Tyler Thorpe hoping to become fifth round steal like Brendan Gallagher

The Montreal Canadiens are hoping to strike with a fifth round selection who played with the Vancouver Giants.

Tyler Thorpe joined Brendan Gallagher as a fifth-round draftee of the Canadiens. Thorpe was the first Vancouver Giant player drafted by the Habs since 2010 - when they selected Gallagher. It's pretty good company for one of the newest additions to the prospect pool.

The only thing the pair have in common is that they both shoot right. Thorpe is 6'5" and weighs 212 lbs, while Gallagher is a modest 5'9" and just under 185 lbs. Like Gallagher, Thorpe loves to wreak havoc in front of the net, but his focus is creating scoring chances with quick deflections.

Thorpe adds some beef to the Canadiens group of prospects and he is a pretty impressive shooter. He loves to shoot the puck in motion, which can catch goalies off guard - or create knuckle pucks that get the goalie moving.

What's next for Thorpe?

Thorpe posted a solid 44 points in 51 games establishing a new career-high in goals and points also. The 2023-24 was his second season with the Giants after he joined the team back in 2022-23. Thorpe split the previous season between the BCHL, with the Langley Rivermen and the WHL's Giants.

On August 11, the 2005-born forward will turn 19, so he has a big season ahead of him. If the upward trajectory continues to roll, then he could earn himself at the very least a standard American Hockey League contract to start the 2025-26 season. I don't expect that he will hit his stride until he hits 20 or 21, just because he has a large frame that could take him a little longer to learn how to use.

If you look at Juraj Slafkovsky, he had to gain a little confidence and once he played into strengths he started to take over shifts. Thorpe isn't the same style player, nor is his potential as high as Slafkovsky. But that doesn't matter, he was drafted to help out in the bottom six down the road, so he has the time to develop.