I'm not here to tell the Montreal Canadiens scouting staff what to do. They have been doing just fine on their own, and don't need some amateur to pretend he knows what he's talking about. However, the Habs have been doing well with drafting Big Ten players, and that trend continued this past year when they selected Michael Hage with their second first-round pick. Hage had an impressive first season with the University of Michigan, recording 34 points in 33 games. For his efforts, Hage won the BIg Ten Freshman of the Year Award.
It's an impressive list of players who have won this award, which includes Artyom Levshunov and Adam Fantilli in the past few seasons. Dylan Larkin and Kyle Connor are some other notable winners from the past ten years. When looking at the list of recent winners there are some familiar names, including Cole Caufield in 2019-20 and Jakub Dobes in 2021-22. It's remarkable to think the Canadiens have three Big Ten Freshman of the Year winners in the past six years.
Caufield had a season much like Hage in his freshman year at Michigan. He recorded 19 goals and 17 assists in 36 games, which gave put him at a point-per-game pace. It'll be interesting to see whether Hage can return to Michigan for his sophmore season and have a year like Caufield. Caufield's sophomore season saw him record 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games, which gave him Big Ten Player of the Year and the Hobey Baker Award.
Caufield turned pro after that season and joined the Canadiens for their Cinderella run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. It's a funny parallel, as the Canadiens are back into contention for the first time since that run, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Hage turn pro after next year and join the team for a playoff run. If Hage becomes the new Caufield, no one in Montreal will complain.
The Canadiens drafted Dobes with the 136th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He spent his next season in the USHL but joined the Ohio State Buckeyes for the 2021-22 season and put up one of the best freshman goaltending seasons ever. He recorded a 2.26 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. Dobes also was a semi-finalist for the top goaltender in the nation.
The Big Ten has been a breeding ground for young Canadiens stars. Is it a coincidence, or do the Habs somehow have the inside tract on Big Ten stars?