Habs Prospects
Montreal Canadiens NHL Draft Target: The Case For Carter Bear
With the Montreal Canadiens holding picks No.16 and No.17 in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, there will be plenty o’ quality fish in the sea for them to cast their net upon — if they don’t trade the picks, that is.
ON TOPIC: Canadiens Trade Talk – First-Round Picks And Logan Mailloux
While some outlets rank prospect Carter Bear as a top-10 talent, there’s a chance he could drop in the first round due to a lacerated Achilles tendon that sidelined him from playing the final stretch of the season in the WHL.
Could the Winnipeg native be available once the Habs take to the podium? Let’s take a look at what he would bring to the table for the organization.
Carter Bear, C/LW, Shoots Left, 6’0″, 180 lb, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Top-6 Scoring Upside
Bear ranked 13th in points-per-game in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season, with 40 goals and 42 assists in just 56 games played. Even though he missed a dozen or so games, he sits atop the Everett Silvertips scoring leaders list.
His goal-scoring prowess is undeniable, but we should not overlook his ability to drive the offence with high-end playmaking.
Carter Bear swipes it in to get the Tips going! @WHLsilvertips | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/AxRoieih5S
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 12, 2024
While he doesn’t necessarily possess the most lethal shot, or the most outrageous dangle-icious mitts (don’t get me wrong, he has a fantastic toolkit), he consistently scores by finding and exploiting any mistakes by the opposition. His greatest weapon is his timing and ability to find open ice in high-danger scoring areas.
In other words, his hockey IQ supersedes his physical attributes, and teams rarely go wrong when betting on a cerebral player.
Bear plays a short-range game, favouring quick one-touch passes and tight cycles around the net. He’d rather utilize his linemates than go coast-to-coast, or hold on to the puck for long stretches. He may never become one of the top scorer in the NHL, however, the team that picks him will adore his determination and ability to contribute, even away from the scoresheet.
Bear can generate offence out of thin air, making the most of every shift.
Playing The Montreal Canadiens Way
One of the biggest advantages of his style of play is that his strengths should translate to the next level, giving Bear a solid projected floor in case he doesn’t hit his exciting ceiling.
At 6-foot, 180 lb, Bear is far from the biggest player available, but he’s got a knack for scoring at close range, demonstrating he’s a strong net-front presence who battles incredibly hard for second-chance scoring opportunities.
Bear plays an effective, hard-nosed game, and as games get grittier, so does he. He’s got a good sense of positioning in every zone, and will not hesitate to help defencemen break out of the zone, before positioning himself as an aggressive F1 who applies a relentless brand of forechecking. The 18-year-old has a good track record on important 50/50 battles, and plays with a heavy stick.
Simply put, he is hard to knock off the puck.
Fans of shrewd players who can score will love Carter Bear.
He can be an absolute pest, putting opponents on tilt once he increases the pressure, which is far from a rare event.
His mix of grit and skill can be likened to other notable puck hounds like Tij Iginla, Sam Bennett or Ryan Leonard, although there could be a tad more offence if things pan out.
Bear himself revealed he models his game after the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Brandon Hagel, praising his pedal-to-the-metal style, and relentlessness.
Montreal Canadiens fans may detect a similarity to Brendan Gallagher’s style in that description, although the talented prospect brings a defter scoring touch. There’s no denying Bear’s blue collar style of hockey could make him one of Martin St. Louis favourite players, and that he would, on paper, mesh really well with the team’s philosophy on the ice.
I got to interview Carter Bear this week and he said his pro comparison is…
Hint: it’s someone that every championship team needs! pic.twitter.com/BxSsYhFuoz— The Prospect Don (@TheProspectDon) May 5, 2025
Also noteworthy, Bear may end up being a winger rather than a centre at the NHL level, allowing him to spend more time forechecking around the boards, and deeper in the offensive zone, an area of the game he excels at.
Injury Scare – Should The Montreal Canadiens Be Worried?
Granted, Bear’s skating top speed isn’t one of his strength, so the nature of his injury can be a cause for concern. But rest assured, the Montreal Canadiens medical staff will leave no stones unturned in their evaluation.
There are a few other things to consider if you’re a glass half-full kind of person.
Some much older NHL players like Erik Karlsson and Max Pacioretty have made successful recoveries after suffering full tears (Bear’s injury is only a laceration). In that sense, Bear’s youth is a mitigating factor, as he might benefit from greater odds of full recovery than some of his older counterparts.
Carter Bear 🐻
Fidèle à lui-même. 2 buts et 1 passe hier soir.
Un GAMER.
60 points en 35 matchs cette saison 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R2WhnIcl6i
— La Première Ronde (@1ereronde) January 18, 2025
Tyler Seguin suffered a laceration that was then quantified by GM Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars medical staff as a “15 percent laceration”. Itt only took Seguin a few weeks to heal. Whether Bear’s laceration was deeper than Seguin’s is unknown, but by all accounts, he has fully recovered, and has recently started skating again.
There’s a strong possibility Bear’s injury could be a blessing in disguise, stopping other teams from picking him early on, leading to a first-round drop that would end mid-way through the first round, exactly where the Canadiens are set to pick.
Seeing as general manager Kent Hughes holds two picks in that first round, he may be more inclined to make a riskier selection with one of them — and play it safer with the other.
It could be the perfect storm that lands Montreal one of the hardest-working prospects in the draft.
Would you like to see the Montreal Canadiens pick in the first round? If so, let us know why in the comments below. If not, feel free to present other draft targets the Habs should target.
After that description – I am all in on the “Bear”. I watched some film on him. Around the net, below the hash marks he has a ton of determination. My thought was he will need 4 yrs to develop.
Wirh the 2 picks in 1st round I was thinking a C (Martin, Cootes, maybe Nesbitt) and a RHD (Hensler, Fiddler) and of course, Carbonneau, Lackovic have appeal.
Most think Montreal will trade one of these 1st round picks if the right proposal for an NHL 2C presents itself. And think there will be some good RHD prospects in 2nd round. So if they have one pick in 1st (and they can not grab a Desnoyer, O’Brien or Martin) one of Bear, Carbonneau or Lackovic seems solid.
I just thought Bear looked like he would need a bit more time. Had the same thought with Jack Nesbitt – he needs time. Though I think Bear’s floor is better than Nesbitt. Bear will play NHL and make middle 6 (could exceed that on ceiling). Nesbitt could be a 3C and the ceiling looks like a 2C (with net front presence on PP). Just my perspective.
I compile rankings from many published sources and consolidate these to have a better picture of what to expect. None of the top-9 (Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, Martone, Frondell, Desnoyers, Eklund, McQueen and O’Brien) is expected to be available at #16/17, except perhaps McQueen if we are lucky (he was injured and did not play much). The following prospects are Smith, Bear, Mrtka, Lakovic, Martin, Aitcheson and Carbonneau. At least one of them will be available. Who ever falls at #16 should be seriously considered. In many mock drafts, two and sometimes more are available because there’s a big variance in the experts’ opinion of who is best for which team. Reschny and Cootes falls in the top-15 of several experts.
When I look at the remaining potential 1st-round prospects, I like the idea of Hensler or Fiddler, both RHD; Hensler is usually ranked higher, but Fiddler is 9-months younger and 6’4″, 209 lbs. Nesbitt, a 6’4″ center will grab the attention of a few teams, perhaps enough to get drafted ahead of #16.
Regardless of the prospects selected by the Canadiens, it will take about 4 years before they have an impact in the NHL. This is why trading one of the two 1st-round picks would make sense for the Canadiens because they want someone who could help them now.
Good seeing you back here Pierre. 😁👍
Being a true habs pessimist (and quite lousy at draft selections) I expect him to be off the table. Maybe we can trade for Nail Yakupov to play center…
This year Yakupov had a good season in the KHL. He had 5 more goals than Demidov and 5 fewer assists than Demidov. He also set a new KHL record for most games played in single season with 70 games as he played for 2 different teams. He had career highs of 24 goals and 25 assists.
Sounds similar to Jared Davidson. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. These are the gritty type guys you need to survive 4 rounds of playoff war. I just wish he was 6’4”, 200+lbs.
Like Nesbitt and Lakovic! We will see how much Hughes wants size if those two are available at 16 and 17
I’d still rather package them (and more if necessary) to jump up and get McQueen. Otherwise, yes, those 2 guys are definitely intriguing.
Just need to understand Lakovic is not a “banger” He has good puck skills, shoots well and can skates but if you are thinking he will deliver bone crushing body checks – likely not – unless that comes after draft/ 4 yrs of development.
I would have no problem if the Habs traded their 2 first round picks ( plus a young prospect or 2) for a youngish 2C that could help them be contenders for several years to come. The last thing I want to see is the Habs trade their first round picks for a temporary solution like a Crosby or another old player. If they don’t trade anything or anybody and decide to use all their draft picks , I just hope they pick the best player available and not a supposed player that fills a need. You pick the top player even if he’s not big or even if he’s a defenceman. If the best player available at pick 16 is a defenceman , you take him even though the habs are stacked at the defence positions. How many times have the Habs , pre- Hughes/Gorton picked real duds because they picked a player that supposedly filled a need on the team. Many fans think the Habs need size, but the Habs should not waste their 16th and 17th picks on a big player just because they need bigger players only to have the kid turn into a real dud ..