Montreal Canadiens fans don’t get a lot of breaking news in the month of August, so here at A Winning Habit, we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 31 prospects currently in the Habs organization. Each player was carefully deliberated by our writers and ranked accordingly. Today, we continue with our 28th-ranked prospect, Blake Biondi.
The Canadiens drafted Blake Biondi in the fourth round back in the 2020 draft out of high school. Biondi dominated the competition and took his talents to the NCAA to play for the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where he’s played for the past three seasons. While there, it’s been a mixed bag for Biondi as he’s struggled to grow consistently while there.
After a freshman season in which he had five points in 26 games (not terrible production for a freshman), he exploded for 28 points in 42 games as a sophomore. But he took a step back this past season, his junior year, only playing in 17 games and notching six points before missing the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. Is a big senior season in the cards for Biondi? Hopefully.
In high school, Biondi dominated the competition, scoring 76 points in 25 games in his final season, bringing home the award for top Minnesota High School Boys Hockey player. That was enough to see him get drafted that year. He has skill, but it’s about consistently putting it all together. The NCAA is a much tougher league than high school, and as such, it’s natural to struggle. But it shouldn’t be too challenging for a fourth-round pick, to the point where they aren’t developing. His senior season will tell us a lot.
Coming out of high school, the scouting report on Biondi was that he was great at forcing turnovers while playing physically with an adept ability at finishing in and around the crease. That doesn’t have superstar written all over him by any means, but it does sound like a prototypical bottom-six forward in many ways. Those traits could be of use to the Canadiens, who, like any team, need forward depth within the organization. But there is a catch to that.
Because Biondi is a college player, he’s not under contract with the Canadiens, and the jury is still out as to whether or not he’ll receive one. If the Canadiens don’t sign him by August 15th of next year, he becomes a UFA, free to sign with any team. His senior season will be crucial towards helping the Canadiens determine if they want to sign him. With only so many contracts available to be handed out, they may decide to look elsewhere.
As the 28th prospect in the system (we might be higher on him than others are), it’s not outlandish to say I don’t expect too much from Biondi. But we’ll keep an eye on what he does this upcoming year. It’s too early to write him off just yet, but that window is closing. He needs a big senior season to earn his contract, otherwise, his chance at playing for the Canadiens is likely over. I think he can do it; his sophomore season certainly indicates that, but we’ll have to wait and see.