Habs Prospects
Montreal Canadiens Draft Talented Mooney 113th Overall
The Montreal Canadiens have selected prospect L.J. Mooney with the 113th overall pick at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Mooney, a very talented forward, is developing within the USNTDP program, and though he’s just 5’7″, many outlets had him projected to be drafted in the second round.
Mooney also happens to be cousins with Utah forward Logan Cooley.
Via Elite Prospects:
Mooney is – in a word – dynamic. He attacks at a breakneck speed, combining quick-twitch handling with even quicker feet. If the defence doesn’t back off, he powers right through it, occasionally in highlight-reel fashion.
LJ Mooney isn’t just skating and skill this kid is a competitive Dawg. #U18MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/FOrr5kSUtN
— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) April 27, 2025
Montreal Canadiens Draft Info
The Montreal Canadiens made their usual splash at the draft weekend, trading both of their first round picks (16th and 17th overall) as well as Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders for top-pairing defenceman Noah Dobson. Despite moving a pair of picks, the Canadiens still held 10 draft picks heading into Day 2 of the NHL Entry Draft.
Dobson, 25, immediately signed an eight-year contract extension with the Canadiens, carrying an annual average value (AAV) of $9.5 million.
There’s no doubt about it, the Canadiens improved their lineup significantly with the Dobson trade, though it may lead to further trades down the road as the salary-cap situation comes into play. Defenceman Mike Matheson, in particular, may end up being moved to ensure more financial manoeuvrability, and there’s a very healthy chance the team will try to trade Carey Price’s contract should they find an organization attempting to reach the cap floor.
This is the fourth consecutive draft weekend that featured a significant trade for the Canadiens, a situation that’s quickly becoming general manager Kent Hughes’ calling card.
He traded a first-round pick in 2022 to ensure he could swing a deal which included centre Kirby Dach. It was followed by a trade the next year that saw Alex Newhook join the Habs in exchange for a late first-round pick and an early second-round pick.
Last season, Hughes packaged a first-round pick as well as a second-round pick in a trade that saw the Canadiens move up the first-round draft order, leading to the selection of Michael Hage, a very exciting prospect who enjoyed a fantastic season in the NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines.
Despite moving a bevy of draft picks, the Canadiens’ prospect pool is still considered to be among the top pipelines in the NHL, which speaks to Montreal’s thorough, yet encouraging game plan to navigate the final stages of the rebuild.
He may be skilled, but if he isn’t one of the most elite offensive guys in the league, we don’t need him. We already have enough little offensive guys, and when you consider how seemingly every other guy drafted this year is 6’5” or bigger, we need to add behemoths too.
That didn’t work out to well in the Bergevin era.
Either you trust Hughes, Gorton and the development group or you don’t
I think HuGo are doing a great job and most certainly trust that they know far more than I do. That being said, every fan has his or her ideas on how they would like their teams to be constructed or what they feel are pieces they want to add.