HF Habs: Post-draft Top 20 prospects.

Adam Michaels

Registered User
Jun 12, 2016
77,252
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Montreal
I think Craig is overrating our pool a bit I have no problem with his argument of best Canadian pool but best in the nhl is a stretch imo.

You can make the argument they are. It doesn't mean they are the best in the league. But they're in the Top-5 for sure. And when you're that high, you can definitely make the argument. Much like you can make the argument about the Flyers, Canes, and those prospect pools.
 

Eastern Shores

Registered User
Jun 20, 2018
67
37
1 - Poehling
2 - Caufield
3 - Romanov
4 - Primeau
5 - Brook
6 - Suzuki
7 - Juulsen
8 - Harris
9 - Struble
10 - Ylonen
11 - Pitlick
12 - Norlinder
13 - Fleury
14 - Ikonen
15 - Teasdale
16 - Olofsson
17 - Hillis
18 - Fairbrother
19 - Dichow
20 - Evans
Wow you re high on Pitlick and Dichow. I hope you are right but they would not make my top 20 maybe not even my top 25. personnally I think Hillis and Olofsson have bounce back years and make people here look foolish. Not sure to expect from Stapely.
 

Mrb1p

PRICERSTOPDAPUCK
Dec 10, 2011
87,762
53,487
Citizen of the world
Wow you re high on Pitlick and Dichow. I hope you are right but they would not make my top 20 maybe not even my top 25. personnally I think Hillis and Olofsson have bounce back years and make people here look foolish. Not sure to expect from Stapely.
Olofsson sure didnt start his year on a good note with wjss.
 

DinosaurBones

Registered User
Sep 18, 2018
392
320
TOP 10 Montreal Canadiens Prospects 2019/20

Used to write for an amateur Habs online magazine. Been three years since that said magazine turned into a MTL soccer league whatever it is magazine so I haven't written in a while. There may even be spelling mistakes (I don't have word on my laptop and copied and paste sorry if its annoying to read)

To start off I just want to mention how close I thought the top 5-6 prospects actually were. One of the hardest years that I've had actually doing this. These opinions are strictly my own. player Comparables are not who I believe them to be as good as but just playing style. Ceiling is not necessarily as good as I expect them to be but strictly as good as I think their potential goes. Some stats were not fact checked. Basically, get off my back I did this for fun while drinking.

1: Ryan Poehling - C:

2018-19 Stats- St.Cloud State: 36GP-8G-23A-31P

Now I don't believe Poehling has the highest upside of our prospects, but I do think he has the highest chance of success in the NHL and I think he will be a very valuable asset for this team moving forward for quite some time. He was a high end, although not top producer in the NCAA putting up 31 points in back to back years in 36 games respectively before signing his pro contract with the Montreal Canadiens. I can tell you right now that this isn't something to bat an eye at however. Just ask someone like Blake Wheeler who is now a 90 point player in the NHL. Now I wouldn't expect Poehling to ever produce the way Wheeler does but he is a hard nose player who is going to bring a lot of positive things to the team for many areas. After winning MVP at the World Juniors in 2018/19 Poehling also scored a hattrick and the shootout winner in the final game of the Canadiens season AND his first NHL game.
A one game sample size isn't something you should be too excited about but it is always fun seeing prospects start a career like that. I fully expect him to battle for a full time position on Montreal this year and possibly work his way up the lineup throughout the season. He doesn't stop working and is good in both ends of the ice and surely will be able to fill any role the coach places him in. I would expect Poehlings ceiling to be a 2nd line center who may move into a more defensive role on the Habs with offensive center prospects like Kotkaniemi and Suzuki also climbing the depth chart. With these 3 and Danault at the Center positon, it looks good for the future

Projected NHL arrival: This season.
Rookie point projection through 82 games: 36
Ceiling/Bottom: 2nd Line C/4th Line C

2: Cole Caufield - W:

2018-19 Stats- USHL: 64GP-72G-28A-100P

The 15th overall pick of the 2019 draft saw many Habs fans ecstatic to see Caufield still on the board. Many scouts having him inside the top 10 and few having him as high as 5th overall, all this guy does is score goals. Skipped over by many teams because of his size doesn't seem to matter for this kid. After setting the US National Under 18 team goal record (previously held by Austin Matthews) with 72 goals in only 64 games, he is a generational goal scorer who Montreal would have been crazy to not to take. Standing at only 5'7" and roughly 165lbs, it hasn't been an issue throughout his career being a smaller player. He finds open ice and has an elite shot to beat goaltenders from any angle. Many fear that his stats may have been exaggerated playing with 1st overall pick Jack Hughes but some could say he was a major part of Hughes' success. Similar to Alex DeBrincat, Caufield could be the generational goal scorer the Montreal Canadiens have been looking for the past decade. Set to play at the University of Wisconsin this coming season Caufield will surely be on everybody's watch list, and the most exciting time this season may be watching him dominate on a stacked US world junior team this coming new year.

Projected NHL arrival : 2021-22
UofW point projection though 39 games: 41
Ceiling\Bottom: 1st Line Elite Winger/Undersized depth NHL scorer

3: Nick Suzuki - C/W:

2018-19 Stats- Owen Sound Attack/Guelph Storm: 59GP-34G-60A-94P

There have been mixed reviews on Suzuki. There is absolutely no doubt of his skill, putting up 328 points in 251 OHL games. Hes been called lazy and uninterested at times but that was quickly shot down by many of his peers, coaches, and trainers by saying he may look like he's not trying but its because he thinks the game so much quicker than anyone else. He is always in the right position and his hockey IQ is already NHL caliber. He is set to be a clear powerplay specialist who strives in both zones because of his hockey smarts. His skill level has often been compared to current Hab Jonathan Drouin but has since been compared to have the type of drive that Max Domi brings in wanting to be the guy the team counts on. He was successful with the 2019-20 Team Canada World Junior team who was overall unsuccessful, and set the Guelph Storm record for playoff points producing 42 in in just 24 games followed by a remarkable Memorial Cup performance that had seen Guelph fall short of winning the championship.

Projected NHL arrival: 2020-21
Laval Rocket point projection through 76 games: 68
Ceiling/Bottom: 1st\2nd Line C\W & PP specialist/AHL star-depth forward

4: Josh Brook - RD:

2018-19 Stats- Moose Jaw Warriors: 59GP-16G-59A-75P

Although Montreal's biggest need on D is finding a stud LD, Brook is a RH shot who seems to be the future of Montreal's blue line. The runner up for WHL Defenseman of the year put up an insane 75 points up in 59 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors, also captaining the team aswell as representing Team Canada in a second pairing defensive role at the World Juniors. A born leader who is fantastic in both ends of the ice and isn't afraid to throw the body around, Brook has been compared to PK Subban without the flair (which some people may be happy about). He brings it night in and night out, with top of the line skating, a big body and an exceptional first pass. Brook is set to start the season in Laval because of Montreal's loaded right side with Weber/Petry/Juulsen taking up the top 3 spots, but don't be surprised if an injury occurs Brook could very well jump in that spot and make it hard for that D to earn his spot back. One of the garuntee prospects Montreal should be happy to have. It is hard to have him as low as 4 on this list but is definitely someone to be very exciting to watch in Laval this coming season.

Projected NHL arrival: Late 2020/ 2020-21
Laval Rocket point projection through 76 games: 43
Ceiling/Bottom: 1st Line RD/3rd Line RD

5: Alex Romanov - LD:

2018-19 Stats- CSKA Moscow: 43GP-1G-3A-4P

When Montreal selected Romanov many habs fans were up in arms of why they would waste a 2nd round pick on a player who was projected as late as the 5th round. This is also why Habs fans aren't scouts for the team. They clearly had seen something in this kid that they didn't want to miss out on and so far it looks like a home run pick. Romanov speant the 2018-19 season playing in the KHL against pros. Yes guys like Pavel Datsyuk. He played 43 games on a KHL team that lost 9 games all season and finished on top of their respective division as an 18 year old (the youngest player on the team). He also won Best Defenseman at the world juniors. Romanov is know most for his fast feet and moving so well across the blueline. He has an above average shot and throws the body the type of way you would have seen Alexie Emelin throw the body. His first pass and skating skills are well above average and with the need of left D on the Montreal blueline Romanov could is projected be a top 4, but could very well turn out to be a 1st line D given that opportunity. Does not take risks. Very reliable defensively but has good offensive potential put in the right circumstances.

Porjected NHL arrival: late 2020/ 2021-22
CSKA Moscow point projection through 62 games: 19
Ceiling/Bottom: 1st Line LD/ 3rd Line RD

6: Cayden Primeau - G:

2018-19 Stats- Northeastern University: 36GP-25W-10L-1T-2.09GAA-0.933SV%

At this moment Primeau is well on his way to be Carey Price's successor. He could very easily be 2-3 on this list. (this whole top 6 is almost one big tie in my eyes) the reason I place him 6 is because of Carey Price. Like most goalie prospects, making it full time in the NHL is more difficult than any position in the league. Montreal is expected to take the slow route with Primeau and let him develop in the AHL while Price assumes his Allstar role in the NHL. Playing games is more important than riding the pine but you can expect a couple call ups for the experience with this kid. He is back to back NCAA goalie of the year and a 2 time beanpot winner and MVP. Represented team USA at the world juniors this past year Primeau has become an absolute steal after being a 7th round draft pick. 1.92 & 2.09 GAA paired with .931 and .933 SV% respectively over the past 2 NCAA seasons has forced Montreal to sign him quicker than imagined. He is expected to be the future of Montreal's goaltending, and shows what good drafting can do.

Projected NHL Arrival: 2022/23
Laval Rocket projected GP: 50 - 2.30GAA - .914SV%
Ceiling\Bottom: Allstar G/Fringe Backup

7: Jayden Struble - LD:

2018-19 Stats- St.Sebastians Prep: 28GP-10G-30A-40P

Struble was actually one of my favorite picks as of late. In my eyes he seems to be the ideal type of defenseman for todays NHL. His biggest asset is his skating and the way can push the pace on the rush. He is easily able to jump in the play but has the skating strength to be first man back. To go along with his skating, Struble was the strongest (literally) draft eligible player this year, and loves throwing the body. Standing 6'0" and nearly 200lbs as a 17 year old, and a natural athlete his transition to the NHL when the time comes should be a smooth one. At this moment Brook is the most exciting puck moving defensive prospect on the team but Struble's play will quickly make him a favorite in the organization and is definitely someone to be very excited about in the future.

Projected NHL arrival: 2022/23
NCAA Northeastern University point projection through 39GP: 18P
Ceiling/bottom: 2nd Line D\PP Quarterback/7th D

8: Jesse Ylonen - RW:

2018-19 Stats- Pelicans: 53GP-13G-14A-27P

After a year of ups and downs there are definitely more positives than negatives to take away from Ylonen's season. Being used to playing against men for a while now, it was expected Ylonen would have had a better season in Finland's top professional league SM-liiga. Finishing with 27 points in 53 games however is still impressive as a rookie (3rd in the league), it wasn't until after the World Junior Championships where Ylonen seemed to gain his confidence. After producing 6 points in 7 games and winning the gold medal with Finland you could easily see the difference in Ylonen's game. His IQ was always his strong suit but you could see his defensive game really came together and had more confidence making plays in the offensive end. He stands at 6'1" tall but is still quite a lanky at around 170lbs. Playing against men is certainly a plus and once he fills out his frame it could play a major factor in his development. With having more expected of him last season, but finishing strong, this could be a big year for Ylonen, there are still expectations he will be an impact player in the NHL and he could play in NA as early as next season.

Projected NHL arrival: 2021/22
SM-liiga Pelicans point prejection through 59GP: 43P
Ceiling/Bottom: 2nd Line W/Depth W

9: Jordan Harris - LD:

2018-19 Stats- Northeastern Universirt: 39GP-1G-12A-13P

Known for being a smart/smooth skating, puck moving defenseman, Harris makes very little mistakes and rarely will put his team in a bad position. Although Bergevin has yet to fix the struggles on the LHD, he has seemed to stick to what he has said the whole time and that is to fix the teams struggles through the draft, and not regretful trades or FA signings. With Victor Mete already in the NHL who is actually a good comparison to Harris style wise, Romanov, and Struble all coming through the system we could soon see a problem many teams would love to have and that's an overload of blue chip NHL caliber players making their way into the NHL. Harris had a very strong rookie season at Northeastern University, where he will soon be playing along Jayden Struble, with 13 points in 39 games which was second on the team by only 3 to Ryan Shea who is 3 years older than Harris. With the opportunity this year to represent team USA at the World Junior Championship, Harris without a doubt should be the top blueliner on Northeastern at a very early age. After impressing so many this past season and moving up the prospect rankings, you should expect Harris to continue to rise and show many what the habs saw in him when they drafted him. The biggest riser in the system as far as expectations go this season, Northeastern will be a team to keep tabs on with to of our top D prospects on the team.

Projected NHL Arrival: Late 2022-2022/23
NCAA Northeastern University point projection through 39GP: 24P
Ceiling/Bottom: 2nd Line Puck Moving D/7th D

10: Cale Fleury - RD:

2018-19 Stats- Laval Rocket: 60GP-9G-14A-23P

Was always a big fan of Fleury as a prospect, and for a couple years those who stat watch what is in my opinion the most useless stat in hockey (+/-) had never liked the pick after being -155 in 218 games with the Kooteny Ice of the WHL who were absolutely dreadful. Once traded to the Regina Pats in 2018 Fleury put up 41 points in 51 games and was +23. Last season on Laval Fleury was 2nd to only Xavier Oulette in points by a defenseman with 23 in 60 games played. Although this was a very subpar Laval team, Fleury quickly became a relied upon player in the system and even though he is only coming off his first year pro, he is likely to be relied on heavily as a veteran D at an early age next season. With Montreal having Weber and Petry in the pro's and Juulsen likely to be the 3rd pairing D. It could be tough for Fleury to crack the lineup especially with Brook also being a highly sought after RD. Its believed one of these D will be moved in the near future. With Weber's big contract and Montreal expected to keep Petry around after his contract is expired, its expected that Fleury or Juulsen will eventually become the odd man out so it is up to Fleury to keep improving at the rate he is to pass the likes of Juulsen and wishful thinking Brook. He is a big heavy body at 6'1" and 210lbs as just a 20 year old who isn't afraid to play with an edge and has the IQ that could translate well at both ends of the ice at a higher level. It is up to him to keep bringing it and this is usually when prospects show their true colors. Internal competition is exciting and this season could be an exciting one especially given Juulsen's injury history. A call up could happen sooner than anticipated.

Projected NHL Arrival: 2019/20
Laval Rocket point projection through 74 GP: 49P
Ceiling/Bottom: 2nd Line D/Top AHL D

HR Mentions:
11: Joni Ikonen
12: Mattias Norlinder
13: Jake Evans
14: Jacob Olofsson
15: Joel Teasdale

Favorite Long Shot Prospects:
Cam Hillis
Allan McShane
Michael McNiven
Lukas Vejdemo
Brett Stapley
Michael Pezzetta (keep grinding)
 
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Legend123

Registered User
Jul 3, 2016
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the biggest thing ur missing on Fleury is his constant brainfarts in the defensive zone. No matter what Berge said, he needs to clean that up and I think he will given he was just a rookie in the AHL.
 
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Hins77

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Apr 2, 2013
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I really like our prospect pool. I hope there will be some good player to add on our big team. Wich route they are gonna take (ncaa or ahl or junior), i think we have a great prospect pool. I dont see an Alex « rue crescent » Galchenyuk and a Nikita « video game » Scherbak. We put a lot of value on draft/and progression in the AHL but at the end, I think this is the player who have is destiny between his hands.
 

vokiel

#MolsonIsntWine
Jan 31, 2007
16,883
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I really like our prospect pool. I hope there will be some good player to add on our big team. Wich route they are gonna take (ncaa or ahl or junior), i think we have a great prospect pool. I dont see an Alex « rue crescent » Galchenyuk and a Nikita « video game » Scherbak. We put a lot of value on draft/and progression in the AHL but at the end, I think this is the player who have is destiny between his hands.
You don't see them now, because we're treating the newbies like numbers, which everyone on this board should always do, but as soon as the gossipers can't resist the temptation to invade the players' privacy it'll be another field trip.
 

odishabs

Registered User
Aug 29, 2008
4,435
49
I will give it a try but thats pretty much anyone guess IMO:

1- Poehling - top 6 center, 2 way stud.
2- Romanov - 2-way D. 1st unit PK, 2nd unit PP. Big minute guy.
3- Caufield - top line winger. Big point potential.
4- Suzuki - top 6 forward. Responsible in both ends.
5- Primeau - starting goalie.
6- Brook - 2nd pair D. Great feet, puck moving.
7- Ylonen - 2 line winger, PP guy.
8- Fleury - bottom 4 D. Steady.
9- Olofsson - 3rd line center, coaches best friend.
10- Struble - wildcard, could end up a top 4 guy, could end up depth.
 

EveryDay

Registered User
Jun 13, 2009
13,004
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Anyone bought the Forecaster?

Their ranking of our prospect is really weird...... Romanov is first, Caufield 2nd and then they have Poehling and Primeau and they have Suzuki at 7th!
 

canadiensnation

Registered User
Jun 11, 2011
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GTA
Interesting list.
No love for Fairbrother, eh?

I feel like he and Leskinen could jump up quite a bit in my rankings. But look at the players ahead of them, the pool is very deep. It's also a big year for Hillis, McShane and Olofsson. I don't expect all of these players to pan out but you have to look at who has the high end talent and weigh that compared to the probability of a player to make at the NHL but as a 4th liner or 3rd pairing defenceman.

Just for comparison sake McShane has a higher ceiling than Fairbrother (I know I'm comparing two positions) but Fairbrother may end making the NHL but I believe his outlook is limited whereas McShane has the skill level to be a 2nd, 3rd liner.
 
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Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
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Top Prospect Pool rankings are all about hope, hype, positive trends, depth, quality. Habs have it all at the moment so those who think we are not a top 5 prospect pool, you are being very pessimistic IMO. It's your right to think so but I don't understand why other teams prospects can be pumped up and ours are deflated? Makes no sense at all. This is the best group of prospects we have had in decades. We don't have superstar talent but how many teams do? Our strength is several Grade A guys with a wack of grade B/C guys behind them. There will be surprises and disappointments for sure but quantity/probability is in our favor.

I have the Habs 2nd behind the Rangers.
 

EveryDay

Registered User
Jun 13, 2009
13,004
4,976
Pronman ranks our prospect pool as the 6th best in the league.

NJ prospect pool is probably in the bottom 5 if you take Hugues and Smith off the list. I don't think they should be rank top5 IMO. Yes Hugues is the best prospect in the league but they should have been rank 7-8-9 with that poor depth....

NYR and COL should have been top 2 and after that it should have been pretty close between LA and MTL.

NYR
COL
LA
MTL
PHI
 
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DangerDave

Mete's Shot
Feb 8, 2015
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Top Prospect Pool rankings are all about hope, hype, positive trends, depth, quality. Habs have it all at the moment so those who think we are not a top 5 prospect pool, you are being very pessimistic IMO. It's your right to think so but I don't understand why other teams prospects can be pumped up and ours are deflated? Makes no sense at all. This is the best group of prospects we have had in decades. We don't have superstar talent but how many teams do? Our strength is several Grade A guys with a wack of grade B/C guys behind them. There will be surprises and disappointments for sure but quantity/probability is in our favor.

I have the Habs 2nd behind the Rangers.
I think we have a deep pool but in terms of high ceiling players, it's Suzuki, Caufield, Brook and maybe Primeau.
 

Habs Halifax

Loyal Habs Fan
Jul 11, 2016
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East Coast
I think we have a deep pool but in terms of high ceiling players, it's Suzuki, Caufield, Brook and maybe Primeau.

Add Poehling and Romanov to Caufield, Suzuki and Brook and maybe Primeau. Then we have several high end grade B guys who could turn into grade A quality. Not many teams can match up well with our waives of talent IMO. Some trump us like the Rangers cause they have talent like Kotkaniemi not playing NHL yet and they just drafted Kakko which definitely puts them ahead of us.

- Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Brook, Romanov
- Primeau, Ylonen, Harris, Fleury, Struble, Norlinder, Olofsson, Evans, Teasdale
- McShane, Stapley, Fonstad, Hillis, Fairbrother, Pitlick, etc

How many teams have 5 grade A prospects trending as well as Poehling, Suzuki, Caufield, Brook, and Romanov plus a wack of grade B/C guys behind them? I like to see the evidence?
 

LaP

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Jun 27, 2012
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