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Depth down the middle is something that’s always in short supply and high demand.  The Habs have done some work on that front over the years to put together a decent prospect pool at that position.

We’re going to try something a little different this year. Rather than do five-player segments, we’re going to go position by position and then do a full 1-49 prospect ranking at the end.  

Overview

Here are the criteria that each player had to meet to be eligible to be in these rankings:

1) The player must be 24 years old or younger as of October 1, 2026
2) The player must have no greater than 50 games of NHL experience (including regular season and playoffs)
3) The player cannot be signed to an AHL contract

Centres

1) Michael Hage, Michigan (NCAA)
Drafted 21st overall in 2024.

The decision to trade up in 2024 before the draft even started was risky but it has worked out well for Montreal as Hage has emerged as a legitimate top-six prospect.  He was dominant in college and dominant at the World Juniors, leading to the Habs trying to sign him last season with the thought that there wasn’t much left to prove at the NCAA level.

Hage felt otherwise.  He has elected to return for his junior year with the hope that he will be a full-time centre in 2026-27 (he often played the wing on the top line).  The thought is also that he’ll get to play some of the key defensive and late-game situations that veterans usually do.  While this feels like more of a fine-tuning year, he’s banking on this making him more NHL-ready.

A lot will be riding on his play down the middle.  While Hage is a natural centre, there are questions about whether he can play there full-time in the NHL.  His defensive game is improving although still needing improvement and being a little below average at the faceoff dot in college doesn’t necessarily point toward NHL success in that regard.

Still, Hage is a very promising offensive talent.  He’s quick and has a well-rounded offensive repertoire.  If all goes well, he could solve the long-standing need for a quality second centre behind Nick Suzuki, allowing the Habs to fill that role from within over paying a hefty price to acquire one.  That would be huge.  And if he ultimately fits more on the wing, he’s still well-positioned to be a key piece for this franchise for a long time.

2) Owen Beck, Laval (AHL)
Drafted 33rd overall in 2022.

I think it’s fair to say that the shine has come off Beck a bit compared to a couple of years ago.  That said, it’s also fair to say that he still profiles as a serviceable NHL centre who probably isn’t that far away from making it.

After an impressive rookie season with the Rocket in 2024-25, Beck didn’t really progress last year.  His role was relatively unchanged (a middle-six piece most nights, rarely a top-liner) and while there were sparks of high-impact play, he felt like more of a secondary piece.  In 15 games with the Habs, he held his own in a limited role but at the same time, he certainly didn’t do enough to lock down a bigger opportunity either.

Beck has some NHL-quality attributes.  His shot is above average in the minors although he tends to shy away from using it.  I think that’s why the Habs experimented with him on the wing, to put him in situations where he can better utilize it.  He’s also strong at the faceoff dot, is defensively aware, and is a strong skater.  There’s a lot to work with here.

If all went well, Beck could be a second centre who plays secondary special teams.  I’m skeptical that he hits that ceiling, however.  He’s starting to profile more as a high-floor bottom-six piece, someone who can play centre or the wing and has the capability to play those special teams units, even if he doesn’t regularly.  That’s still the profile of a pretty useful NHL player but he’ll need to rebound this coming season to have a realistic shot at filling that role in Montreal.

3) Florian Xhekaj, Laval (AHL)
Drafted 101st overall in 2023.

After a 24-goal rookie season in 2024-25, the hype was way too high for Xhekaj.  His high shooting percentage suggested regression on that front was coming and lo and behold, it came.  Like Beck, there wasn’t much progression in terms of his development or role as Xhekaj was still on the fourth line a lot of the time.  It would have been nice for his play to earn himself a bit more playing time but it didn’t happen.

There isn’t a big difference between the floor and the ceiling in terms of Xhekaj’s potential.  He has a fourth-line profile as someone who is more than willing (too willing at times) to mix things up physically but has a good enough all-around game that he’s not a liability to play eight to ten minutes.  The ceiling is probably a third liner who does that, chips in 10 goals, and kills penalties a bit.  My lean is that he becomes more of the former than the latter.

I have concerns that Xhekaj is more of a penalty magnet than his brother and that his reputation in the minors is going to hurt him in the NHL.  But if he can settle down a bit in that respect, he can give Montreal’s forward unit a dimension that they’re missing in the fairly near future.

4) Hayden Paupanekis, St. Cloud State (NCAA)
Drafted 69th overall in 2025.

Montreal traded up to get Paupanekis in his draft year, intrigued by the combination of tools and size.  The early return on this pick is that he’s more of a project pick than perhaps originally expected.

After playing a bigger role with WHL Kelowna down the stretch in 2024-25, the hope was that he could be a top-six pivot for them.  Instead, they loaded up and Paupanekis was more of a supporting cast piece at times.  There were also issues with game-to-game effort levels and intensity.

But Paupanekis has a lot to like as well.  6’5 centres aren’t easy to come by and he’s a good skater for his size.  He has a fairly rounded offensive skill-set with defensive awareness.  There are a lot of tools to work with.  But toolsy players have longer development curves so going the longer route with college hockey makes a lot of sense.  It’ll take longer to sign him now but for the Habs, this might be the best outcome for him.

5) Jared Davidson, Laval (AHL)
Drafted 130th overall in 2022.

Things couldn’t have gotten off to much of a better start for Davidson last season.  He scored nine goals in 13 games with the Rocket despite not getting big minutes, basically forcing Montreal’s hand to recall him.  He got into ten games with the Canadiens and held his own reasonably well on the fourth line in his first taste of NHL action.

Upon being sent back down to Laval, it was pretty much a disaster the rest of the way.  Davidson had just seven goals in 40 games the rest of the way, tumbling down the depth chart to the point of even being healthy scratched in the playoffs.  What started with such promise went downhill fast.

But while his overall spot on Montreal’s prospect depth chart has dipped, his overall scouting report hasn’t.  He’s a high-effort, high-energy player with enough offensive skill that he should be able to chip in a bit in that end.  The fact he can play both centre and the wing (he profiles better as a winger) gives him useful versatility.  The ceiling is very limited in that he’s a fourth liner or depth piece but it’s not time to give up on him reaching it just yet.

6) Filip Eriksson, Lulea (SHL)
Drafted 165th overall in 2023.

Back in the SHL full-time last season (after being sent down a level the year before for more playing time), Eriksson started off strong, providing some hope that he had turned the corner.  He wasn’t able to sustain the strong start, however, and his playing time ticked down as a result.

Still, Eriksson finished fourth on his team in scoring and tied for first in goals.  That’s not nothing.  He has a decent enough shot to be a threat and a reasonable two-way game but consistency has been an issue for him.  He’s also more of a shooter than a passer which tends to profile more as a winger than a centre.

The Habs place high value on hockey IQ and Eriksson has that.  That’s going to give him a chance to get signed by the June 1st deadline although he’s going to need another big jump next season to get that opportunity.  I wouldn’t bank on it happening but he could pull it off.

7) Aatos Koivu, TPS (Liiga)
Drafted 70th overall in 2024.

There are times when a player being good enough to play at the men’s level while being junior-aged works against them.  I feel like this is the case with Koivu.

Yes, he played a regular role for Turku last season, logging nearly 12 minutes a night, holding his own on faceoffs, and otherwise playing largely low-event hockey where his role was to try to come out even at the end.  Good for Koivu to be able to do that but for a player who has a strong shot and some actual skills, those skills largely seemed to erode as the year went on.  Even a bigger role at the World Juniors couldn’t get him going, a stark contrast from the WJC summer tournament.  From a development standpoint, going down a level and playing big minutes against his own age group to allow him to work on his skill game would have been nice.

The end result is a season where Koivu’s stock certainly went down.  Now, he’s going to need to find a way to move up the depth chart with the junior level no longer an option for him.  Otherwise, it could be another year of simply trying to hold his own and not make many mistakes.  That would be crippling for his development and further hurt his chances of being signed.  He has a long way to go now.

8) Hunter McKown, Laval (AHL)
Acquired in trade with Columbus in 2026.

McKown made his NHL debut back in 2023, signing and playing with the Blue Jackets right out of college.  He didn’t look too far out of place either, given the circumstances.  Things haven’t gone too well since then, however.

McKown spent the last three seasons primarily playing in the bottom six for AHL Cleveland.  His best showing offensively was 2024-25 when he had 13 goals and 18 assists, numbers that aren’t going to get him many (if any) more NHL chances.

Assuming he clears waivers this fall, McKown could be the third-line centre for Laval this season.  He has a bit of skill, defensive ability, and grit to make him a serviceable piece for the Rocket after being acquired for Luke Tuch, but it’s hard to see any sort of future for him with the Habs.