Once again this year, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman has released his rankings of under-23 players that are either in the NHL or on the cusp of it. This time around, the Montreal Canadiens have seven players in the 173-player list. To be eligible, a player must be 22 years old or younger as of September 15, 2025.
The young Habs included in the rankings are Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, Zack Bolduc, Michael Hage, and Oliver Kapanen. Pronman’s rankings are divided into six tiers; the first one is for elite NHL players, tier two for NHL All-Stars, tier three for bubble NHL All-Stars and top of the lineup players, tier four for Top of the lineup players, tier five for bubble top and middle of the lineup players, and tier six for middle of the lineup players. Let’s have a look at where each Hab stands.
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Slafkovsky gets the seventh spot in the ranking and is considered in the second tier. Pronman deems his skating average, his puck skills above average, just like his hockey sense, and his compete high-end. The journalist praises the youngster’s use of his big frame and concedes that even if he never reaches the highest of tiers in points total, he could be a star because of the special role he plays.
I’m surprised to see the power forward come so high in the ranking and receive a high-end rating for his compete. Personally, I believe this is what Slafkovsky could eventually be rather than what he is at the moment. It’s been written time and time again that the youngster knows what to do to be successful, but he has yet to manage to do it consistently. I do not doubt that it’s coming, but it’s not there yet. Last year, he was 15th on the list.
The second Canadiens player in the ranking is Demidov, who lands in the second tier as well, in 10th place. Pronman rates his skating as below average, his puck skills as elite, his hockey sense, compete, and shot as above average. Unsurprisingly, it’s the winger skating that makes him go down in the ranking, and anyone who’s watched Demidov play last season knows what the writer means when he mentions his “awkward/knock-kneed skating stride. However, this is one of the areas on which the young Russian has focused this summer in Brossard, and while at times he reverts to that particular style, it’s on the verge of being a thing of the past.
It's tough to argue with the rest of Pronman’s assessment, however, and if I were a betting woman, I’d wager that Demidov will be climbing up those rankings next season, and it’s worth remembering that he is still only 19 years old. Regardless of how you look at it, Demidov should be a diamond in the rough at his age, but he’s not that rough and shows a lot of promise. Last season, he was in 17th position and in the third tier, just like Slafkovsky.
The third Hab to feature in the list is Calder Trophy-winning blueliner Lane Hutson, who lands in 34th place and in the fourth tier. This one is puzzling. Pronman rates his skating as above average, just like his puck skills and compete, while he deems his hockey sense high-end. What makes him slip all the way to 34 then? His defensive play.
The Athletic’s journalist argues that he’s a minor defenseman without high-end feet or physicality, which makes him ill-suited to defend against the top players in the league. I disagree with this statement. I can’t deny that Hutson’s offensive game is better than his defensive game, but he can still defend against the best players. To me, his mobility and compete make up for his lack of physicality, and those who have seen him skate in 82 games last season and five playoff games will agree. Last year, Pronman had him as a tier seven player in 87th place, so that’s a healthy jump. However, expect him to move up in next September’s edition of those rankings; he’ll be 22 by then and in his last year of eligibility.
The next Hab is in tier five and comes in 44th place: David Reinbacher. The article describes his skating and puck skills as average, while his hockey sense and competitiveness are above-average. This is probably Pronman’s most accurate assessment, as he explains that the right-shot defenseman won’t be the best in any category, but is a good all-around defenseman.
This is precisely what the youngster showed last season in the playoffs with the Laval Rocket, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does at training camp. Given that he was injured in the previous preseason, he may be a bit behind schedule, but defensemen typically take longer to develop, so that’s not an issue. Last year, he was in 69th place in the rankings.
The next Canadiens on the list are all the way down at spot 100, in tier six. Pronman clearly sees the Habs' new acquisition as average, that’s how he evaluates his skating, puck skills, hockey sense, and compete, but does add that his shot is high-end. Last year, he didn’t even make the ranking.
For Pronman, the deficiencies in Bolduc’s game are without the puck; if that’s the case, he landed in the right place. The winger has a good hockey sense, and under Martin St-Louis, he will be given every opportunity to learn how to make the right reads to improve his play without the puck. We won’t see where he lands in these rankings next season, as this is his last year of eligibility.
Next up is Michael Hage, who has dropped from 118th to 131st place in the sixth tier. Pronman considers his skating and hockey sense to be average, his puck skills above average, his compete level below average, and his shot above average.
Despite conceding that Hage has had an impressive freshman season, the journalist notes that the youngster has a history of inconsistency and streakiness, and that playing too much on the outside could hinder his chances of success in the NHL. If this comes to be, the Canadiens’ need for a legitimate number two center will be even greater.
I had noticed that Hage does pick points in bunches, but he’s still very young and has time to turn things around. Furthermore, the culture being developed in Montreal should also enhance the competitive level. When numerous leaders go all in at all times, it’s challenging for a young player to dip his toe in the water.
Finally, Kapanen comes in at number 139 in tier six. His skating is deemed below average, while his puck skills, compete, and shots are above average, and his hockey sense is average. In a nutshell, it’s his footspeed that drags him down the ranking.
Although Pronman believes Kapanen made significant progress last season as a key player with Timra IK, he thinks the youngster's lower foot speed could be a drawback and might lead to him being shifted to the wing. This is Finn’s first appearance in the rankings, and if he improves on his training camp showing from last season, he could make the team and stick around this year.
Having seven players in this ranking and four in the top 100 is quite an impressive feat; some teams do not even have a single player who cracked the top 100, like the New York Rangers, for instance, and it goes to show just how good a job the Canadiens are doing with their rebuild.
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