Owen Protz's signing adds physical element to Montreal Canadiens' prospect pool

The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level deal with the team's 2024 fourth-round pick, defenceman Owen Protz. Over the last four seasons, split between the Sudbury Wolves and the Brantford Bulldogs, Protz has established himself as one of the Canadiens top defensive prospects, who will now be able to showcase his talents with the Laval Rocket starting next season. His contract will only start next season and will run until the 2028-29 season. The 6’2” Ottawa-born defenceman will be joining a defensive group in Laval that already boasts newly signed Luke Mittelstadt, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher, and likely Bryce Pickford once his season comes to an end with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Protz began his junior career with the Wolves in the 2022-23 season, but only appeared in one game after making the jump following his season with the Ottawa Jr. Senators in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), where he won a league championship. He began the next season with the Wolves as an everyday player, but his time in Sudbury would not last long. Midway through the 2023-24 season, Protz, along with two second-round and a third-round pick, was traded from the Wolves to the Bulldogs for Noah Van Vliet. In 66 games split between the Wolves and the Bulldogs, Protz recorded three goals and 19 points, along with 49 penalty minutes (PIM), which comes at a cost for the physical brand of hockey he plays.

In the 2024-25 season, Protz had the best offensive season of his OHL career, where he amassed five goals and 32 points in 67 games, while adding 57 PIM. His points per game slightly rose in the playoffs, where he recorded one goal and six points in 11 games. He followed up his 2024-25 campaign with five goals and 23 points this season, but his PIM jumped up to 84. Protz is not renowned for his puck-moving and scoring ability, but instead, it is his physicality and defensive game that made him rise up the Canadiens prospect rankings.

Protz is not just a player who can deliver a big hit, but actively searches for opportunities to use his 6’2”, 210-pound frame. He has mentioned in previous interviews that he models his game after Chris Pronger and Scott Stevens, two of the hardest-hitting defencemen we have ever seen in the NHL. Protz will not be a dynamic point-producing defenceman at the NHL level, but the Canadiens have enough of that style of defender in their lineup. He could project to be a bottom-four shutdown defenceman who brings physicality to the team’s lineup, something that has become a need for the Canadiens as this season has gone on.

Protz is not a finished product yet and will need a couple of seasons in Laval to continue his development and round out his game before entertaining talks of him making the jump to the NHL. The Canadiens' prospect pool continues to get larger, and adding more competition will only bring out the best in their players. However, Protz’s physicality presents something different compared to Engstrom, Reinbacher, and Pickford, who, for the most part, are slick-skating puck-moving defencemen. The Canadiens have an embarrassment of riches, and it will be interesting to see how all their developments play out.