The QMJHL top two draft-eligibles: Caleb Desnoyers &Justin Carbonneau

Nearly every year in the lead up to the NHL Draft, top Quebec-born prospects are linked to the Montreal Canadiens.

Interestingly, this season two Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League prospects will be available in the Canadiens draft range. I would go as far as to say that if the Canadiens are lucky, they could potentially draft both guys. One with their pick, and one with the Calgary Flames pick - and the two players would fill a need for the Habs, while arguably being the best player available.

With Montreal's current four-game winning streak, the Canadiens sit just three points (63 in 60 games) out of the final wildcard spot held by the Detroit Red Wings (66 points in 60 games). Between Montreal and Detroit are the Ottawa Senators, who have a game in hand and 64 points and the Boston Bruins (64 points in 61 games). This makes it difficult to predict where their pick will end up, when you consider the difference between a wildcard team and a non-playoff team for draft pecking order.

Right now, Caleb Desnoyers is projected to be a top seven pick, while Justin Carbonneau is ranked at 13. If the season ended today, Montreal would draft 12th, and Calgary's pick would be a top 15 selection. There is a lot that will happen over the next week, and down the stretch ahead of the playoffs.

If it ended today, then there is a fair chance Montreal could draft Carbonneau, but Desnoyers has a high probability of going top five, so he would be out of the question. But while we wait to see what happens, it's worth it to see what each of the two players would bring to the Canadiens. I believe that Desnoyers has second line centre potential, and Carbonneau could become an NHL top six winger

Let's dive into the two QMJHL prospects

Caleb Desnoyers

Desnoyers is a sturdy 6'2" 172 pound left shot centre, who plays for the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL. He is best described as an NHL translatable two-way centre, because of his excellent vision, responsible defensive play and his ability to process plays. I like Desnoyers quite a bit, and while he isn't fantastic in transition, he has the speed, smarts and competitiveness to create plays for his linemates.

Elite Prospects describes Desnoyers as a cerebral tactician - a player who relies on his great hockey sense and vision to execute plays. Desnoyers is a very good playmaker, an area where he thrives because of his great vision and exceptional passing skills. And he is described as a deft puckhandler, relying on fantastic puck skills to manoeuvre around the ice and create scoring chances.

The knocks on Desnoyers are that he doesn't have a high motor, or play with much pace, and he doesn't play a very physical game. Being that he is still 17 years old, he will grow and work on improving perceived areas of weakness. Without any further progression, he could top out as more of a middle-six centre - but he is so smart, that it feels less likely to happen that way.

Desnoyers currently has 33-44-77 through 51 QMJHL games. I think that Joel Eriksson-Ek and Jonathan Toews are stylistic comparables to Desnoyers. There are cerebral in all three zones, and they play a very competitive two-way game.

Justin Carbonneau

Carbonneau is a 6'1" 192 pound right-shot winger, who thrives carrying the puck around the ice - almost on a string, utilizing fantastic puckhandling skills to open up ice for himself and his linemates. He plays with a ton of pace, which allows him to thrive in transitional play, an area that the Canadiens could use a boost. Carbonneau is a powerful skater, with separation speed, who's motor runs high, and he pairs it with fantastic playmaking skills.

In sticking with the experts' analysis, we will refer to Elite Prospects' stylistic scouting report of Carbonneau. They describe Carbonneau as a playmaker, somebody who thrives in the passing game - displaying elite vision, and an exceptional ability to pass the puck. He is described as a powerful skater, using tremendous power and strength to move around with explosive bursts.

I read somewhere that he is a fantastic shooter, but it's his puck skills that he dominates the opposition with. Which checks out with Elite Prospects analysis - labelling Carbonneau as a deft puckhandler. It's true, he has fantastic puckhandling skills, which make him a transition nightmare for the opposition.

The slippery winger for the Blainville Boisbriand Armada currently has 39-39-78 in 55 games. Most notably, Carbonneau has scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his last 10 games. I think two good NHL stylistic comparisons would be Brayden Point and Mat Barzal - because of the pace and puckhandling skills, but also the deceptive skating - cutbacks, and spins to escape defenders.

In closing

Either player would be a tremendous addition for the Canadiens - Desnoyers would provide the Canadiens with another top-six potential centre. While Carbonneau, I believe would fill a top-six winger role for the Canadiens. You can't go wrong either way.