After exceeding the goal the Montreal Canadiens’ brass set for this season, the Habs will look to improve again in the 2025-26 campaign. They’ll need significant contributions from at least one rookie to do that, but a couple more could also make an impact.
Canadiens: The End For Patrik Laine?
Former Canadiens Captain Comes to The Maple Leafs’ Rescue
Canadiens: Curtain Call For Savard
In this year’s edition of The Hockey News’ Future Watch, five Canadiens prospects are ranked in the league’s top 100 prospects. This is the exact total as in last year’s edition, but their identity and ranking differ.
In 2024, THN had David Reinbacher as Montreal’s top entry in its ranking, 13th place. Lane Hutson was the second entry, 49th place (in hindsight, that should have been much higher). Owen Beck was 60th, Joshua Roy 83rd, and Filip Mesar 89th.
Of the lot, only Reinbacher remains. Hutson is now an established NHLer and no longer available, while Beck, Roy, and Mesar have all been overtaken by other prospects. Without further ado, here are the five Canadiens’ prospects who have made the rankings for this year's edition.
Ivan Demidov
Coming in hot at number one is Ivan Demidov; he’s a new entry since he hadn’t yet been drafted when the list was compiled in 2024, but judging by how many scouts turned up at the Bell Centre to witness his debut, many wish he were theirs. The young Russian made an immediate impact with the Canadiens when he played the last two regular-season games and the five playoff tilts against the Washington Capitals.
His puck handling, hockey IQ, and compete level are through the roof. If this season was Hutson’s year in Montreal, the next campaign promises to be Demidov’s. His insertion on the first power play from the third game of the playoffs was a game-changer. Two incredibly creative players on the man-advantage unit immediately rejuvenated the Habs' power play. It became less predictable and a real threat.
David Reinbacher
In 17th place, we find the only name returning from last year’s edition: David Reinbacher. He only lost four spots, even though he was sidelined for most of the season with a knee injury, a true testament to how highly regarded he is by GMs, scouts, and directors of player personnel.
The Canadiens did their best to ensure Reinbacher didn’t waste any development opportunities, keeping him around the team until he was ready to return to action with the Laval Rocket. The organization is being very careful with the right-shot defenseman, not letting him skate more than once a day, no morning skate for the youngster, and no extra stress put on that surgically repaired knee—until Friday morning, that is. It looks like he’s turned a corner.
With David Savard hanging up his skates, the Canadiens will have a vacancy on the right side of defense, but will Reinbacher be ready to step into that role? Not yet. I think he could do with a full season in Laval just so the Habs can evaluate what they have in him. He played professional hockey in Switzerland, but the jump to the NHL is big.
Michael Hage
Another new entry for this edition, Michael Hage is 42nd on the THN’s list. He has plenty of potential and was impressive in his first season in the NCAA, scoring 34 points in 33 games. He was even named freshman of the year in the Big 10. He was fourth in points-per-game amongst all rookies in the NCAA with 1.03.
We already know that he’s going back to Michigan for a sophomore season, and he needs it. The 19-year-old is six feet one inch but only 190 pounds. He needs to add some muscle to his frame to be effective in the NHL.
The Canadiens drafted him 21st overall in the last draft, and the organization will have to be patient with him. Don’t expect him to make the jump to the NHL right away.
Logan Mailloux
Another new entry, Logan Mailloux, lands at number 58. His first season with the Laval Rocket was great; he scored 47 points in 72 games, but things were a lot harder in his sophomore campaign. In 63 games, he scored 33 points, which works out to 0.52 points per game, down from 0.65 in his rookie season.
The organization had hoped he could have been ready to make the jump to the NHL this season, but it was apparent at camp that he wasn’t quite there yet. This prompted Kent Hughes to turn to the trade market to replace Jonathan Kovacevic, whom he had thought expendable. Still, he managed to flip Justin Barron for Alex Carrier with the Nashville Predators, and it worked out well for the team.
Mailloux played seven games with the Canadiens this season, scoring four points, but he did not look like a finished product. He was still vulnerable defensively and could probably use more time in Laval.
Jacob Fowler
The fifth and final Canadiens on the list is newly signed goaltender Jacob Fowler. Hughes did well in signing him to an ELC, which only starts next season, and added an amateur tryout for the end of this year.
It has allowed a 20-year-old, 6-foot-4, 214-pound supersize goalie to play his first few professional games. He got three games in the regular season with the Rocket, going 2-1-0 with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Samuel Montembeault’s tearing his groin also meant that he was tasked with starting the playoffs with the Rocket since Cayden Primeau was acting as backup to Jakub Dobes. With the Canadiens now eliminated, one would have thought Primeau would have taken the reins back, but Fowler was in the starter’s net on Friday morning, with game two being played in the evening.
In his sophomore season with Boston College, he was a dominant force winning the Mike Richter award as the top goaltender in the NCAA. He finished his season with a 25-7-2 record, a 1.63 GAA and a .940 SP.
It remains to be seen if that dominance will translate well at the professional level, but what his showed so far definitively has Canadiens' fans excited.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
