Earlier in the year, Jakob Chychrun was thought to be the best defenceman in the 2016 Entry Draft, but he has seen his stock fall of late. It’s hard to pin blame on Chychrun for this slide in the rankings, as he enjoyed a successful 15-16 campaign; however, the emergence of Olli Juolevi and Mikhail Sergachev as top defenders has hurt Chychrun’s worth in the eyes of critics.
If you’ve been reading up on the brimming with potential Canadian-Swede Alex Nylander, you’ve probably pieced together that the Canadiens would likely have to trade up to get a realistic crack at the young playmaker.
There’s a big American kid playing for the Windsor Spitfires that has been rocketing up draft lists in the second half of the season. When I say big, I mean huge – Logan Brown is already 6’6 and may still be growing. Brown has the potential to develop into the big, dynamic center that every team in the NHL craves, including the Canadiens.
Are you ready to add some more Russian fire power to this blueline? Andrei Markov’s inability to skate with speed and Alexei Emelin’s erratic play could mean that the young Mikhail Sergachyov of the Windsor Spitfires might just scratch that need for a talented Russian on defence.
The blueline is an area that the Habs vary considerably in terms of their depth at different levels. They have a pretty full group of NHL’ers but their minor league and junior/college options are spots where there is room for considerable improvement.
The draft and free agency are quickly approaching. Marc Bergevin and his staff will be putting together their offseason shopping lists and as we like to do at this time of year, we look at what they have at each position. We start with the goalies.
The Habs had several junior-aged players under contract this past season. All but one of them failed to suit up with the Canadiens during the year and each one of them will see their contract slide back a year as a result. Here is a look at which prospects qualified and how their cap hit will be changed.
The Habs inked one of their more promising offensive prospects on Wednesday as they announced the signing of Slovak winger Martin Reway to a three year, entry level contract. The deal carries a cap hit of $706,667 plus performance bonuses that could push it to $853,333.
With the dust on the season now settled, it’s time to take a look at some of the Habs’ prospects who saw their stocks rise throughout the year and others who went in the opposite direction.
Michael McCarron was one of many youngsters who got a look with the Habs late in the year. He held his own and there’s no denying that he brings some needed elements to the table. Was that enough to make our writers want him to start in the NHL in 2016-17?