On Friday, TSN’s director of player scouting, Craig Button, released his list of top affiliated prospects and took a look at the best prospects affiliated with Canadian teams. Montreal Canadiens fans will be happy to hear that their favourite has four of the top eight prospects affiliated with a Canadian team.
Button has NCAA sophomore Michael Hage in the top spot, praising him as a sure bet for a top-six NHL player and one who can play both in the middle and on the right. The 19-year-old and his Michigan Wolverines are currently involved in the Big 10 playoffs, and once his season is over, likely after the Frozen Four, Canadiens’ fans should be able to see him make his NHL debut.
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Button then has the early second-round pick at the last draft, Alexander Zharovsky, in the second spot. The young Russian has 38 points in 56 games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, which are very good numbers, but he’s currently struggling a bit and was demoted to the fourth line after scoring just 1 goal in the last 10 games.
In fourth place, he has right-shot defenseman David Reinbacher, who has stepped up nicely with the Laval Rocket this season. The youngster has 22 points in 47 games, but he’s also polished his game, and his decision-making has improved.
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Finally, in seventh place, Button puts right-shot defenseman Bryce Pickford, who has been lighting up the WHL this season with 81 points (including 44 goals). He’s 13th in the league in points and tied first in goals with Cameron Schmidt.
It’s encouraging for the Habs to see that not only do they have four players in that top eight, but they have two up front and two on the blueline. The Canadiens’ rebuild has been a masterclass in balance; the front office has been working hard to cover all their bases with talent at every position. While Kent Hughes said when he was hired that he wanted his version of the Canadiens to be a fast-paced, offence-oriented team, he hasn’t gone out all guns blazing, focusing solely on talented forwards like some teams have in the past.
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