Adam Engstrom recalled to Canadiens ahead of three game road trip

In a surprising move made Sunday evening, the Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Adam Engstrom had been recalled from the Laval Rocket. The announcement was coupled with the signing of depth forward Alexandre Texier.

Engstrom has had an excellent start to his second AHL season in Laval, accumulating 14 points (5 goals and 9 assists) in 18 games played this season. Engstrom had his best offensive game of the 2025-2026 campaign Saturday afternoon against the Belleville Senators, securing 1 goal and 4 assists in the match.

In the 2024-2025 season, Engstrom put up more than respectable numbers for a rookie defender in the AHL, 5 goals and 22 assists in 66 games, as well as 5 assists in 13 Calder Cup playoff games.

Engstrom comes in support of a Canadiens team that is about to embark on a difficult 3-game road trip. Wednesday night is against a formidable Utah Mammoth, who have been struggling to find consistency, 3-4-3 over their last 10 games, but still sit in a Western Conference wildcard position with 25 points. The Vegas Golden Knights are next up on Friday, with the Avalanche the following day.

The 2022 third-round pick brings a lot of valuable tools to the Canadiens. For starters, he is one of the best Habs prospects when it comes to skating, full stop. Engstrom is agile, sturdy in his stance, and can turn on the jets when given space.

Almost as equally impressive is the young Swede’s ability to stay poised with the puck and control pace. He is more than happy to take his time with the puck to make the right play, and his vision is impressive enough to justify that. Pair that with his passing skills, and that combines for a deadly player when transitioning to offence.

Engstrom’s most underrated ability might be his shot, and it’s only gotten better with time. Through 18 games, he has already tied his goal total from the previous season. Who can blame someone for overlooking his shot when you have a guy like David Reinbacher on the same squad. Engstrom sits second in AHL scoring amongst defensemen and leads in goals with the aforementioned 5.

On the defensive side of things, Engstrom battles hard along the boards, clears the zone well and backchecks with authority, utilizing his skating skills. The same skills he brings to the offensive side of the game translate very well the other way.

The big question is, where will he play? The Canadiens have been hesitant, even extremely reluctant, to call Engstrom up from Laval, preferring to let him cook in the AHL and dominate at that level, so it seems extremely unlikely he would be brought along as simply an insurance policy.