By JD Lagrange – If there’s one thing that this rookie tournament is doing, it’s opening the eyes of Habs’ fans everywhere about how effective the reset started in 2018 is starting to be. You see, it takes time for young players to develop and only a few of them can have an immediate impact. Of course, the continued work by current management, following in the footsteps of Marc Bergevin and his group, has added to that prospect pool.
There is another potential issue it’s raising as well. As it currently stands, the Montreal Canadiens have little to no room on their roster to allow for these young players, particularly at forward, to remotely hope making the team. The same cannot be said on defense where, as we’re speaking, there are three spots available for these young men. Even in net, there will be a battle between two young goalies to be Jake Allen’s backup. But let’s look at the breakdown.
Forwards
Give or take, there are about 20 forwards who have a legitimate claim at being of NHL caliber. Some definitely are, others are ready to prove that they belong. The issue is that too many are on NHL contracts, some with substantial contracts. Saying that Kent Hughes must move some forwards would be stating the obvious, but something has got to give.
Juraj Slafkovsky, Jesse Ylönen, Emil Heineman, and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard all seem to be ready to prove that they belong. Unfortunately for them, they have 16 other forwards “ahead” of them. When you consider that teams usually carry 13, sometimes 14 forwards on their club, it leaves zero room for them. And when you’re talking young guys, you’re also talking cheap cap hit and players motivated to earn and keep their spot in the line-up…
| NAME | POS | SHOOTS | AGE | HT | WT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Suzuki | C | R | 23 | 5’11” | 205 |
| Sean Monahan | C | L | 27 | 6’2″ | 200 |
| Christian Dvorak | C | L | 26 | 6’1″ | 200 |
| Kirby Dach | C | R | 21 | 6’4″ | 197 |
| Jake Evans | C | R | 26 | 6’0″ | 176 |
| Jan Mysak | C | L | 20 | 6’0″ | 182 |
| Brendan Gallagher | W | R | 30 | 5’9″ | 184 |
| Josh Anderson | W | R | 28 | 6’3″ | 227 |
| Jonathan Drouin | W | L | 27 | 6’0″ | 203 |
| Evgenii Dadonov | W | L | 33 | 5’11” | 185 |
| Mike Hoffman | W | L | 32 | 6’0″ | 184 |
| Joel Armia | W | R | 29 | 6’3″ | 218 |
| Paul Byron | W | L | 33 | 5’9″ | 158 |
| Rem Pitlick | W | L | 25 | 5’11” | 196 |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | W | L | 18 | 6’3″ | 238 |
| Cole Caufield | W | R | 21 | 5’7″ | 166 |
| Michael Pezzetta | W | L | 24 | 6’1″ | 216 |
| Jesse Ylönen | W | R | 22 | 6’0″ | 167 |
| Emil Heineman | W | L | 20 | 6’1″ | 185 |
| Rafaël Harvey-Pinard | W | L | 23 | 5’9″ | 182 |
Defensemen
As mentioned, the situation is slightly different on defense. Four players are guaranteed their spot: Joel Edmundson, Mike Matheson, David Savard and Chris Wideman. In total, there are about 14 players who are either NHL-caliber or close to being NHL-ready. Once again, teams usually keep seven, sometimes eight defensemen on the team.
Due to the lack of right-handed defensemen, Justin Barron starts with an advantage. But he’s only 20 years old and he may (or not) benefit from some development time in Laval. Corey Schueneman did well when called upon last year and many felt like he could replace departing Brent Kulak.
Then, you have a group of quality young players in a bunch: Jordan Harris, Kaiden Guhle, Mattias Norlinder and Arber Xhekaj all have a legitimate shot at making the big club. Young veterans Otto Leskinen, who is returning to North America, and Madison Bowey will ensure to make the Canadiens’ decision difficult. It is important to note that this list doesn’t include quality young prospects That list doesn’t include Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble and Peter Nurmi.
| NAME | SHOOTS | AGE | HT | WT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Edmundson | L | 29 | 6’5″ | 224 |
| Mike Matheson | L | 28 | 6’2″ | 188 |
| David Savard | R | 31 | 6’1″ | 234 |
| Chris Wideman | R | 32 | 5’10” | 180 |
| Corey Schueneman | L | 27 | 6’0″ | 196 |
| Justin Barron | R | 20 | 6’2″ | 195 |
| Jordan Harris | L | 22 | 5’11” | 179 |
| Kaiden Guhle | L | 20 | 6’2″ | 199 |
| Mattias Norlinder | L | 22 | 6’0″ | 185 |
| Otto Leskinen | L | 25 | 5’11” | 187 |
| Arber Xhekaj | L | 21 | 6’4″ | 238 |
| Madison Bowey | R | 26 | 6’2″ | 202 |
| Gianni Fairbrother | L | 21 | 5’11” | 202 |
| William Trudeau | L | 19 | 6’0″ | 190 |
Goaltenders
Right now, the Canadiens have three goaltenders who can be considered of NHL caliber. It’s not saying that the team lacks depth, but the others simply aren’t ready yet. With the news that Carey Price is likely out for the season, Jake Allen becomes the number one by default. Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau both signed one-way deals and will be battling for the backup position.
Montembeault seems to have the edge simply due to the fact that he must clear waivers, but don’t count Primeau out just yet. In fact, the Canadiens have a couple of options for him but in either case, he must play.
| NAME | AGE | HT | WT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Allen | 32 | 6’2″ | 190 |
| Sam Montembeault | 25 | 6’3″ | 199 |
| Cayden Primeau | 23 | 6’3″ | 203 |
So as you can see, training camp should be more competitive than ever and decisions will have to be made. The most pressing issue, however, remains at the forward position and the coaching staff needs help from their General Manager to create at least some room up front. Hughes has done pretty well so far, but he still have work to do before the season begins.
More reading…
- Addressing The Need On Right Defense by JD Lagrange
- Goaltending Prospects – No Respect by Bob Trask
- HabsTracks – September 15, 2022 by JD Lagrange