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 14th-ranked prospect, Jayden Struble.
The Canadiens drafted Struble in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft out of High School in the New England area. From there, Struble joined fellow Montreal Canadiens prospect Jordan Harris at Northeastern University in the NCAA, where he played four seasons. While there, the young defenseman played his steady game and earned himself an NHL contract with the Canadiens.
In March, he signed his ELC with Montreal before joining Laval and playing nine regular-season games and two playoff games. He’ll look to expand upon that role heading into this season, now with a full training camp with the team soon to be under his belt. Struble is all but guaranteed to start next year in Laval, but good play and opportunities could lead to a call-up at some point.
In case you're wondering what you're getting from Jayden Struble, this is him in a nutshell. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/wYxNkX2REP
— Hadi Kalakeche (@HadiK_Scouting) March 18, 2023
When you talk about Struble and the kind of game he plays, just know that he’s physical and extremely athletic. In his draft year, he dominated the combine, and four years later, he’s certainly ready to play against men in the professional leagues. He can hit, win battles in the corner and in front of the net and is a great skater. He can kill plays at one end, oftentimes using a bodycheck to do so and transition the other way well.
He needs to improve defensively as he’s not always in great position and is prone to mistakes that could become costly against NHL competition. And while he has incredible athleticism, his offensive game doesn’t necessarily make up for his defensive concerns. Development is needed here if Struble wants to take the next step in his game. He has the physical tools to thrive in the NHL, but he needs to work on his game. I suspect Adam Nicholas, the Canadiens skills coach, is going to have a heavy hand in whatever Struble can become at the professional level.
Struble is a left-shot defenseman, so even with sound development, which we believe is possible, his path to the NHL will be blocked or at least hindered by some guys in front of him. He projects as a bottom-four defenseman, someone who may not take on the biggest of roles, but due to his physical game, he will be very noticeable on the ice. With the Canadiens already having quite a few solid top-four guys, Struble would complement these guys in this role nicely.
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