Forwards
Isaac Dufort is a 20 year old forward who is coming off a strong season in the QMJHL with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. He scored 21 goals and 41 points in 61 games on a rebuilding team and added seven more points in seven playoff games. He isn’t lighting the league up with his scoring, but that’s why he hasn’t been drafted yet.
Dufort is worth keeping an eye on as a possible signing candidate and could get the same deal that Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Xavier Simoneau and Joel Teasdale got which is to be sent back to the QMJHL for their overage season and then signed to an AHL-only contract for one year. At 6’2″ and 180 pounds, the Laval native is definitely on the Canadiens radar as a potential future Laval Rocket.
Gabriel Seger took an interesting route to get here as the Swedish forward has been playing college hockey in the United States. That’s not unheard of, but college hockey teams don’t have a ton of European players in their lineups. Seger was named to the ECAC Rookie All-Star Team in 2020 after scoring 22 points in 37 games with Union College. He missed the entire next season as Ivy League schools did not compete in 2020-21 due to Covid so Seger didn’t play a game.
He had 21 points in 34 games in 2021-22, showing little improvement from his freshman season, but he didn’t play hockey for a year in between. Last season, he stepped up and scored 30 points in 30 games for Cornell after transferring there for his final college campaign. He is now 23 years old and 6’4″ and 223 pounds. Is he a late bloomer who suffered from a year off but is back on track? Could be ready to step right into an AHL lineup at his age and size.
William Vote is a skilled young player who was kind of surprisingly passed over in the 2023 NHL Draft. He was ranked as a 4th-5th rounder by a lot of scouting outlets but was not picked at all in the seven round event. That would only be because of his size. He is 5’7″ but quite skilled as he put up 16 goals and 45 points in 61 games for the U.S. Development Team last season.
Vote also had seven points in seven games at the World Under-18 tournament and is headed to Boston College next season. He is not eligible to sign an entry-level contract as he must re-enter the NHL Draft next season. The Canadiens selected a few overagers at this year’s draft and could have their eye on him in the later rounds of next year’s draft.