Top 5 forward prospects for Canadiens fans to know about in the 2024 NHL Draft

Liam Greentree, RW/Windsor

If you’ve noticed a pattern here, it’s that quite a few of the players listed either have or are close to attaining NHL size. Greentree is in the former, and like most of the prospects listed, he will return to his junior team when the 2024-25 season officially begins. But unlike the others listed, Greentree should retain that ‘C’ on the chest. 

It’s always a bonus to draft a player who wore the ‘C’ as it implies leadership qualities, and you can also guess Greentree played well over the past two seasons with the WHL’s Windsor Spitfires. He had a modest 45 points and 25 goals in 61 regular season games played in 2022-23 before doubling his total this year to 90, finding twine 36 times in 64 matchups. 

Per Tankathon’s mock, Greentree looks like a mid-first-round pick, but thanks to his size, leadership, and productivity, if his stock rises between now and the end of June, don’t let it surprise you. 

Right wing is also a pressing need for the Canadiens prospects pool, and next to center, I listed it as the No. 2 area of concern in a previous post. So, if Greentree’s stock rose and the Habs picked a little beyond the fifth pick, he wouldn’t just give fans a high-end prospect to follow; Greentree would fill a major need in the prospects pool.