Montreal Canadiens: Three Habs Prospects Poised To Dominate Upcoming World Juniors
Jacob Fowler
Jacob Fowler was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Canadiens, but he looks like a future starter at the NHL level. The 19 year old is playing his first year of college hockey but he looks like a seasoned veteran every weekend when the Boston College Eagles take to the ice.
While Trey Augustine entered the season as the favorite to win the starter’s role at this year’s World Juniors, the fact of the matter is he has been outplayed by Fowler this season.
Fowler has been sensational for Boston College, posting a 12-3-1 record in 16 games with a 2.04 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. Boston College is ranked as one of the top teams in the country and are playing in an exceptionally difficult Hockey East Conference that has a handful of national title hopefuls this season.
Meanwhile, Augustine is playing for a Michigan State team that had high hopes as well but are a little behind the Eagles. Augustine has a strong record of 9-3-2 as his team wins their fair share of games, but his 3.17 goals against average and .911 save percentage in 15 games pale in comparison to Fowler.
Not only does this show Fowler should have the edge on the starting job as the World Juniors begin, but his stellar numbers show he would be able to compete with the best in the world.
The Canadiens prospect has been at his best when the moments are the biggest in his past including an incredible performance at the World Junior A Challenge as well as a dominant performance in last year’s USHL Playoffs.
The World Junior stage awaits and Fowler looks more than ready to dominate against the best teenagers in the world.
Filip Mesar
Filip Mesar was a first round pick of the Canadiens in the 2022 NHL Draft and has been playing with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL since then.
He had a solid first season in Canada’s top Junior league, scoring 51 points in 52 games and parlayed that into a strong World Juniors last winter. Mesar was on a scrappy Slovakian squad and helped them compete by putting up six points in five tournament games. They were an underdog but beat USA in a round robin game and lost to Canada in overtime in the quarterfinals.
This season, Mesar looks like a much more dominant player on the ice with the Rangers. While he was a point per game performer last season, he is much closer to two points per game this season with 12 goals and 29 points in 17 games thus far. He was named the OHL’s Player of the Month in November, and has a chance to be named the player of the tournament at the World Juniors.
It would take a surprising run by Slovakia to the medal round, but with Mesar potentially joined by Dalibor Dvorksy, Martin Misiak and Simon Nemec, you never know. What we do know is he looked great a year ago at this event and is a much better player this season so he is poised to have a monster tournament while playing a ton of minutes for a team that is not as deep as some other countries who will be competing.
If he clicks with Dvorksy at even strength, and Misiak joins them to form a dominant power play, Mesar could be piling up points at this tournament and should be in the running for a Tournament All-Star Team nod is not an MVP performance.
Lane Hutson
The Montreal Canadiens took a gamble on a supremely skilled but undersized defenseman named Lane Hutson at the 2022 NHL Draft and he looks like an absolute steal already.
Hutson is in his second season with Boston University and is a dominant force on the ice every single game. As a freshman, he scored an incredible 15 goals and 48 points in 39 games. The puck seems to be tied to his stick when he has it as he dashes in every direction as he fools opposing defenders but he never seems to so much as bobble the puck.
His skating is by far his biggest strength but it is his agility and ability to change direction on a dime that allows him to constantly buy more time with the puck. Then, he is adept at finding a teammate with a perfect pass and though he doesn’t have the hardest shot from the point, he has a knack for getting the shot through traffic and fooling goaltenders who can’t track it.
Hutson played at the World Juniors a year ago and looked great, though Luke Hughes and even Luke Mittelstadt seemed to get more offensive opportunities. That won’t be the case this year as Hutson is the clear and obvious choice to quarterback what should be a tremendously dangerous power play.
Team USA is loaded with forwards who can score and boast a ridiculous top six that should include the Boston College trio of Will Smith, Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault as well as Cutter Gauthier, Frank Nazar and Rutger McGroarty. All six of those players were drafted in the top 15 of the past two NHL Drafts and will benefit from having Hutson transporting the puck up ice for them and setting them up in offensive situations.
If Hutson continues to do that, which he does on a nightly basis against older players already, he will create countless scoring chances and should be among the tournament scoring leaders. He already dominates offensively at the college level and will continue to do that for USA and should be on the short list for pre-tournament favorites to win World Junior MVP.
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