Canadiens Draft Targets: The Highly Talented Justin Carbonneau

With the 2025 NHL Entry Draft mere weeks away, let’s have a look at some candidates that could hear their name called as Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes takes the podium.

There should be interesting prospects still available with the 16th and 17th picks, including highly-touted Carter Bear (if the stars align).

But one prospect could have many Habs faithful crossing their fingers on June 25, local phenom Justin Carbonneau. Here’s what the talented winger brings to the table.

Justin Carbonneau, RW, Shoots Right, 6’1″, 192 lb, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

To say Justin Carbonneau likes to have the puck on his stick is an understatement. He is puck-hungry, nay, puck starved! He absolutely loves to circle back in his zone to gather speed to dangle all the way to the net, making defenders look foolish in the process. As a result, plenty of his goals are coast-to-coast beauties.

Justin Carbonneau (#2025NHLDraft) has that ability to just take over games on his own. It’s still a work in progress, but sequences like these make you wonder how high he’ll soar.

Ridiculous skill and dynamism. #QMJHL pic.twitter.com/c8QztcblDC

— Hadi Kalakeche (@HadiK_Scouting) December 14, 2024

However, there are some cons to this tendency, as he can sometimes forget he has teammates, and tries to dangle the entire opposing roster — albeit he does succeed at times. This is the kind of behaviour you can get away with in junior hockey that quickly gets coached out of players once they enter the professional ranks, so there isn’t much cause for concern.

It’s a good ability to have, when you know when to use it.

Additionally, Carbonneau possesses a lethal shot, perhaps the softest hands in the draft class, and has legitimate playmaking abilities. So once he figures out how to play a ‘pro’ game and brushes up his decision-making, he could truly have defenders guessing and playing on their heels at all times, as he could beat them in more ways than they can count.

With 46 goals and 43 assists in 62 contests he is the second-best scorer overall in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and his performance has earned him a nomination for the Michel-Brière Trophy, recognizing him as his team’s Most Valuable Player.

#1 : Justin Carbonneau with 2G, 3A for 5 pts in 5 games. He was dominant in his second game with 4 pts and 14 (!!) shots attempt! pic.twitter.com/Ln5RRoQoH3

— Mckeen’s QMJHL (@mckeensQMJHL) September 25, 2024

I happen to see a resemblance with ex-Montreal Canadiens Jonathan Drouin (in his draft year). Although less shifty, Carbonneau is bigger, and plays a tougher brand of hockey. But his ability to manipulate an entire team before manifesting a dangerous scoring chance looks oddly familiar. I’m not projecting a similar career to Drouin’s, but there are a lot of qualities that Carbonneau possess that are akin to those of a player taken third overall, twelve years ago.

Montreal Canadiens Interest

Carbonneau already has NHL size and is not afraid to use it. When he hits, he does so with authority and excels at lowering the shoulder when charging the net. He won’t be denied when he decides so!

He’s got powerful, explosive first strides that allow him to win short distance races or quickly separate himself when coming away from a puck battle. This allows him to earn extra seconds when entering prime real estate on the ice, before ripping the puck. And it’s been his bread and butter. Make something happen, pop up in uncontested ice, create a grade A chance, rinse, repeat.

Justin Carbonneau is one of the more skilled players in the #2025NHLDraft. He’s entertaining, blends tools, creates advantages & manages a mountain of puck touches in a given game.

Sometimes, tunnel vision takes over, & you get plays like this. 🤣

27GP-20G-22A-42P this season pic.twitter.com/5YelkS0Mhv

— Daniel Gee (@DanielGScouting) December 6, 2024

That said, his skating his very much North/South — he’s not as slippery as other elite skaters. This may mean he won’t be a primary puck carrier in the NHL nor will he be relied upon massively to gain the blue line. But once the zone is gained, he can create space for a teammate by freezing a defender, or find a soft spot to rip a one-timer.

If he doesn’t pan out as a top-6 forward, Carbonneau has interesting skills to play a more traditional grinder role, although that will require him to improve massively on the defensive side of the puck — something that’s completely fine at his stage of his development. He could very well become a lethal third-liner that hounds the puck, and dazzles with flashes of skill on an exploitation line. All things considered, it’s a fantastic contingency plan.

Is There A Montreal Canadiens Fit?

There’s a lot to like about Justin Carbonneau if you’re Kent Hughes and Martin St. Louis. Very few prospects in the first round possess a similar mix of high-end skills and doggedness. For a team that is lacking both finishing and toughness, there’s a strong case to be made about Carbonneau checking both boxes for the Montreal Canadiens.

It sure doesn’t hurt that he happens to be a homegrown product that understand the meaningfulness of donning a Bleu-Blanc-Rouge sweater.

A puck-handling expert who uses his size and consistently finds twine? Who knows what the ceiling is for this Lévis, QC, kid!

Would you like the Montreal Canadiens to nab Justin Carbonneau with one of their first round picks? If so, let us know in the comments below. If you have another target you’d like to see reviewed, feel free to drop a suggestion.