HabProspects (montrealdan):
It was a banner season for the Montreal Canadiens that saw them finish first overall in the Eastern Conference, something that they have failed to do for the last fifteen years. In addition to the success is the fact that the team had three twenty year old players on the team, also something not seen in a long time. But with several players moving up to the NHL full time, it has exposed a lack of depth in the farm system among forwards and goaltenders.
When you have one of the top young goalies in the NHL you certainly can’t complain about the team’s future, and even more so when you add one of the top goalies in the AHL in Jaroslav Halak. The problem the Canadiens now face is that they currently only have one goalie under contract for the farm system in Loic Lacasse, who had his struggles in the IHL this year. The team would likely sign Cedrick Desjardins after spending the last two seasons as one of the top goalies in the ECHL while signed to an AHL contract, where he would hold down one spot in nets for the Bulldogs. It’s unknown what the plans are for Yann Danis who will be a Group VI UFA this summer and has struggled in Hamilton the past two years, losing his starting job to both Halak and Carey Price, after being a standout goalie in the NCAA and a former AHL All Star.
In addition to goaltending, there are concerns at the forward position since the club has seen an influx of young talent moved up to the NHL full time in the likes of the Kostitsyn brothers, Guillaume Latendresse, Maxim Lapierre, as well as others like Mikhail Grabovski and Kyle Chipchura getting their feet wet in the NHL this year. That leaves Max Pacioretty, Ben Maxwell, Ryan White and Matt D’Agostini as the team’s top forward prospects, with others like JT Wyman, Greg Stewart and Andrew Conboy showing some potential.
The good news remains on defense, where the organization was once know for it’s abundance of forward prospects, it’s now known for both quality and quantity with Ryan McDonagh, Ryan O’Byrne and PK Subban at the top of the list with Pavel Valentenko, David Fischer, Yannick Weber and Mathieu Carle giving the Habs a good mix of offensive and defensive defensemen, bringing both skill and impressive physical abilities. On top of that they have two impressive defensemen in Russia in Alexei Emelin and Konstantin Korneev, although it’s unknown if either will ever suite up in North America.
If that’s not enough, the team also has a pair of dark horse prospects currently in the NCAA in Philippe Paquet and Joe Stejskal, both known for their physical play and both have benefited from quality ice time, playing on the top pairings at a young age right out of the USHS. There’s also an unknown in Nichlas Torp who missed the entire season this year with a shoulder injury that he obtained during the pre-season with HV71 of the Swedish Elite league. It will be interesting to see how his development has been impacted from the injury and missed time, but he was highly rated by the CSB going into the draft last summer.