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Montreal Canadiens: Top 5 Winger Prospects

By Ken MacMillan

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: Cole Caufield Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: Cole Caufield Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 25: Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 25: Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

5. Arsen Khisamutdinov

The Canadiens went way off the radar when they selected Asren Khisamutdinov in the 6th round of the 2019 draft. It was their eighth selection of the day and after taking Frederik Dichow out of Denmark, it should not have been a surprise when the Habs took someone that most people watching never heard of before.

The first thing that jumps out when looking at Khisamutdinov is his size. Well, maybe the size of his name and then his actual size. The Russian winger is 6’3″ and 205 pounds. He skates well for a man of his size and after just turning 22 in February, he has plenty of time to improve on that stride in the future.

Khisamutdinov played in the Russian Junior league in 2018-19, where he caught the eye of the Canadiens scouts. In 41 games that season, he scored 26 goals and 55 points which put him just outside the top ten in league scoring though he missed close to 20 games. His 1.34 points per game was third among anyone who played more than 20 games in the league.

The big winger missed those 20 games in the minor league because he was called up to help his local KHL team for a while. Though call ups rarely get much ice time in the KHL, Khisamutdinov scored two goals and five points in nine games for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

This season, Khisamutdinov played most of the year in the KHL. He had just three points in 31 games, but again, the KHL can be an unforgiving league for a younger player. He was sent down to the VHL for a stretch, which is basically Russia’s AHL, and he scored nine goals and 13 points in 14 games. He played a little more than a quarter of the VHL schedule and was third on his team in goals scored.

There is an interesting combination of size and scoring ability in Khisamutdinov. He signed his entry-level contract with the Habs so we will see him suiting up in Laval whenever they take the ice again. Russian players coming over to North America are gambles for sure, but a sixth round pick on a huge winger who can score goals is a fine gamble to me.

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