Five Montreal Canadiens prospects who may be at the end of the road

Allan McShane

We continue to stick with the 2018 NHL Draft as our next prospect in question is fourth-round pick, Allan McShane. Right off the bat, the first thing that you notice in McShane is his overall speed. Not only in the way he skates, but in the way he shoots and moves the puck around the ice.

Making his OHL debut as a 16-year-old, McShane spent time with both the Erie Otters and his eventual mainstay team in the Oshawa Generals, scoring 17 goals and 27 assists in 62 games. McShane increased those totals to 20 goals and 45 assists for 65 points in 67 games in his draft year. The combination of fluent speed and skill caught the eye of the Montreal Canadiens.

The issue was what came afterwards. McShane returned to the Generals and set a career-high in goals with 34 and added 35 assists for a total of 69 points in 62 games (1.11 points/game). This season, McShane scored fewer goals and finished with a total of two fewer points in the same amount of games (1.08 points/game).

Fellow A Winning Habit writer Ken Macmillan said it best in his post, an OHL prospect who isn’t seeing significant signs of offensive production after they’re drafted isn’t good.

You’d want a prospect to dominate and prove they’re too good to be where they’re at. McShane is old enough where playing in the AHL next year would’ve been a possibility, but there isn’t enough there that warrants a contract, especially with the other draft picks in McShane’s year who have done their best to show said improvements.