Canadiens: Future Top Four Defense Has Potential To Be Phenomenal

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Headlined by Lane Hutson, the Montreal Canadiens have compiled a great young core of defensemen in their prospect pool.

Falling to the bottom of the NHL standings has allowed the Canadiens to add a couple of top five picks in the past two years. That gives them a chance to add some elite talent to the prospect pipeline, but the Canadiens were able to do that with later picks recently as well.

With a recent early first round pick, a mid-round pick in the first round, a late first round pick and a late second round pick, the Canadiens have built up an extremely deep crop of prospects on the blue line.

As we have seen in recent years, teams that are successful in the postseason have an impressive and deep group of defensemen to build the team around. The Vegas Golden Knights had Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo who they could lean on for tons of minutes each night, and a solid, enormous supporting cast that limited scoring chances and made life difficult for the opposition.

The emerging top four of the Canadiens could provide everything it takes to win a championship in the next few years and they are all just on the beginning of their journey.

The potential top four of the future are all relatively close in age, and should they develop as planned, they could form a nice blend of size, skill, physicality and speed. One is already in the NHL marinating, and waiting for his future bandmates to join him.

Below are the four defensemen, and a brief explanation about each of them. I will rank them, merely by their NHL readiness, and potential arrival time. One, as mentioned earlier is already playing in the NHL, and the rest played last season in the OHL, NLA and NCAA.

Kaiden Guhle

The Canadiens were laughing when Kaiden Guhle was still available when the 16th pick in the 2020 draft. They knew something that the first 15 teams didn’t, and Guhle wasted little time showing the Habs brass, and management what kind of potential that he had. Guhle was, and still is a beautiful skater, and at 6’2”, 205 lbs, he is a punishing hitter, and a very capable top two, two-way left-handed defenseman.

He hasn’t exploded offensively, and I don’t see him becoming a point-producing power-play quarterback, but he can produce offence, and play a very smart and steady shutdown style. If you can slot him on the second pair, and have a more offensive-minded guy on the top pair, that is some serious depth. In the interest of having a well-balanced pairing with a lefty and a righty, the next player on the list will be the perfect player for the Habs to slot alongside Guhle.

He is just 21 years old, making him the oldest of the four defensemen in this exercise.

Logan Mailloux

With the final pick of the 2021 draft’s first round, the polarizing Logan Mailloux was selected by former Canadiens general manager, Marc Bergevin. He was passed on, because of his renouncing from the draft for his previous actions, Bergevin ignored that, however. Now, we are at the point where Mailloux has done all the things the league asked of him, and he is awaiting a meeting with Gary Bettman to determine his NHL eligibility.

If Guhle is the shutdown defender, with some offensive, Mailloux in the yin to the yang, so to speak. Mailloux can skate like the wind, he has a brilliant offensive mind, and his shot and positioning, paired with his puck skills, make him a constant goalscoring threat. Defensively, Mailloux’s size (6’3” 212 lbs) helps him play a mean, physical style, and while he has some ironing out to do for his defensive game, he is on the right track.

At just 20 years old, Mailloux has missed significant development time, but hasn’t shown signs of it on the ice. He has a big opportunity ahead of him, on a weak right side for the Canadiens. We may see him sooner than later.

David Reinbacher

The Canadiens fifth overall selection, and the second consecutive top five first round pick of the Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton era, has a big decision ahead of him. Pending his decision, Reinbacher could realistically play for the Canadiens, if he decides to. And while he stated his interest in finishing his education, and playing his 2023 season in the NL with HC Kloten, he has options. He played last year in the Swiss pro league, and showed skill that wowed a former NHLer.

Reinbacher is the youngest of the potential future top four defensemen. He has a blend of size, skating, skill and physicality, with some offence still developing. Right now, Mailloux looks to be a step ahead of Reinbacher, and such is no surprise, and the latter is two years older. The two big, right shot defenders will have every opportunity to be the future of the Canadiens right defence group.

The 18-year-old has all the tools to be a dominant two-way defensemen, and he will be right on pace to join the Canadiens young core, and grow on their way back to becoming a contender.

Lane Hutson

For many Lane Hutson is the not only the Canadiens top defence prospect, but he is the number one prospect in the Habs prospect pipeline. Hutson’s size discouraged a lot of team’s from drafting him, and that played right into Kent Hughes hands, as he fell to them at number 62 in the 2022 draft. Hutson had proof that his growth platelets hadn’t closed yet, and the Canadiens did their due diligence in scouting him.

Hutson has set himself apart from the rest of the prospect pool, and is one of the NHL’s premiere prospects. According to his elite prospects profile, Hutson has grown to 5’10”, and with another season playing for Boston University, he will have the time and resources to add some muscle. He is looking to best his record breaking 2022-23 campaign, and if all things go right, he should do it.

The 19-year-old could potentially join the Canadiens in 2024, if he opts to turn pro after his sophomore campaign. The Canadiens blueline could have four big additions by the end of this season, if not staring in 2024-25.

The Canadiens have something nice brewing, and the defensive side of the prospect pool will complement the offence quite nicely.

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