The Montreal Canadiens have not done much celebrating in their last two injury-ridden seasons, as such, fans have few options besides investing their emotions in the ability of players who have, at best, played a small amount of minutes in the NHL.
However, fans can once again believe in the Canadiens, especially now that they have two of the NHL’s top 50 prospects. Scott Wheeler from the Athletic created this list.
Wheeler’s list is restricted to players under 23 who he says are not full-timers in the NHL.
Montreal Canadiens’ David Reinbacher who is the top pick in their NHL Draft this year, ranks 20th position on the prospects list.
Scott writes that Reinbacher has “pro size, desired handedness and a really strong foundation of tools that all but guarantee he’ll become a good NHLer.”
Readers may note that the seven forwards ignored by the Canadiens to draft the defenceman had higher rankings than the team’s top pick. In addition to Matvei Michkov, Zach Benson, Gabe Perreault, Dalibor Dvorsky, Oliver Moore, Matthew Wood, and Ryan Leonard are included.
Just like Reinbacher, Lane Houston, a second-rounder from 2022 signed by Montreal, places No.27 on Wheeler’s ginormous list.
“There aren’t many players who play like Hutson in hockey,” Wheeler writes. “I expect him to become a dominant offensive defenceman and PP1 QB who can hold his own defensively in the NHL once he gets a little stronger.”
Four forwards in Montreal’s prospect pool: Owen Beck, Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar and Joshua Roy, earned honourable mentions.
Will Reinbacher and Houston be what the Montreal Canadiens need to win their 25th Stanley Cup? This question will be answered next season.
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