s Potential

Here are the Montreal Canadiens news items, highlights, and stories you may have missed Friday.

Montreal Canadiens News

The Montreal Canadiens made news when traded to move up five spots a few hours before the 2024 NHL draft, securing the 21st overall pick. After much debate about the goal of the trade, the Habs used the pick to select forward Michael Hage, a player Kent Hughes said was their target all along. Take a look at why the Habs brass believe they’ve added a key player to the team’s rebuild. [Canadiens Top Prospects: Michael Hage’s Road To The NHL]

The prospects at development camp took part in a scrimmage in Brossard on Friday morning. We don’t want to oversell any prospects based on a single scrimmage, as it doesn’t represent a true indication of how they’ll perform during a game, but it’s fair to say certain players stood out, including Michael Hage, Tyler Thorpe, Josh Nadeau, and Florian Xhekaj. Nadeau is a camp invite, though given that he scored 47 points in 35 NCAA games last year, he’s more than just a warm body. There’s a legitimate chance the Canadiens offer him a contract if he continues to impress. [Canadiens Prospect Highlights: Hage, Xhekaj, & Thorpe Standout]

Another nice play by Michael Hage. Gains the zone with control then rips a shot that hits the crossbar once he drives to the middle of the ice. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/7NpVkNiso3

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) July 5, 2024

The fifth overall pick at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Ivan Demidov, was not present at development camp. According to Demidov, he does not yet have a Canadian visa. But that won’t stop us from taking a look at some of his excellent highlight-reel plays.

Ivan Demidov is an absurd hockey player. Probably the best Russian prospect I’ve ever seen 👀#2024NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Y1Ay2iHH5E

— dylan (@GriffingDylan) July 3, 2023

National Hockey Now Network

• The New Jersey Devils wrapped up this year’s development camp with their annual 3-on-3 tournament to a packed crowd at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House. [New Jersey Devils]
• Detroit Red Wings restricted free agents Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren have until today at 5 p.m. to decide whether to opt for arbitration to determine their next contract. Often, opting for free agency brings the two sides together on a new contract. Only occasionally do players actually go through the arbitration process. [Detroit Red Wings]
• Taking place in the middle of July, development camp typically doesn’t draw much of a crowd for the Boston Bruins. But on Tuesday, one on-looker drew all the attention away from those skating on the ice. Standing on the bench at Warrior Ice Arena, Jeremy Swayman watched on as the Bruins prospects ran through various drills. The star goalie remains unsigned following the first day of NHL free agency on Monday. [Boston Bruins]