The Montreal Canadiens had a great first round at the 2024 NHL Draft.
One that significantly improved their prospect pool, so much so that their top five prospects shuffled significantly. The direction of the rebuild has been steadily forward and the drafting is a big reason why. With development taking such precedence, the Canadiens are looking like a safe bet to become a problem for the league soon enough.
As mentioned, the prospect pool got some fine new additions. The top five in the organization have two new additions, who, in my opinion will be impact players for a long time. I can’t help but think that Kent Hughes is very pleased with the talent he has accumulated.
Without further ado, let's dive into the post-2024 draft top five prospects. We’ll start at five and work our way through to one. Number four is a guy who Kent Hughes has watched mature over his time with the club. And he proved that he has grown and turned a new leaf, in getting the green light to play pro hockey starting this past season.
Logan Mailloux
Logan Mailloux is the fourth-best Canadiens prospect, and if nothing else, it shows how strong the Habs top five in the prospect pool. In my opinion, the top five in the Habs pool could be in the conversation for most teams' top two or three. Mailloux is big and strong and he skates like the wind; often surprising many with his mobility and size combination.
In his debut professional season, Mailloux looked comfortable and gave Habs fans plenty to cheer about. It's not foreign for players to dominate in junior, and then hit a wall once they turn pro, but that wasn't at all the case with Mailloux. He stepped in and from day one, he looked every bit like a first-round talent, and although he slipped for a reason, Bergevin's risky selection is looking very good.
I think that Mailloux has all of the tools to be a top-pairing defenseman, but it will mean that he has a left-shot defence partner who is a little more defensive-minded. You wouldn't want to pair him with Lane Hutson, both lean offence and separating the two would divide the offence and prevent defensive miscues. Having said that, Mailloux has all of the tools to be a 15-20 goal scorer, who plays with some bit and has great vision that aids his playmaking game.