20th ranked U24 Habs player - Sean Farrell

For the month of May, aside from the NHL Draft lottery, there isn’t much going on. So here at A Winning Habit, I’ve decided to rank the 24 best Canadiens under 24 years old. I opted to rank players that are closest to the NHL, so aside from David Reinbacher, there are no 2023 Draftees. 

So, without further ado, let’s go ahead with the 20th best player, in my opinion, Sean Farrell. 

Farrell was drafted in the second fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, after a strong rookie season in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel. The diminutive winger scored 56 points in 41 games, showcasing his brilliant playmaking skills and elite vision. The Milton, Massachusetts., native followed up his strong draft season, with an impeccable 101 points through 53 games; all with a letter (A) on his sweater.

A commit to the University of Harvard men's ice hockey team, Farrell is a thinker on and off the ice and he showed that pretty quickly in his freshman NCAA season. At 5 foot 9 and 174 pounds, Farrell isn't one of the biggest players, but he makes up for it with his skill and tenacity, which aided him to his 28 points in 24 games during his freshman year. He followed up the great season, nearly doubling his point totals, accumulating 53 points through 34 games.

Farrell's dominant production earned him his entry-level contract and he soon made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens decided to let him ride out the final six games in the NHL, and while he scored his first career goal; it also gave him some insight into which areas he needs to improve. This allowed him to have a clear offseason plan, to prepare himself for his first full professional season.

It seemed to work quite well for him because he had a pretty good debut season with the Rocket this past season. The club came up short of a playoff berth, but with the youth integrated into the lineup; the missed opportunity will be a great learning opportunity. Farrell, personally had a solid year, finishing the season with 28 points through 47 games.

The issue with Farrell has nothing to do with skill or talent, but the fact that he isn't going to play in the Canadiens' top six. His size will likely prevent him from being a staple in the Canadiens lineup because they already have some smallish wingers - Cole Caufield primarily, and Filip Mesar, who hasn't put it all together yet but looks to be the more promising prospect. Because of that, Farrell ranks at number 20, but I'm not sure he will still be in the system after this offseason.