Montreal Canadiens prospect update: Hage, Zharovsky, and Pickford off to hot starts

The Montreal Canadiens have the youngest roster in the NHL, and their young guns are on fire to start the season. Ivan Demidov, after only having two points in his first five games, is now sitting at nine points at the 10-game mark. His linemate, Oliver Kapanen, played in 18 games for the Canadiens last season, but could not find the back of the net. However, this season, Kapanen has been on a scoring tear, registering four goals and seven points in 10 games. In his first season with the Canadiens, Zachary Bolduc has quickly developed a knack for finding the back of the net, with four goals so far this season. It is not all about offence, with second-year goalie, Jakub Dobes, making a real case that he should be the team’s number one goalie after becoming the first rookie in NHL history to start back-to-back with a 5-0 record.

The Canadiens' roster could potentially get even younger over the next couple of seasons, with the franchise having one of the best prospect pools in the entire league. Just like the youngsters on the Canadiens roster, some of their top prospects have hit the ground running to start off their seasons in their respective leagues.

1. Michael Hage

The Canadiens are on the search for a player to fill the second-line centre position, and while they may be looking for one for the short-term, Montreal may have its long-term solution already in their organization. Michael Hage, the Canadiens' 2024 first-round pick, is making an early case that he should be the Hobey Baker frontrunner. In eight games this season, Hage has six goals and 14 points, sitting in a tie for third in NCAA scoring. This is after coming off a rookie season with the Michigan Wolverines, where he recorded 13 goals and 34 points in 33 games. If the Canadiens are looking for a second-line centre, it should not be at the expense of Hage. It may only be a year or two before we see him as an everyday regular in the Canadiens' lineup.

2. Alexander Zharovsky

When the Habs traded away both their first-round picks to acquire Noah Dobson, many feared that the Canadiens missed out on some high-level talent. However, they may have drafted a player with first-round talent in the second round. Alexander Zharovsky is having a surprising start to his KHL career, with four goals and nine points in 11 games as a rookie. What makes his production particularly impressive is that he is doing it with limited ice time, averaging just 13:35 minutes per game. Something all too familiar for Canadiens fans as Demidov dealt with similar treatment last season. Even though Zharovsky may not see as many opportunities as he would like, he is making the most of the chances he gets, showing off his incredible stick-handling and playmaking abilities.

3. Bryce Pickford

Maybe a lesser-known prospect, but Bryce Pickford is having a great start to his 2025-26 season. In 12 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL, the 2025 third-round pick has seven goals and 12 points. The right-shot defenceman has the potential to be a real goalscoring threat from the blueline with seven goals already this season, and coming off a season last year where he scored 20 goals. The Canadiens' blueline is left-shot heavy, and Pickford could add a different dynamic to their defence in the future, with being a right-hand shot and having a legitimate goalscoring threat on their backend.