Canadiens Prospect Report: Hage, Harris, Fowler Excel In NCAA

Michael Hage, 18, Centre, Shoots Right, 6’1”, 190 lb. Drafted 21st overall in 2024.

Even though Michael Hage was drafted in the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, he wasn’t expected to play a dominant role for the University of Michigan right out of the gate. After all, making the jump from the USHL to the NCAA is quite the challenge, regardless of the prospect involved. The athletes go from mostly working off their pure talent to a set of pre-determined strategies, which involves a fair amount of learning.

Smart prospects catch on quickly, and that has certainly been the case for Hage, who is currently producing a point-per game, as evidenced by his five goals and four assists in the first nine games of his NCAA career. You’ll note some of his teammates have one more game under their belt, and that’s because he was held out of action for one game as a precautionary measure, following a matchup in which he absorbed several big hits.

The most intriguing aspect of Hage’s skill set is his ability to drive the offence while executing plays at top speed, the ideal combination for a prospect who aspires to play in the NHL. He doesn’t give goaltenders much time to get set, either, a big part of the reason he currently leads the University of Michigan in scoring.

All things considered, it’s been an eye-opening start for Hage in the NCAA, but we would be wise to lower our expectations slightly as the season unfolds, especially since it’s a relatively low-scoring league.

Sam Harris, 21, Left Wing, Shoots Left, 5’11”, 185 lb. Drafted 133rd overall in 2024.

Most of the attention during the NCAA’s Frozen Four last season was given to top prospects Jacob Fowler (Boston College), and Lane Hutson (Boston University), but neither managed to secure the championship for their respective teams.

However, there is one prospect who did manage to win a national championship, and he may be the most underrated player in the system: Sam Harris. Given that he scored 14 goals and seven assists in 42 games during his freshman season, very few, including myself, paid attention to the left-winger, but his scoring pace this season has definitely turned heads.

Before we discuss his exploits, we do have to recognize that he’s 21 years old, which is a little older than most players currently playing their second year in the NCAA. He also plays for a very strong team, the University of Denver. And yet, we’d be foolish to ignore his production, as he’s producing more than a point-per-game.

Harris has scored nine goals and four assists in just nine games, representing a significant jump from 0.5 points-per-game last year, all the way to his impressive 1.44 points-per-game this season. His underrated shot and rough-and-tumble style has served him well. Again, he’ll have to keep it up throughout the entire season to climb the Montreal Canadiens prospect depth chart, but he’s done a great job reminding everyone that he may deserve a little more attention down the stretch of the season.

Jacob Fowler, 19, Goaltender, Catches Left, 6’2”, 214 lb. Drafted 69th overall in 2023.

We’re quickly running out of ways to describe Jacob Fowler’s play. His stoic approach to goaltending has led to fantastic numbers in his sophomore season, and he’s well positioned to lead the NCAA in wins, just as he did during his freshman campaign.

Fowler has a 7-1-0 record, but more importantly, he’s improved his individual stats considerably, which is saying something since he had a .926 save percentage and a 2,14 goals against average for Boston College last year. Through eight games this season, Fowler is sporting an incredible .950 save percentage, as well as a microscopic 1.26 goals against average. He’s also managed to secure three shutouts in those nine games, matching his shutout totals last season in 31 fewer games.

His tracking is excellent, his anticipation is elite, and consequently, his positioning is almost always immaculate. As we all know, a moving goalie is a vulnerable goalie, but a netminder that is set prior to a shot will almost always be capable of making a save. That’s not to say Fowler’s agility is poor, much to the contrary, his lateral movement is fantastic, which allows him to make the odd desperation save whenever the opportunity arises.

We will publish the second Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings next week, and while many expect Ivan Demidov to top the list, there’s a healthy chance Fowler is the one who will end up in the No.1 spot.

All Montreal Canadiens prospect videos via Hab Prospect Videos, an incredible YouTube channel that is well worth a sub.