Montreal Canadiens: Top 5 Defenceman Prospects

4. Mattias Norlinder

We previously mentioned the Habs sought out plenty of defenders at the 2019 NHL Draft. After taking Struble in the second round, they grabbed Mattias Norlinder from Sweden in the third round after he went undrafted in 2018.

While Struble is a physical, shutdown, defensive defenceman in the making, Norlinder is pretty much the exact opposite. He might not turn into the player that gets matched up head to head against Auston Matthews in the future, but he could certainly skate with him if he needed to win a foot race.

Norlinder’s game is predicated on offence. He is a terrific skater who loves to carry the puck up ice and join, or lead, the rush. He has terrific stick handling skills for a defenceman and is the prototype of what the NHL is now looking for in defenders. He skates well, gets the puck from his own zone to the offensive with ease, whether it is with a nice pass or deft stickhandling and can put up points.

The Kramfors, Sweden native just turned 20 last month and played this season in Allsvenskan for Modo. That league is basically the Swedish version of the AHL, and Norlinder performed extremely well for a teenager. He scored seven goals and 18 points in 34 games while increasing his ice time throughout the year and becoming a key performer for Modo as they attempted to win the league title and get promoted back to Sweden’s top league next season.

Norlinder was rewarded for his strong play by winning the award given to the best Junior aged player in Allsvenskan. Though he isn’t the most physical blue liner in the world, Norlinder has decent size at 6’0″ and 180 pounds. He has the skating, awareness and offensive instincts to be an impact player at the NHL level. Even if his defensive game becomes just okay he will be a regular at the highest level. If he can use his intelligence on the ice to become a better than average defenceman at the NHL level, the Habs have a future top four left defender.