Montreal Canadiens Top 10 Prospects: 2021-22 Midseason Rankings

The Montreal Canadiens season was over before Halloween as we all knew this team was not heading back to the playoffs.

The Habs currently sit last overall in the 32 team league and just played their 41st game of the season last night. That means we are only halfway through this punishing season and there is a long way to go before this season will mercifully end.

The silver lining around an ugly season is a top draft pick and the Canadiens are well on their way to adding a great young player to their prospect cupboard at the end of the season.

They may even end up with the top pick and a potential star player in Shane Wright. But before that, let’s take a look at their current crop of prospects which is starting to look pretty deep already. This list could change a lot between now and the end of the season with a handful of prospects being added in trades and a high number of draft picks then being made in July.

Even before more great prospects and draft picks are added to the system in the coming months, the Canadiens have a great group of young players developing in the system.

Let’s take a look at the team’s top 10 prospects, keeping in mind players regularly playing in the NHL are no longer considered prospects, so Cole Caufield is not on this list. Also, the ranking is simple: the more likely a player is to become a first line forward or top pairing defenceman, the higher they are on the list.

First, let’s start with a number of honourable mentions because there are more than 10 great prospects in the pipeline right now.

Honorable Mentions

Brett Stapley: Currently playing his fourth season at the University of Denver, Stapley brings a terrific two-way game down the middle of the ice. The centre is scoring over a point per game with ten goals and 25 points in 22 contests. Stapley was a 7th round pick of the Habs in 2018 and is starting to look like a Jake Evans clone with perhaps a little more scoring.

Xavier Simoneau: Drafted in the 6th round in 2021 after being passed over twice, Simoneau is putting up video game numbers for the Charlottetown Islanders as an overaged winger. His 46 points in 22 games is just under two per game and has him on pace to lead the QMJHL in scoring this season.

Blake Biondi: After a slow freshman season that saw him sitting on the bench for long periods of time, Biondi has quickly developed. He is now in his second season with Minnesota-Duluth and is a fixture in their top six with ten goals and 18 points in 24 games. Was a 4th round pick in 2020.

William Trudeau: A teammates of Simoneau’s Trudeau is one of the most dangerous offensive defensemen in the QMJHL. He has scored 25 points in 31 games after being drafted in the 4th round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Arber Xhekaj: An unknown at the start of rookie camp in September, Xhekaj was pretty near a household name by the end of Habs main camp. He signed an entry-level contract and has returned to the OHL for his overaged season where he has scored 19 points in 20 games and plays a punishing, defensive game for the Hamilton Bulldogs on the back end.

Jakub Dobes: The Ohio State Buckeyes were not supposed to be very good this season, but no one thought Jakub Dobes would be this good either. The 20 year old freshman has a 2.07 GAA and a .932 SV% after being a 5th round pick of the Canadiens in 2020.

#10: Jordan Harris

While Harris may be one of the safer best on this list to become an NHL regular, his ceiling just isn’t quite as high as the others ahead of on this ranking.

Harris plays a quietly reliable two-way game for the Northeastern Huskies. It is his fourth season of college hockey and the 21 year old has scored four goals and 14 points in 24 contests this season.

Harris was a third round pick of the Canadiens in 2018 and since he is finishing his college career this season he is eligible to become a free agent in the summer if he chooses not to sign with the Habs. Interestingly enough, the Habs new general manager Kent Hughes coaches Harris in peewee so perhaps that will entice him to sign following his final college season.

NHL Projection: Harris is likely to be a steady, defensive third pairing defender at the NHL level. Maybe with the right partner he could play on a second pairing but I wouldn’t expect much offence at the highest level.

NHL ETA: It will be up to him. If he signs with the Canadiens after his college season, he will play NHL games in March of this year. If he doesn’t sign, he will start his NHL career next season.

#9: Jesse Ylonen

Ylonen was a second round pick of the Canadiens in 2018 and he played two and a half more seasons of pro hockey in Finland before arriving in North America. He was touted as a strong two-way forward and he hasn’t looked any different than that prognosis since arriving in Laval.

The 22 year old is leading the Rocket in scoring this season with six goals and 16 points in 18 games. He has taken a noticeable step from last season, when he scored 17 points in 29 games for the Rocket in his first AHL campaign.

The right wingers defensive game is as good as his offence and he is proving to be an impact player at the AHL level right now. The Canadiens are pretty deep on right wing with Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman, Joel Armia and Josh Anderson playing the right side, but Ylonen is soon going to force his way onto the team.

NHL Projection: Much like current Habs wingers from Finland Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia, Ylonen’s defensive game will ensure he has a lengthy NHL career. At worst he is a fourth line winger and penalty killer but he is showing to be much more this season. He will end up being a middle six right winger with 20 goal and 45 point seasons.

NHL ETA: It really depends on how many veterans get traded and when. Ylonen has already played 8 NHL games but that was mostly because the team was battling with dozens of Covid cases. He probably plays most of this season in the minors but becomes a full-time NHL player next season.

#7: Cayden Primeau

Primeau was a 7th round pick of the Canadiens in 2017 and then quickly became one of the best goaltenders in college hockey. He had two excellent seasons for the Northeastern Huskies before choosing to turn pro for the 2019-20 season.

Primeau’s pro career so far has been a bit of a roller coaster of hot and cold streaks. However, he puts up much better numbers when he is playing consistently.

His first pro season he was splitting the net with Charlie Lindgren and struggled early on. Later in the season when Keith Kinkaid was shipped out of town and Lindgren called up to the NHL, Primeau started playing more and played much better. Then a pandemic hit and shut his rookie season down.

Last season, Primeau put up a 2.10 GAA and a .909 SV% along with an 11-4-0 record in 16 games played. It was a big step forward but again, the pandemic shortened season limited him to just 16 games.

This season, Primeau has a 2.77 GAA and a .912 SV% in 16 games with the Rocket. He has been called up to the Canadiens recently who are an embarrassment defensively which has led to Primeau putting up some ugly numbers.

He is still just 22 years old and showed a lot of promise when given the net in the AHL.

NHL Projection: Primeau looks like he can be a starting goalie at the NHL level. He hasn’t been spectacular at the AHL level so it would be difficult to say he will be a star in the NHL, but he can certainly be an average starting goaltender at the NHL level.

NHL ETA: He’s here! But only because Carey Price hasn’t played yet, Jake Allen is injured and Sam Montembeault is out of the lineup as well. Ideally, Primeau would spend this season and next playing a ton of games at the AHL level before taking over a full-time NHL role in 2023-24.

#6: Mattias Norlinder

A third round pick of the Habs in 2019, Norlinder has had a small taste of NHL action already this season before going back to Sweden, but be promises to be here for a long time in the future.

Norlinder is exactly what the Canadiens have been missing on their blue line: a fast, agile, offence creating defenceman. Even in his short six game audition at the NHL level this season, it was clear that Norlinder could elude forecheckers with his speed and move the puck out of the defensive zone with a quick head fake and a burst of speed to open ice.

The 21 year old is back in Sweden for the remainder of this season playing for Frolunda. He hasn’t piled up points over there but showed in his brief North American stint that he is a puck moving defender and one that the Canadiens desperately need on the blue line.

NHL Projection: Second pairing offensive minded puck moving defenceman who quarterbacks the top power play and puts up 40-50 points.

NHL ETA: Has to develop the defensive game a bit more but his skating and ability to create offence should earn him a roster spot to begin next season.

#5: Sean Farrell

The Canadiens drafted Sean Farrell in the 4th round of the 2020 NHL Draft even though he was predicted by most to go much earlier. He was expected to go in the second round because of his terrific offensive ability, but he dropped because he is not that tall.

The playmaking left winger then went out and scored a ridiculous 101 points in 53 games for the Chicago Steel of the USHL last season. h e should have been playing college hockey but Harvard elected not to play at all last season so Farrell stayed in Junior for an extra year.

He is playing his first season at Harvard now and has 19 points in 14 games to begin his college career. His exceptional vision, creativity and offensive instincts immediately translated to the NCAA. He was even asked to represent the USA in the upcoming Olympics.

NHL Projection: Playmaking top six left winger that can run a power play from the side boards.

NHL ETA: Difficult to predict for college players. Turning pro means leaving Harvard which is a pretty good school I hear. Will certainly play one more year at Harvard and likely two and then sign with Habs for the 2024-25 season.

#4: Riley Kidney

The Canadiens drafted Riley Kidney in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft. He was coming off a terrific postseason with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL that saw him score 17 points in just nine games.

He was just over a point per game in the regular season with 38 points in 33 games but he has taken an enormous leap forward this season.

Kidney was sitting inside the top ten in QMJHL scoring for most of the first half of the season and now has 17 goals and 41 points in 29 games. He is a creative offensive player with terrific vision and playmaking abilities but also a dangerous shot that has allowed him to snipe from well out this season.

The 18 year old centre also plays a smart two-way game. He is one of the best faceoff men in the QMJHL and can be trusted to take care of business defensively as well as score nearly 1.5 points per game.

NHL Projection: The offence will decide but a two-way middle six centre. The offensive explosion this season suggest he will be a really good second line centre.

NHL ETA: He will play in the QMJHL and likely World Juniors next season and then a full year of AHL wouldn’t hurt before making his NHL debut in 2024-25.

#3: Joshua Roy

Roy was a 5th round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft but his stock has been on a steep incline all season long. Everyone knew he had skill all along but his work ethic and commitment were questioned during his draft year.

He played 35 games in 2020-21 and scored 35 points as a 17 year old showing there was tons of offensive ability there. He just needed to pull it all together on and off the ice to reach his full potential.

And boy has he.

The 18 year old winger is tied for second in the league in points with 47 in just 27 games. He is averaging just about 1.75 points per game after committing himself in the offseason to a rigorous workout routine and buying into a more strict diet. The talent was always there but the work ethic and commitment needed to match that elite skill and it is this season.

NHL Projection: First line scoring winger with point per game potential.

NHL ETA: Will play another season in QMJHL in 2022-23 and be a top scorer for the World Juniors. Will play for Canadiens in 2023-24.

#2: Kaiden Guhle

Kaiden Guhle was the Canadiens first round pick in 2020 and he was touted as a defensive, punishing, physical force on the ice.

All of those traits are true, but Guhle is showing there might be a bit more offence to his game that we originally thought. He did have 40 points in 65 games in 2019-20 before the Habs drafted him, but this season he is at about a point per game.

Guhle was recently traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings who are one of the top teams in Canadian Junior hockey. He is their top defenceman and plays a poised two-way game since returning from the abbreviated World Juniors. No one questions his defensive game and he has 22 points in 23 WHL games this season.

NHL projection: Smart, defensively strong, top pairing, minute eating defender with limited offence (25 points).

NHL ETA: Next season.

#1: Logan Mailloux

The Canadiens drafted Logan Mailloux with the 31st pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. His one-ice play shows he definitely has the talent of a first round pick.

Mailloux was suspended by the OHL for the first half of the season so he has only played six games so far this season. However, he has not been shut out in a game yet. He had two assists in his first game of the season. Then he scored twice in his second game. He has a point in each game since then and now has three goals and eight points in six games.

But it isn’t the offensive numbers that stand out when watching Mailloux. He really has the total package in a player.

The 18 year old is a 6’3″ and 208 pound right shot defenceman. His effortless skating stride has him blowing past opposing players with ease. He stickhandles like a playmaking centre and might have the hardest shot in Junior hockey. He uses his size in front of his own zone to clear out opposing players and reads the play so well he usually cuts out an offensive chance before it gets to his net.

NHL Projection: Top pairing two-way defender with star potential.

NHL ETA: Plays 2022-23 season with London Knights after being late cut from NHL camp as a 19 year old and steps into a prominent role on the Canadiens blue line in 2023-24.