The fans of the Montreal Canadiens watched a roller coaster season in 2022-23. This season is looking eerily similar as there have been significant injuries and the team sits only a few points out of the playoffs as December rolls around. The difference from last season is that the team is competing in the standings despite the injuries, while last year saw them crumble because of them. That is progress, it’s a small step, but it’s still a step forward.
Related: Montreal Canadiens Prospects Worth Signing in 2024
The next stage of the rebuild will rely on some of the many prospects in the Canadiens’ deep pool to take a step in their development and even surpass expectations, especially at the forward positions. The good news for Habs fans is that there are some young players doing just that.
Canadiens’ New King of Prospects
Joshua Roy has gone from a fifth-round gamble to a possible two-way top-six NHL player. Under Stéphane Julien, he has become a more complete player. He retained his offensive instincts and production under him with the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He also had his coming out party at the 2023 World Junior Championship under him as well, playing on the top line, top power play, and top penalty-killing units while being the defensive insurance in support of phenom Connor Bedard. He is now Montreal’s top prospect.
The expectation was for him to need time to adjust to professional hockey once he arrived in the American Hockey League (AHL). His seven goals and 18 points in 18 games, leading the team in points, say otherwise.
He has been the best young player with the Laval Rocket all season. Regardless of how desperate the NHL club gets, they need to avoid calling him up. He needs to continue to build up his game and his confidence, and so far, it seems to be working, thanks to his work ethic and positive mentality.
“I came to Laval with a good mentality to try to get better every day, I’ve got to show up to the rink with the mentality of leaving knowing that I was better than I was before.”
– Joshua Roy
Roy now looks like he can be a quality second-line player. He may even be seen as an ideal candidate to fit on a line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Canadiens Farming in Ontario
Outside of the professional levels, the Canadiens’ prospects are faring well too. The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has some of the best examples.
Filip Mesar
Patience. That is the keyword for this young player. When Filip Mesar was selected late in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft, expectations became very high as he was an offensive driver for Team Slovakia alongside the top pick that season, fellow Canadiens prospect Juraj Slafkovsky. But he was sent to the OHL last season, and didn’t look dominant. Then this season, after training camp, he failed to crack a very deep AHL Laval Rocket lineup, returning to the Kitchener Rangers.
This is where patience pays off as the 19-year-old forward has become a dominant offensive player in the OHL scoring 10 goals and 25 points in 14 games and has been the offensive leader in those games. He is currently on pace for 102 points, which is double his 51 points with Kitchener last season. It’s almost as if he can’t stop scoring goals.
His speed and offensive acumen will be his strong suit, but his time in Kitchener will also need to see improvements in his defensive game. He has proven to be highly adaptable, having played professionally in Slovakia, then moving to North America and adjusting to the style of play. Given more time, he is another possible top-six winger for Montreal.
Florian Xhekaj
Yes, Florian Xhekaj is the brother of Canadiens’ defenceman Arber Xhekaj. Yes, he is also a big player sitting at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds. And yes, he does bring an element of intimidation and is skilled at defending himself and his teammates. But Florian is a forward, and one with some good offensive instincts.
Before the Canadiens selected him in the fourth round, Xhekaj was called a “unicorn” by co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov. So far this season, he has been proving Bobrov right. After a strong rookie camp, he was returned to the Brantford Bulldogs scoring 11 goals and 18 points in 21 games, placing him in the OHL’s top 10 for scoring.
No one expected him to be selected as high as he was, but Montreal saw something more in him than other teams, they saw a potential power forward. He’s a physical player who wins his battles, goes to the net, has a good shot, is adept at tipping shots, and can intimidate. There is a long road for this player to make the NHL, but he can look up to his brother, but also to Josh Anderson’s path to the league as a blueprint for himself.
Owen Beck
Owen Beck is a high-quality prospect and one of the best ones in the Canadiens’ system. He has a high hockey IQ that allows him to read plays quickly. He is an elite skater, which allows him to play at a very high pace. He has a very mature defensive game that makes his floor that of a third-line center.
Some scouts believe he is the better center between him and Shane Wright, which can only help the Canadiens and could turn the 2022 Draft into one of their best as a franchise. The 6-foot, 190-pound center had another strong training camp with Montreal before being returned to the Peterborough Petes, where he leads the team in goals with 13, and is second on the team in total points with 23 in only 20 games.
A bonus for the Canadiens, who have problems in the face-off circle, is that he’s excellent on face-offs. His work ethic and consistency tie all his skills together. He has the potential to be a very good second-line center, playing a style like that of Tomas Plekanec. Last season, he won a gold medal at the World Junior Championship and an OHL title. He is an exciting prospect that has proven that he knows what it takes to win.
This is a snapshot of these Canadiens’ prospects and where they sit in their development process, however, these four prospects lead the way for Montreal. If all of them can reach their potential at the same time, that would provide the club with four quality top-nine players who could play up in the lineup.