Habs Prospects
Canadiens Prospect Report: Hage Off To Dominant Start
Few Montreal Canadiens prospects check as many boxes as University of Michigan forward Michael Hage.
The 19-year-old forward is fresh off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him maintain a point-per-game pace, to the tune of 13 goals and 21 assists in 23 games. Due to his rare combination of speed of execution and agility, the cerebral forward represents one of the greatest hopes among Canadiens prospects.
A Perfect Start
With that in mind, it was important for Hage to hit the ground running in his sophomore campaign, and you’d be hard-pressed to argue he’s done anything but improve his standing among the team’s NHL hopefuls. Hage opened the season by registering a five-point game versus Mercyhurst, to the tune of two goals and three assists, only to produce yet another multipoint effort the following game, with a pair of assists.
On Friday, Hage wasted no time making his mark as the Wolverines (9) faced Providence (7), a team that includes fellow Canadiens prospect Logan Sawyer. Hage opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, using his excellent stick handling and offensive prowess to finish a nice passing play.
Tape to tape! Michael Hage from Nick Moldenhauer and Tyler Duke pic.twitter.com/U4lmgvHJFg
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) October 10, 2025
And he wasn’t done there.
He proceeded to register his fourth goal of the NCAA season early in the second period, giving Michigan a three-goal lead in the process. Once again, Hage’s anticipation and hand-eye coordination was on full display, a rather common situation when analyzing his time in the NCAA. With the goal, Hage now has nine points in just three games, a dream start to his season.
Hage with his second of the night, this one on the power play and Michigan leads 4-! pic.twitter.com/XNo2SqYFcK
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) October 11, 2025
Hage was ranked as the fourth-best Montreal Canadiens prospect in our recent fan rankings, though some, including myself, argued he should probably be a little higher overall. Regardless, all can agree that Hage is the exact type of prospect a franchise like the Canadiens needs to bolster the ranks once they’re ready to take the final step in their long-term rebuild.
ON TOPIC: Canadiens Prospect Rankings – The Supersonic Michael Hage
Maybe the presence of Pacioretty on the staff is rubbing off on Hage’s scoring ability. 😉
He’s our second line Center in waiting. He does things at his elite top speed that make him difficult to defend. Those hands, the release, he looks like he’s the real deal. Good size and puck protection and distribution. I really wasn’t aware of him when we selected him but I think he’s our top prospect not playing nhl currently, especially by team need.
I’d guess it’ll be before the end of calendar 2026 that he slots in 2C, and if so, what does our team need then that we don’t have in the system? We have bottom 6 replacement guys in Beck Thorpe, Xhekaj, Tuch and maybe Rohrer. Zharovsky has top 6 potential. We have Reinbacher and Engstrom on the blue line, and Fowler in the crease. Bursting at the seems with prospects and we have 3 picks in the first 2 rounds coming up.
It appears the rebuild is complete, we are a playoff team and not a bottom dweller. Management is fine tuning the roster at this point and the players are gaining the experience required to be a top echelon team in the not distant future. As talented as we are today, imagine the potential of a Demidov Bolduc and Hage trio as a second unit!!
Without Hage yet, I still place the rebuild at 85%. Plus, our prospects are gaining experience. After a year of Demidov, Bolduc, with Fowler in the wings along with Hage and a few others, I will consider the rebuild done, as the team will become perennial playoff contenders. It’s never easy, of course, but certainly in the long-term plans of HuGo. And then the team can add 2-3 players on average to the group as other age out/get traded and you have a nice rotation for years to come.
I get that many fans have not transitioned from the rebuild mindset to a contender mindset, but we only have 4 guys left on the roster from 2021-22. The roster has been rebuilt and the core we have is the group we will try to win with. I consider that we have entered the early stage of our contention window. We are a playoff team but not a serious contender. However, I think next season could be when we enter our strong contender window. Look back at an our cup winning roster from 1986, so many key guys under 25 with only gainey and Robinson over 30. Momesso, Richer, Corson, Lemieux, Svoboda and Patrick Roy were all 19 or 20 and huge contributors.
Currently, a lot of people think we need a 2C which is 1 roster spot, I don’t see how people consider that as being in the middle of a rebuild? Most top teams flip several roster spots per year and we don’t say they are rebuilding. They have a core that has been together for years making the playoffs. We are like that, but early in the cycle. Even if I’m wearing rose color glasses and am overly optimistic, I still don’t see us as being a rebuilding team any longer with so few holes in our roster.
Hope that makes sense?
Your summary on the timeline of the team moving from rebuild to contender status are clearly explained but two things are in question . The 2021-22 team members include 6 current Habs , Monty , Suzy , Andy , Gally , Evans and CC.
Also there were rookies who played great in the 1986 playoff run alright, Roy , Lemieux , Richer for sure . The other three , Corson broke in the following year , Momesso played some regular season games but didn’t play in the 86 playoffs so he too was a rookie in 86/87 and Svoboda played in 8 of the 20 playoff games and although held off the scoresheet , he was a contributor .
You are correct on both accounts, thanks for the details. My point on the holdovers is that we have experience of a deep playoff run and more so that the roster has been rebuilt as only 6/23 roster slots are residuals after 4 years.
The 86 squad reference was to illustrate the ability of really young talent to contribute in a really big way as I thought it would be helpful in making my proposed timeline reasonable. I looked at the roster and the ages, and I was quite surprised at how young they were. I didn’t look at the playoff stats and I should have. We are the youngest team in the league and one of the most talented, which should mean our competitive window is long.
You’re welcome. Your point on the youthful Habs having a long runway to succeed is well taken . The one thing about the 1985-86 championship team that is different than most all others is having a 20 yo rookie goalie do what Roy did . He lost just 5 games in 4 rounds , his goals against under 2 and save pct. over .920 , maybe a once in a lifetime thing done by a kid his age . Getting by the top goalies in the Atlantic won’t be easy , the Habs may need to get outstanding goaltending themselves to do so. Anyway it should be fun to watch .
Every Cinderella story has something unique. Roy was it in 86, he became a hockey legend at a young age.
Bob is getting old in Florida. Vasilevskiy has lost the aura of invisiblity, like the Bolts as a whole. Stolarz , the art of the steal, could carry the leafs but I’m not losing sleep at this stage. Ottawa is a peer team but not better. Ullmark had his lowest save percentage in 6 years , but it was still very good at .910. At 32, he has likely peaked. But as you point out, we will need strong goaltending regardless and if we got superior goaltending, we would be scary.
Sound logic but I disagree with the time frame. He missed development time and I just don’t see him slotting in at 2C in less than three years.
If he joins the Habs early it may be as a winger. I still think he needs plenty of time at the NCAA and in Laval.
Why I think a moderately accelerated time line works for Hage is because he won’t carry a large burden, it’s a safe harbour environment and the skilled guys I project as his wingers will help him adjust to the role much easier. I can see him playing in Laval early next season to help with the transition to pro, and then getting an opportunity in a variety of roles in Montreal as Marty eases him in and allows Hage to demonstrate he can handle 2C by the midpoint of the year. Demidov will be a terror by then and Bolduc plays a good pro game already and he will continue to grow and refine over the next 100+ games. It will be Hages draft +3 year, he will be 20 so it’s not like he’s being rushed. It appears he is outgrowing ncaa competition. He will get a half season as 2C before the playoffs in my scenario. It’s only a guess, Dach could seize the role, a trade or FA signing could occur or Hage could fail but of the scenarios I like Hage slotting 2C late2026 or early 2027. As always, time will tell.
Great start for Michael Hage and his U of Michigan team .
Filip Eriksson is another Habs’ prospect who is off and running .Three more points today for the 20 yo Lulea center , he’s top 3 in SHL scoring , 7- 7- 14
Hage shut out last night and has fallen to 3rd in the NCAA scoring race, what a dud, lol. Think he was credited with less than 14 minutes of ice time, which seems odd