So descending order apparently is requested to make it more "suspenseful." Not sure how since most people know who their top prospects are, but whatever! Was going to get this up earlier, but internet and landlines are down at my place, so I have to post it at work. Huzzah!
One issue for the Canadiens prospect pool currently is that they really don't have "that guy." Primarily because that guy is Galchenyuk and on their squad. Add that to a recent wave of higher picks and it's easy to see why they are middle of the road currently. Having said that, they have quite a number of extremely high risk and high reward players in the system. Most of them fell in the rankings due to size concerns, but banking on skill rather than being tall is a smarter choice with your late picks in my opinion. When you see a goon in junior get drafted ahead of say, a 5'10 player who torched the league, it just makes you wonder what they were thinking. The Habs have a lot of boom/bust prospects in this group.
As per usual on this list there are no players with 40+ games experience and no Louis Leblancs.
10. Dustin Tokarski : Goaltender, 5'11 190lbs, 122nd Overall, 2008, 24 Years Old, Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL
41 games 2.38GAA .919sv%
It's kind of hard to have a guy who is a week away from turning 25 listed as a "prospect," but such are the ways with goalies. While I think people were hyping his hot/cold playoff performance a little too much, there is no doubt that Tokarski has been a proven winner at every level of hockey he has played. The nice thing about his play though was that it gave the Habs some insurance that if Price goes down, Tokarski is a much better choice than Budaj for taking over the reigns. Size has always been the knock on Tokarski, no matter how many brilliant acrobatic saves he makes, he just will never cover as much net as bigger goalies. This is a league that covets size in net even at the expense of some talented players. He's a Mem Cup winner (as MVP), a Gold Medal winner, a Calder Cup winner and an AHL All-Star, most would look at that resume and assume it's only time before he becomes an NHL starter. Yet doubt remains as he can be very streaky over long stretches of games. Consistency is the big hurdle between a backup and a starter in the NHL (See Brian Boucher). There is still time for him to figure it all out and 25 is not old for a goalie, though personally I'm not sure he has the consistency to be anything more than a split starter like Brian Elliot.
Potential : Split Starter Goalie
9. Zachary Fucale : Goaltender, 6'1 181lbs, 36th Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL
50 games 2.26GAA .907sv%
Fucale has been a prominent fixture in the Q these past three seasons. Helping them make deep runs into the playoffs since he was 16. He was the consensus top ranked goalie of the 2013 draft and ended up living up to that label by being the first selected. The extremely athletic goalie unlike a lot of "modern" goalies doesn't rely on his size to get by, but his amazing reflexes and movement. This can be slightly troublesome for him as goalies like MA Fleury, sometimes can be caught out of position through too much movement. We saw a little bit of that at the U20's and during the Q playoffs. Despite those minor concerns, he has still been one of the better goalies in the Q and was one of the biggest reasons why they won the Memorial Cup in 2013. While he isn't the biggest goalie, he is big enough and there are very few goalie prospects out there with his level of athletic movement (Malcolm Subban being of similar style). Like with all goalies it is difficult to tell if he will translate well in the NHL. He has been groomed however to be an NHL starter as he's one of few junior goalies who plays pretty much an NHL starters schedule since 16. Usually they start out as a backup or split starter, not so with Fucale. The Mooseheads have been a relative powerhouse in the Q for several years, but are in for a turnover year as most of their big pieces are departing. Fucale will have a big task ahead of him. It could factor into whether he starts in the U20's or rides the pine.
Potential : Starting Goalie
8. Jérémy Grégoire : Right Wing, 6'0 187lbs, 176th Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL
65 games 35 goals 34 assists 69 points
At the start of the 2012-2013 season, Grégoire was expected to be a sure fire second round pick and a part of what was/did turn out to be the "Year of the Q." A poor first half of the season saw him deal to Baie-Comeau where he struggled to find his place on the team until the playoffs. Suddenly his game picked up and he looked comfortable. He took that late season success and continued it this season where he was excellent, particularly in the playoffs (23p in 22games). He's gritty and scores most of his goals crashing around the net. He's shown he loves to hit and play a "power forward" game. He was used on the PK more this season and showed a strong ability to strip players of the puck and run shorthanded chances. Most importantly though is the coaching staff recognized his best strength and used it. They put him on the power play and got him around the net, he had 14PPGs good for 8th in the league. He isn't a very good passer which is why he was moved to wing primarily and to ease up on defensive zone starts. He's still fairly good on the draw though and a good guy to have out there when your centre gets waved out. Building on this solid campaign could help show if he has an NHL future or not.
Potential : Third Line Special Teams Player
7. Sven Andrighetto : Right Wing, 5'9 184lbs, 86th Overall, 2013, 21 Years Old, Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL
64 games 17 goals 27 assists 44 points
You might be sensing a trend soon about now about these prospects...they're European! Also small. Andrighetto finally heard his name called in 2013 after being passed over twice in the NHL draft. Looking back you could make the case that he was well worth a seventh round selection back in 2011, but size loomed its head and it's understandable why a team wouldn't want to draft a then 5'8 165lb Andrighetto. In 2013 he came off a season with the fourth highest PPG in the Q and was the best Swiss at the U20's finishing tied for third in goals scored in the tournament. He is an interesting player because despite being primarily a skilled guy, he fights extremely hard for the puck and is willing to finish his checks and get to the net. It seems to be a Swiss tradition to be difficult to play against and Andrighetto is similar. This past season, he came second on the Bulldogs in points and third in goals with less games played than those ahead of him. He did so basically being the offensive catalyst for his team which is extremely impressive for a 20 going on 21 year old rookie. He's a slippery player with good speed and vision, displaying a lot of offensive weapons. A knock on him is that while effort never seems to be an issue, he isn't that good on defensive reads and can look lost without the puck on his stick. That sense of being lost usually amounts to a dumb stick penalty, which the coaching staff have probably already begun working on. Next season he will be expected to lead the Bulldogs offense again.
Potential : Second Line Winger
6. Martin Réway : Left Wing, 5'9 174lbs, 116th Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL
43 games 20 goals 42 assists 62 points
Now formerly of the Olympiques, Réway fled to his former club HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga this season, probably because he (or management) feel he is too good for the QMJHL and needs more competition...or he was homesick (playing in the WC at home)? Well it was an odd decision in my opinion considering how weak the Extraliga is, but they owned his rights in Europe. He is having an excellent start to his season in the European Champions Tournament. He leads Praha in goals and points with 2 and 5 in 4 games thus far. Last season was a bit of a dream season for the young Slovak, he ended the season as one of the breakout stars of the WJC (5th in scoring) not looking out of place in the WC (3 assists from the third line) and a strong playoff performance for Gatineau. Like the size suggests, he is a finesse player with a nice top-end speed and very good hands. He's a very smooth passer and a better playmaker than scorer. Asthma was an issue earlier in his career and played a part in his up and down rookie season in the Q, but apparently he has it figured out and switched medications from one that was a banned substance by the IIHF. That might be another piece of the puzzle to his fantastic season. After this season, I would suspect he will move on to play in the AHL.
Potential : Top-Six Playmaker
Thanks for reading.