Three NCAA Free Agents For Montreal Canadiens To Watch At NCAA Tournament
The Montreal Canadiens are once again near the bottom of the NHL standings and are trying to improve their team any way they possibly can right now.
They do have an intriguing pair of goaltenders on the roster as Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau look like they could be a steady duo for the next couple of seasons. Also, they have several options in the pipeline as Jacob Fowler, Jakub Dobes, Yevgeni Volokhin and Quentin Miller have all had impressive seasons in various levels of hockey.
Also, on defense, the team is loaded with young players like Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, Jordan Harris as well as prospects like Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux who look ready to join the team soon.
Up front, things are not quite as impressive. Yes, the current top trio of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky could be together for a very long time but there are not many other options locked in behind them at the moment. Adding some help at forward should be the team's top priority and they could start by looking at players at the NCAA Tournament that begins later this week.
Here are five players about to play for college hockey's national title that could be on the radar for the Canadiens as potential signings this offseason.
Josh Nadeau
Josh Nadeau is a skilled winger who plays at Maine and is a freshman that has carried them to a strong season. He, along with his brother Bradly, who was a first round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes have carried the University of Maine to the NCAA Tournament.
Josh Nadeau is a freshman this season, but is already 20 years old and played the past two seasons with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL where he was dominant. He scored 44 goals and 110 points in 54 games last season and translated that into an excellent first year of NCAA Hockey as well.
The New Brunswick native scored an impressive 18 goals and 45 points in 36 games for Maine this season, helping them finish in the 5th overall ranking in college hockey at the end of the season. They will now face Cornell on Thursday as they look to make a run at a national title.
A lot of eyes will be on the Nadeau brothers, and the Canadiens should have a long look at Josh Nadeau who may not want to sign with an NHL team this offseason, but will one day down the road as he has tremendous skills.
T.J. Hughes
T.J. Hughes, like Nadeau, delayed the start to his college hockey career and played a couple of extra years in Canada's Junior A circuit. Hughes played in Alberta's AJHL with the Brooks Bandits and put up some ridiculous numbers as well.
His last season in Brooks was the 2021-22 campaign when he scored 66 goals and 127 points in 61 games. He has since played two seasons of college hockey and immediately showed he could carve out an offensive role on a ridiculuosly deep Michigan team.
Hughes scored 13 goals and 36 points in 39 games as a freshman in 2022-23 and was even better this season. He added 18 goals and 44 points in 38 games demonstrating he is an impact player at the NCAA level.
The 22 year old will now look to lead Michigan on a run to the Frozen Four and that will begin on Friday when they face North Dakota.
Jaxon Nelson
Of all the players on this list, Jaxon Nelson has the least impressive offensive totals. He is playing in his fifth season at Minnesota, and put up 16 goals and 28 points in 37 games this season.
However, he does have some attributes that will make him attractive to NHL teams when his season concludes. First of all, he is 6'4" and 225 pounds so that is a great starting point. He is also a right shot center which checks another box most NHL teams are looking to find. He is also the captain of a Big Ten team which shows some leadership qualities everyone would like to have join their team.
The problem is the limited offensive upside. But, even if there is little scoring coming from Nelson, a huge right shot center is not a bad depth piece to bring in to the organization. How often have the Canadiens been short on centers and could use a reliable fourth line pivot to play a few games?
It happens every year and Nelson could be the guy that fills in for a few games here and there in the future.
Jacob Quillan
Jacob Quillan also played for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL for a season before heading to the United States to play college hockey. He had a slow start as a freshman, but is now in his third season and has been dominant for two years.
Quillan scored 19 goals and 38 points in 41 games last season and played the hero in the National final, scoring the game winning goal to crown Quinnipiac as the 2023 NCAA Champions.
The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native is relied on to play in all situations and is the type of player that just routinely gets the job done no matter what is asked of him. He prjects as a potential third line winger at the NHL level that can play at both ends of the ice and would be a nice addition to the Canadiens prospect pool.
Collin Graf
The only player on Quinnipiac with more points than Quillan this season is Collin Graf. He is a 21 year old forward who has put up impressive numbers in all three of his NCAA seasons but especially the past two.
He was the highest scorer in the country a year ago when he piled up 21 goals and 59 points in 41 games en route to a national title. He has 22 goals and 48 points in 32 games this season and his 1.5 points per game ranks 8th in the country.
Graf is a dangerous offensive player who makes goaltenders pay when he gets a chance in the attacking zone. He is still young enough to consider him a prospect and his numbers at the college level suggest he could be a scoring winger at a higher level in the near future.
The Canadiens certainly need those and should keep a close eye on Graf, and Quillan, when Quinnipaic begins their NCAA Tournament on Friday against Wisconsin.
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