{"id":14960,"date":"2017-08-21T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=14960"},"modified":"2025-10-10T22:55:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T02:55:38","slug":"tsp-montreal-canadiens-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2017\/08\/21\/tsp-montreal-canadiens-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Montreal Canadiens Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2017 edition of \u201cTop Shelf Prospects\u201d. During the summer, I will feature a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will follow the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no trades). You\u00a0can find all the articles here<\/a>. Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted this year. There have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

I will link you to those articles; as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2017-18 roster.\u00a0<\/em>I will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later; or an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as a dark horse to make the NHL. 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old is the cut-off for prospects. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n

TSP: Montreal Canadiens Prospects<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>After missing the playoffs in 2016, the Montreal Canadiens<\/a>\u00a0came flying out of the gate in 2016-17, with a 9-0-1 start. The team would continue to rack up wins, until hitting a bit of a blip at the end of January\/beginning of February. The down turn cost coach Michel Therrien<\/strong> his job. New coach\u00a0Claude Julien<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0came in and righted the ship. The Habs finished first in the Atlantic Division with 103 points. Unfortunately the team’s biggest issue, a lack of offence, came back to bite them in their first round playoff series with the New York Rangers<\/a>. The Habs fell in six games.<\/p>\n

The off-season has been one of change. The team traded<\/a>\u00a0for what they hope is a superstar forward in Jonathan Drouin<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0giving top prospect Mikhail Sergachev<\/a> <\/strong>to the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>. Their were major losses to the left side of the defence. Andrei Markov<\/a><\/strong> went to the KHL<\/a>;\u00a0Alexei Emelin<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0heads to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>\u00a0in the expansion draft<\/a>, before landing<\/a>\u00a0with the Nashville Predators<\/strong><\/a>; and Nathan Beaulieu<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was traded to<\/a> the Buffalo Sabres<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0They also took a big hit up front when Alexander Radulov<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0signed with<\/a> the Dallas Stars<\/a>. To fill the holes the Habs have added<\/a>\u00a0defencemen\u00a0Karl Alzner<\/a><\/strong>, Joe Morrow<\/strong>, and Jakub Jerabek<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in free agency. They also traded for<\/a>\u00a0David Schlemko<\/a><\/strong>. Up front, the Habs added<\/a>\u00a0Ales Hemsky<\/a><\/strong>, Peter Holland<\/a><\/strong>, and Byran Froese<\/strong>. They still have $8.5 million in cap space for more additions.<\/p>\n

2017 NHL Draft Picks:\u00a0Ryan Poehling<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Josh Brook<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Joni Ikonen<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Scott Walford<\/strong>,\u00a0Cale Fleury<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Jarret Tyszka<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Cayden Primeau
\n<\/strong>Graduates: Artturi Lehkonen<\/a><\/strong>, Daniel Carr<\/a><\/strong>, Michael McCarron<\/a><\/strong>, Jacob de La Rose<\/a><\/strong>,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Noah Juulsen<\/h3>\n

Defense — shoots Right
\nBorn April 2nd, 1997 — Abbotsford, British Columbia
\nHeight 6’3″ — Weight 190 lbs [191 cm \/ 86 kg]
\nDrafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1st Round, #26 Overall, at the 2015 NHL Draft<\/p>\n