It is no longer a surprise to see a list come out of the best young players in the NHL, and it is being filled with Montreal Canadiens players. The Athletic writer Corey Pronman revealed his list of the best NHL players and prospects under 23, and while there are seven Canadiens players on the list, some of the rankings will leave fans shocked, and there is one glaring omission. The list kicks off with San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini at number one, which is absolutely the right call, as he looks every bit like the future face of the NHL. However, after the first couple of names, the rest of the list leaves you scratching your head.
Lane Hutson at 11 is shocking
Out of the first 11 players on the list, the Canadiens have three, just not in the order you would have thought they would be in. Draft pedigree looks to carry significant weight in the rankings, with four of the last five first-overall picks in the top five. Juraj Slafkovsky is the first Canadiens player to appear on the list, coming in at number four. The ranking is labelled by tiers, with Slafkovsky being in tier two, labelled “NHL star”. Four spots later, we see another Canadiens player make the list. Ivan Demidov comes in at number eight in tier 3, labelled “Bubble NHL star and top of the lineup player”. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with where these two are ranked. Both look like future stars, but if you talk to anyone who watches Canadiens games, you would know that Lane Hutson should be above the previous two, as well as some of the other names on the list.
Everything we have seen from Hutson so far should tell you that, at minimum, he is in the “NHL star” category. There is also an argument that he belongs in the “Elite NHL player” tier. Since coming into the league, all Hutson has done is prove doubters wrong and break records in the process. In his first season, he tied the NHL record for assists by a rookie defenceman (60). His assist and points total (66) set a new all-time mark for a Canadiens rookie defenceman. He followed that up last season by nearly being a point-per-game player, recording 12 goals and 66 assists in 82 games. Pronman's biggest gripe with Hutson is that he is not a very physical defenceman and does not have “Quinn Hughes-type feet for his size,” but that has not stopped him from lighting the league on fire in his first two seasons. No one is going to tell you that Hutson is Jacob Slavin on the defensive end, but he is not a net-negative in his own zone either. He showed significant improvements in his defensive game last season, while being one of the best offensive defencemen in the NHL. At worst, he should be listed on the same tier as Matthew Schaefer, who had an equally impressive rookie season. Instead, Hutson falls in at 11, just three spots above his younger brother Cole, who has 14 games of NHL experience.
Jacob Fowler is missing completely from the list
As you go down the list, where the Canadiens prospects are slotted in gets increasingly puzzling. After Hutson, the next Canadiens prospect on the list is Alexander Zharovsky at 55, and one spot behind him is the most recent Montreal first-round pick, Gleb Pugachyov at 56. Some may argue with where those two rank, but considering they both play overseas in Russia and are still developmental prospects, being in the “Bubble top and middle of the lineup player” tier makes a lot of sense. David Reinbacher is up next at 73, and while he is a former fifth-overall pick, the injuries have made some worry that he will ever reach his full potential. The final Canadiens player on the list is Michael Hage, ranked 93rd in the “Middle of the lineup player” tier. Largely viewed as the Canadiens number one prospect not in the NHL, and many believe he could solve the Canadiens issue at centre. Pronman believes Hage is not “the hardest forward to play against” and is not convinced he can be a centre in the NHL. While that is a shocking view, what is even more bizarre is that Jacob Fowler did not make the list at all.
We are only two years removed from Fowler dominating the NCAA with Boston College. In his final season there, he posted a 25-7-2 record, with a 1.63 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. He won the Mike Richter Award as the best goalie in NCAA Division I, and his 1.63 goals-against average is the lowest mark in a season in the school’s history. When he signed his entry-level contract in 2025, he was viewed as one of the best goalie prospects in the entire NHL. Last season, all Fowler did was prove that. He split the season with the Canadiens and Laval Rocket and was equally impressive for both teams. With the Rocket, Fowler posted a 19-7-1 record, with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He was called up due to Samuel Montembeault’s struggles and looked every bit like a future star goalie. He had a 9-6-2 record in the NHL, posting a 2.43 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. He has done nothing but show that he has a bright future, but Pronman believes there are at least six goalies with a higher ceiling than Fowler. Maybe he believes Jakub Dobes' emergence will take opportunities away from Fowler, but on talent alone, he belongs on the list.
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