Decision Time is Fast Approaching for Montreal’s CHL Prospects
–
The CHL’s cancellation of the playoffs and Memorial Cup last week is one for the history books but it also means that decision time has arrived for several of Montreal’s prospects.
The CHL’s cancellation of the playoffs and Memorial Cup last week is one for the history books but it also means that decision time has arrived for several of Montreal’s prospects.
After a strong sophomore season at Northeastern, it felt like there was a chance that Jordan Harris would turn pro. However, he has decided to stick around for at least one more year and won’t sign with the Habs for next season.
While he hasn’t been able to debut in North America as he planned earlier this month, Jesse Ylonen now has an entry-level contract under his belt after the Habs signed him on Thursday.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an indefinite delay in the NHL’s schedule and today, it caused the postponement of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft which was scheduled to be held in Montreal in June.
While Gustav Olofsson’s brief stint with the Habs didn’t go well this season, he has been a quality player in Laval. Montreal rewarded him for his efforts on Wednesday, signing him to a one-year contract extension.
It will be a while yet before Joni Ikonen comes to North America as he has signed a two-year contract with Ilves of the Finnish SM-liiga.
We’ve nearly reached the top ten in our 2019-20 HW Prospect Rankings. Some of these players received top ten votes from our writers but ultimately came up a bit short this year.
Alex Belzile was in the middle of what was shaping up to be another strong year before a shoulder injury ended his season early. He still did enough to impress the Habs though as they signed him to a one-year extension on Friday.
One of the remaining things to watch for during the break in the schedule is Cole Caufield’s future. Would he turn pro or stay at Wisconsin? He has chosen the latter.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL instituted a roster freeze at 5 PM EST on Monday. Montreal made one roster move, assigning Jake Evans to Laval.