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Montreal Canadiens Prospect Rankings – Entering The Top 10

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2 months ago

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montreal canadiens prospect michael hage credit to Club de Hockey Canadien

Welcome back to another edition of the 2024 Montreal Canadiens summer prospect rankings. We have already profiled 30 players, which means we’re now entering the top 10. With all due respect to the players listed between No.40 and No.11, the players in the top 10 represent the team’s best hopes for the future, with some of the prospects having already made their NHL debut. Today we’ll examine players ranked No.10 to No.6, including a bevy of talented defencemen, and two of the team’s best forwards in the prospect pool.

Unlike our Canadiens prospect power rankings, which are published during the season, this list is based on overall value, including perceived potential. To qualify for the list as a Canadiens prospect, players must be 23 years old or younger, and have fewer than 100 NHL games under their belt.

Previously Published 2024 Montreal Canadiens Summer Prospect Rankings

Players Who Missed The Cut And Prospects Ranked No.40 to No.31

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.30 to No.26

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.25 to No.21

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.20 to No.16

Top Montreal Canadiens Prospects: Ranked No.15 to No.11

10. Justin Barron, 22, Defenceman, Montreal Canadiens (NHL)/Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’2″, 201 lb. Picked 25th overall in 2020.

Kent Hughes quickly identified a key weakness in the Canadiens prospect pool from the very moment he was hired. It’s not that the Habs had no right-handed defencemen, but there were very few prospects in the system that had legitimate NHL potential. He attempted to rectify the issue by trading stalwart forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Justin Barron and a second-round pick.

We all know how the rest of the story went for Lehkonen. He scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal for the Avalanche, securing a summer trip to Finland with Lord Stanley’s Grail. Barron, on the other hand, has bounced between the NHL and the AHL, and has yet to establish himself as a long-term option on the blue line.

It’s not that Barron failed to produce in the NHL. He finished the 2023-24 season with seven goals, a rather impressive output when you consider he only played 48 games. If we prorate his goal-scoring to an 82-game schedule, Barron would have finished with 12 goals, one more than the team’s leading scorer on the blue line, Michael Matheson. But even if we don’t bother to project his scoring over a full season, Barron finished second in goal-scoring among defencemen.

The main holdup when it comes to earning a permanent job in the NHL is Barron’s decision-making. He provides solid outlet passes, and is more than capable of joining the rush when the opportunity arises, but he’s also prone to ugly turnovers in his own zone. That’s fairly normal for a young defenceman, but in Barron’s case the giveaways often led to scoring chances or goals against, giving the perception that every time he coughs up the puck, it ends up in or near the net. This is one of the reasons he ended up in the AHL in the last two seasons, but to his credit, he always returned from his time playing for the Laval Rocket with a renewed sense of confidence.

MUST READ: Montreal Canadiens Defensive Analysis – Depth Chart

Now that the Habs have traded right-handed defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils, Barron is almost guaranteed a roster spot in October, even if there is a small possibility David Reinbacher or Logan Mailloux could usurp his position. Remember, Barron is no longer exempt from hitting the waiver wire. In addition, other than David Savard, Barron is the right-handed defenceman in the lineup with the most NHL experience under his belt (94 games), and he provides the type of offensive support from the blue-line that head coach Martin St-Louis adores.

It won’t be a baptism by fire per se, but as it stands, Barron is looking at the possibility of playing top-four minutes all season long. The increase in ice time should go a long way in establishing whether he has what it takes to play a full NHL season while minimizing the terrible optics that come with giving away the puck near his own net.

9. Arber Xhekaj, 23, Defenceman, Montreal Canadiens (NHL)/Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’4″, 238 lb. Signed in 2021.

Barron’s AHL assignment was understandable, but you can’t say the same about when the Habs demoted Arber Xhekaj. The narrative at the time was that Xhekaj needed to work on his defensive play, but that argument holds no water when evaluating his statistics. Yes, Xhekaj is used on the third pairing, and yes, the assignment means he doesn’t necessarily play against the highest possible quality of competition. But it’s also true that Xhekaj outplayed everyone else that was given that role, by a significant margin.

Statistically speaking, it was his defensive acumen was the driving force behind his great underlying numbers relative to his teammates. When Xhekaj was on the ice for the Habs, opposing players had a very hard time generating scoring chances. He also scored three goals and seven assists in 44 games, a very respectable number from a third-pairing defenceman.

We all know about his big hits, his impact on the rest of the team’s confidence level, and his ability to retire players who make the foolish decision of challenging him to a fight, which means I can spare our readers another twelve paragraphs explaining why Xhekaj is indeed underrated. On that note, he’s far from perfect, especially when it comes to his discipline. Xhekaj has already established a reputation as one of the toughest players in the league, which means referees rarely give him the benefit of the doubt from referees, but that alone does not account for all 23 of the minor penalties he took last year. The good news is that his discipline improved once he was rightfully promoted back to the NHL last year, perhaps the only true benefit of spending time in the AHL.

Xhekaj will once again have to fight for his roster spot, but if he keeps the minor penalties to a minimum it will be very difficult to keep him out of the lineup, seeing as no one else comes remotely close to matching what he brings to the table for the Habs. He will also have to stay healthy, though I expect his overall number of fights to drop now that he has very little to prove around the league.

8. Logan Mailloux, 21, Defenceman, Laval Rocket (AHL), 6’3″, 212 lb. Picked 31st overall in 2021.

We probably didn’t spend enough time discussing Logan Mailloux’s seamless transition in production from the OHL to the AHL last season. With 13 goals and 33 assists in 72 games, Mailloux outscored all other defencemen on the team and finished third in overall scoring, trailing forwards Brandon Gignac and Philippe Maillet. Consequently, he represented the Rocket at the AHL’s All-Star Game.

Admittedly, I was hesitant to suggest he would be able to score as often as he did for the London Knights, though it wasn’t necessarily due to a lack of talent. Mailloux’s greatest strength is his shot production. He takes more shots than most, and that includes 90 percent of the forwards around the league. But to maintain such an elevated shooting pace you must be given a heavy dose of minutes, including a lot of time on the powerplay. Most players take a little while to work their way up to that level, but Mailloux convinced the coaching staff he was worthy of the prime-time minutes almost immediately, a rare feat for a rookie.

He still has to work on his defensive positioning, especially when defending the rush. He can sometimes try to do a little too much, putting his defensive partner in a difficult situation if he commits a turnover. The good news is that defensive acumen can be taught, and Mailloux will certainly benefit from spending time with development coaches. But you can’t teach natural offensive instincts, and now that we know Mailloux can provide crucial production in a professional hockey setting, his road to the NHL has much fewer potholes than it did last year.

It’s also worth noting he had excellent underlying numbers in his lone game with the Canadiens last season, though the sample size is too small to draw any legitimate conclusions as to his NHL readiness.

7. Michael Hage, 18, Centre,  Chicago Steel (USHL), 6’1″, 190 lb. Picked 21st overall in 2024.

The bulk of the attention at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft was focused on top prospect Ivan Demidov, but the Canadiens’ second pick of the first round, Michael Hage, immediately became one of the team’s best forward prospects the moment the was drafted 21st overall. He’s fantastic on the rush, has great vision, and mixes his own high-end goal-scoring talent with a penchant for setting up his teammates for top-tier scoring chances. This well-rounded offensive game is evidenced by his scoreline last season, 33 goals and 42 assists in 54 games. His 75 points also led the powerhouse Chicago Steel in scoring, and was good enough to finish fourth in league scoring despite a slow start to the season.

Hage has committed to playing for the University of Michigan (NCAA) next season, which should give us a much better handle on his long-term potential. Scoring often in the USHL is one thing, but the NCAA represents a significant uptick in competition. Fortunately, Hage is a smart player who has shown he can adapt to most situations, and this will serve him well as he graduates from playing high-school hockey.

His puck-handling skills are elite, as evidenced by his affinity for winning one-on-one confrontations with a sweet dangle. He’s also excellent in transition. To make matters more interesting, Hage doesn’t slow down when he’s carrying the puck, a considerable boon for any forward. He also does a great job modifying his angle of attack with pre-shot movement.

There’s no rush when it comes to seeing him in the AHL or NHL. The Canadiens can afford to leave him in the NCAA for three, or even four years. This would give him ample time to work on his playmaking and defensive play while also improving his many, many strong points.

6. Owen Beck, 20, Centre,  Saginaw Spirit/Peterborough Petes (OHL), 6’0″, 190 lb. Picked 33rd overall in 2022.

Not only did Owen Beck remind everyone he can score plenty of goals when he’s not tasked with playing a shutdown role, you couldn’t have scripted a better end to his OHL career. Beck scored twice in the Memorial Cup final to clinch Saginaw’s first championship, while also capturing MVP honours at the tournament, a well-deserved accolade considering how hard Beck has worked since he joined the league in 2021-22.

The offensive touch was the last missing ingredient in what is otherwise an incredibly well-rounded prospect soup. Beck is excellent at taking faceoffs, can defend with the best of them, and has added a nasty streak to his game at the behest of the teams he met prior to his draft weekend. The latter was on full display in the Memorial Cup final when Beck sent Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan to the nether realm with a huge bodycheck.

As for his landing spot next year, based on talent alone I would say Beck is definitely in the running to earn a job with the Canadiens, especially now that Rafael Harvey-Pinard is expected to miss the start of the season. On the other hand, he is exempt from waivers, connoting that there’s a good chance he starts his professional hockey career in earnest with the Laval Rocket. Regardless, it’s difficult to project a future in which Beck does not end up playing for the Canadiens, providing the coach staff with a cerebral, versatile, and hard-working forward who needs very little instruction prior to hitting the ice.

Do you agree or disagree with the Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings posted above? Let us know in the comments below!

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