Montreal Canadiens: Top Prospect Countdown: No. 10-6
By Austin Owens
No. 10 – Michael McCarron / RW / 6’5″ / 238 lbs / Macomb Township, MI, U.S.A.
This could be a bit of a stretch, considering that McCarron is one of the candidates to make the Canadiens opening night roster out of training camp. But the “Big Guy Syndrome” has McCarron farther back on this list than he might deserve.
The hulking forward was taken by the Canadiens with the 25th pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. McCarron was taken by the Belleville Bulls in the 6th round of the 2011 OHL Priority Selection. During his draft year, however, he played for the U.S. National Development Program as well as the U.S. U-18 National Team.
In 59 games with the National Team, he scored 37 points and had 182 penalty minutes.
After being drafted, McCarron made the jump to the OHL to play for the London Knights, who traded for the forward during his draft year.
McCarron had a decent first year in the OHL, scoring 34 points in 66 games, which was good for 10th in team scoring that season.
He managed to better that point total in just a third of the games the next season. McCarron was moved to the Oshawa Generals — who had an automatic spot in the Memorial Cup — at the trade deadline. He had no issues adjusting to the new team, scoring 27 points over his next 31 games. McCarron finished the year with 68 points in 56 games.
During the playoffs, he posted 18 points in 21 games, along with three points in four games while helping the Gens to a Memorial Cup victory.
McCarron played his first pro season in 2015-16, where he had 38 points in 58 games.
The winger also played 20 games with the Canadiens, but only managed two points. But he did score his first career NHL goal.
Last season, McCarron split time between Montreal and St. John’s. With the Canadiens, he only had five points in 31 games. In the AHL, he played 32 games, but only managed 19 points.
As mentioned at the beginning, there’s a solid chance McCarron cracks the Habs roster this season. He’s gotten tons of time to play in the NHL and could have a bottom six role with the team if he impresses in training camp.