Montreal Canadiens: Where to Find the Habs' Prospects This Season

Montreal Canadiens fans will be focusing on the main club, but they also have a great prospect pool that are worth tracking this season.

Training camp is approaching soon for the Montreal Canadiens. Not too long after that, the puck will be dropped for the season opener. As exciting as it will be track how the Canadiens fair this season, there are also other parts of the organization that fans will be interested in.

It’s not always about what’s here and now, but what’s coming. Training camps are getting underway for some of the team’s prospects. Obviously they’re not all playing in the same league. The Habs have prospects between different junior leagues, colleges, and even teams in Europe.

It may not seem to be as important as what’s going on in the NHL, but hopefully a handful of these prospects can be wearing that crest on their chest in the next few years. However, it takes improved play, maturity, and work ethic to make it.

The question is where exactly are they playing? Well a Winning Habit has the answers, and we’ll separate the prospects by the leagues.

Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

William Bitten (2016 3rd round) – Hamilton Bulldogs
Victor Mete (2016 4th round) – London Knights
Michael Pezzetta (2016 6th round) – Sudbury Wolves
Jeremiah Addison (2015 7th round) – Windsor Spitfires

Habs fans will most likely be keeping their eyes on Mete from this group. The 19-year-old had a breakout season in points and also saw improvements in his defensive game. Hopefully he can continue to grow into a two-way defenceman.

Mete and Addison are the only OHL prospects who have entry-level-contracts. Addison in particular may have an interesting journey at camp. He’s 20, and therefore can play in the AHL with the Laval Rocket next season. That has to be where his sights are set on. However, there’s the chance that the Canadiens send him down for a final overage year with Windsor.

Western Hockey League (WHL)

Josh Brook (2017 2nd round) – Moose Jaw Warriors
Scott Walford (2017 3rd round) – Victoria Royals
Cale Fleury (2017 3rd round) – Kootenay Ice
Jarret Tyszka (2017 5th round) – Seattle Thunderbirds

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)

Only one name here, and that’s Simon Bourque of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Bourque was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 Draft. Fortunately, he was able to earn himself an entry-level-contract with the Canadiens.

He sits in the same position as Addison. He could make the jump to the pros and play in the AHL next season, or could be sent back to the Q for a final season. It’ll be up to him to make that decision.

Europe

Joni Ikonen (2017 2nd round) – KalPA, Liiga
Arvid Henrikson (2016 7th round) – Örebro HK J20
Lukas Vejdemo (2015 3rd round) – Djurgårdens IF

The obvious stand-out is Ikonen who is arguably one of the best Canadiens prospects. The young Finnish center made the decision to leave the Frölunda organization for Liiga back in June to get experience playing with men. After his performance at the World Junior Summer Showcase, Habs fans are eager to see what he can turn out to be. It may not be long before we see him playing in North America.

Henrikson and Vejdemo both hope to have better years than last. In particular Vejdemo who finished with only four goals and four assists. Considering he’s a center, he’ll definitely be watched heavily for improvement.

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Ryan Poehling (2017 1st round) – St. Cloud State University – Freshman Year
Cayden Primeau (2017 7th round) – Northeastern University – Freshman Year
Casey Staum (2016 6th round) – Dubuqe Fighting Saints (USHL)
Hayden Hawkey (2014 6th round) – Providence College – Junior Year
Nikolas Koberstein (2014 5th round) – University of Alaska-Fairbanks –Junior Year
Jake Evans (2014 7th round) – University of Notre Dame – Senior Year

Poehling is definitely the one to follow this season. Not only was he the team’s top pick at the draft, but he’s a center. His two-way game was always his strong suit, but there were concerns as to whether his offence could improve. Similarly to Ikonen, the Summer Showcase was a great showing for the Poehling.

As for the others, unfortunately like most college prospects, Habs fans will have to look for pleasant surprises. Evans may be worth looking into though since this is his senior year. This will be a show me year for him since the Canadiens will have to decide whether to give him a contract or not.

American Hockey League (AHL) – Laval Rocket

Noah Juulsen (2015 1^st round)
Nikita Scherbak (2014 1^st round)
Brett Lernout (2015 3^rd round)
Michael McCarron (2013 1^st round)
Jacob de La Rose (2013 2^nd round)
Zachary Fucale (2013 2^nd round)
Martin Rèway (2013 4^th round)
Daniel Audette (2014 5^th round)
Jèrèmy Grègoire 2013 6^th round
Antoine Waked (Free Agent)
Tom Parisi (Free Agent)
Charlie Lindgren (Free Agent)
Michael McNiven (Free Agent)
Markus Eisenschmid (Free Agent)

The interest is mainly going to be with the newcomers. Juulsen is one of the top defensive prospects for the Montreal Canadiens and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares at the next level. Additionally, Rèway will finally get a chance to show the organization what he can do after missing a year of play.

Fucale had a fairly lack-luster year last season. If he can stay in the AHL, he’ll be another goalie prospect to track next to Lindgren and new signing McNiven.

Finally, with Charles Hudon being almost a guarantee to make the team, hopefully Scherbak can step up and be a key contributor on the team.

There are a lot of places where you can tune in to track of the Canadiens’ future. Although some are going to be watched more than others, at the end of the day, we all want them to succeed to some extent.

Next: Different Goal Songs for the Montreal Canadiens

Which prospects will you be tracking this season? Let us know down in the comments

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