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Prospects
Caption: Nathan Beaulieu The look of Montreal's prospect base has a dramatically new look heading into the 2011-12 season. Many of last year's top prospects no longer qualify to be part of that group. P.K. Subban, Lars Eller, Yannick Weber, David Desharnais, and Ryan White were all part of HW's top-10 rankings last year and now find themselves as regulars with the Habs. Meanwhile Mathieu Carle and Ben Maxwell, also members of the previous top-10, are in new organizations. As a result, several new youngsters have emerged towards the top of the Habs' prospect crop. Nathan Beaulieu was Montreal's first rounder in 2011 and jumped right into the number two spot in our rankings. Michael Bournival, acquired early in the 2010-11 campaign also shows some promise as a hard working two-way forward. After a breakout campaign in Hamilton, Aaron Palushaj jumped from outside of our top-10 into the top-5. Speaking of Hamilton, the Bulldogs are a much different looking group than the squad who nearly completed what would have been an unprecedented comeback against Houston in the Western Conference finals. Some key veterans, including Drew MacIntyre, Curtis Sanford, Nigel Dawes, Dustin Boyd, and Carle, all moved on. The team did, however, add some older talent to replace them in the form of goalie Nathan Lawson, defencemen Joe Callahan and Garrett Stafford, as well as forward Brian Willsie. This year's edition of the 'Dogs also features several important youngsters. The most prominent one is this year's top prospect, Louis Leblanc who makes his pro hockey debut in Steeltown. Gabriel Dumont and Andreas Engqvist will both be counted on to provide more in their second full season, as will oft-injured Olivier Fortier. A trio of other rookies, Joonas Nattinen, Phillipe Lefebvre, and Alain Berger will also be looking to make their mark. Outside the professional ranks, there are still several other prospects worth following that haven't been mentioned yet. Recently signed Jarred Tinordi is now captain of the OHL's London Knights while Brendan Gallagher will once again be counted on as a huge piece for Vancouver of the WHL. Danny Kristo, now fully healthy, will be expected to be a leader in North Dakota of the WCHL. Blueliners Mac Bennett and Greg Pateryn are both teammates in Michigan; Pateryn will be trying to earn a pro contract before the summer. Overseas, Swedish defenceman Magnus Nygren is an intriguing offensive threat while in the Czech Republic, centre Daniel Pribyl has turned some heads. The Habs' prospect system certainly has changed but there is still quite a bit coming up the pipeline for several years to come. Intro written by Brian La Rose - November, 2011.Articles on prospects or affiliated clubs:
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