Canadiens Prospect Rankings: The Honourable Mentions

Not every Montreal Canadiens prospect makes the cut in our yearly rankings, a perfectly normal result of the abundance of players vying for a finite number of jobs.

Simply put, some prospects have a much clearer path to the pros, whereas others will have to solve several weaknesses before they’re considered NHL ready. With that in mind, it’s also important to note that we don’t always get our rankings right, as evidenced by the 2024 Montreal Canadiens Prospect Rankings retrospective. Jakub Dobes and Jared Davidson, in particular, did not receive the credit they deserved last summer.

Today we’ll examine the players who just missed the cut for the top 20, which will lead into our in-depth articles on the best Montreal Canadiens prospects, as voted by Habs fans.

2025 Montreal Canadiens Prospect Rankings – Honourable Mentions

Riley Kidney – Unranked in 2024 – Drafted 63rd Overall (2nd Round) in 2021

Forward – 22 Years Old, Shoots Left – 5’11”, 185 lb.

Kidney was an incredibly talented junior player who put together  fantastic campaigns for the Acadie Bathurst Titans, as well as the Gatineau Olympiques.

But like many prospects who have come before him, it was clear that Kidney was essentially only using his vastly superior talent level to score in the CHL, a situation that rarely translates to the professional level, unless you happen to be named Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby.

There’s a lot less open ice in the AHL, which means that Kidney’s relatively reluctance to head to the dirty areas of the ice was a significant drag on his results. After finishing his rookie campaign with seven goals and 13 assists in 65 games, Kidney followed it up with four goals and 12 assists in 56 games during his sophomore season. In other words, he was lost in the fray, with many prospects drafted in later seasons passing him on the depth chart.

That’s not to say Kidney will never make it to the pros, because it would be foolish to dismiss his raw talent, but a realistic take on the situation suggests that the upcoming season with the Laval Rocket may be his last chance to prove his worth.

Bruce Pickford – New Entry – Drafted 81st Overall (3rd Round) In 2025 

Defenceman, 19 Years Old, Shoots Right, 6’1″, 185 lb.

Pickford was just the third player the Canadiens drafted this year, due to the trade that saw Emil Heineman and a pair of second-round picks sent to the New York Islanders in exchange for Noah Dobson.

With 20 goals and 27 assists in 48 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Pickford emerged as an offensive defenceman who uses his high-end hockey IQ to serve as a scoring threat any time his team establishes a cycle in the offensive zone. He has a great shot and above average skating, which compensates for some of the defensive issues in his overall game.

Beyond his excellent one timer, Pickford enjoys taking advantage of any open ice offered by his opponents, one of the main reasons he managed to score an impressive 13 goals and 11 assists in 18 playoff games.

On the flip side of the coin, given that Pickford often plays with one of the best prospects in the hockey landscape, Gavin McKenna, we should take his uptick in production with a fairly large grain of salt.

Owen Protz – Ranked 26th in 2024 – Drafted 102nd Overall (4th Round) In 2024

Defenceman, 19 Years Old, Shoots Left, 6’2″, 210 lb.

Few players enjoy physical play more than Protz. It would be easy to use the term violence when describing him. Hell, you’d be hard-pressed to suggest he’s not an overly violent player, but it should be noted that his penchant for introducing opponents to the ice every shift doesn’t always land him in hot water with the officiating.

In other words, yes, he’s violent, but his particular brand of violence helps his team win on a regular basis.

More importantly, he’s not just the author of an endless stream of bone-crushing hits. His defensive acumen is high, and his great anticipation compensates for average skating.

He did manage to score five goals and 27 assists in 67 games with the Brantford Bulldogs (OHL), but scouts do not expect his offensive game to translate to the NHL, making him your classic shutdown defenceman with a penchant for obliterating opponents who foolishly forget to keep their heads up.

Additional Montreal Canadiens honourable mentions who received a few votes: William Trudeau, Logan Sawyer, Yevgeni Volokhin, Jack Smith, Makar Khanin

More on the 2025 Montreal Canadiens Prospect Rankings:

Introduction To The Project, 2024 Retrospective

The Departed And The Graduated

Montreal Canadiens prospect statistics via Elite Prospects.