Montreal Canadiens Prospect Report: Xavier Simoneau’s Four Assist Effort

Montreal Canadiens prospect Xavier Simoneau was an interesting selection by the team.

The skilled winger was first eligible for the NHL Draft in 2019. He scored 57 points in 55 QMJHL games in the 2018-19 season but it wasn’t enough to attract a team to even use a 7th round pick on him. He then followed that up with 89 points in 61 games in the 2019-20 season but there were no takers in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Finally, after scoring 37 points in 27 games in the oddly shortened 2020-21 season, Simoneau was selected by the Canadiens in the 6th round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Simoneau was likely passed over in two NHL Drafts because he is 5’7″ and 179 pounds. However, what he lacks in size he more than makes up for with vision, skill and creativity with the puck. He is an incredible playmaker who is now leading the QMJHL in assists with 21 in just 15 games. He also has seven goals, giving him 28 points in 15 games which puts him third in the league in points.

Simoneau jumped from 17 to 21 assists in one game Sunday afternoon as he carved up the Halifax Mooseheads defence in a four point effort.

His first assist was a smart play on the power play. Simoneau (#81) tries to make a pass across the ice but it is broken up. A few seconds later another broken play leads to a loose just in front of Simoneau. He pounces on it, and just when everyone on the ice thinks he is about to shoot, he fires a perfect cross-ice pass to Patrick Guay who hammers it home.

Simoneau added a second assist in the second period with another smart, little pass. He wins a race to a loose puck and heads deep into the Mooseheads zone. It looks like the defender has him cut off but instead of dumping the puck down low, Simoneau waits until the last possible second, forcing the defender to come all the way to the boards. Then, he makes a short pass through the defenders legs and to Brett Budgell who makes a great play at the net and fires a wrister into the net.

Simoneau’s third assist of the night wasn’t an amazing pass but it does show another side of his game that he has been criticized for in the past. As a small winger, Simoneau is not a feisty or physical player, but in this play he protects the puck down low from three separate Mooseheads while winning a battle for a loose puck as well. He doesn’t run anyone over with a body check, but he does show a dogged determination to get the puck back when he loses it and the two opposing players on him at the time just can’t get the puck away from him.

Simoneau eventually moves the puck back to the point and it is fired across the blue line before Oscar Plandowski scores.

Simoneau finished off his four point game with a late assist to deal the victory for his Charlottetown Islanders. It was a simple play where he gets the puck behind the net and quickly bounces it back to his teammate who takes it to the net before Sam Oliver knocks in the loose puck.

The four assist night gives Simoneau 21 on the season and puts him solely in first place in the entire QMJHL in assists. He is already 20 years old so a strong offensive season was expected, but Simoneau is on a much better pace than he set last season.

The Canadiens likely expect him to play for the Laval Rocket next season, if not at the end of this season when his QMJHL career comes to an end. He has a ton of skill and it will be interesting to see how quickly he adapts to the AHL level when he inevitably gets there.