Habs Hebdo | A New Top Scorer Among the Canadiens’ prospects

Welcome to this new edition of Habs hebdo, your weekly column on the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects. For all previous columns: Habs Hebdo Section.

Is there progress in the production of the Canadiens’ prospects? I explained this last week in the Habs Hebdo. I keep track of all statistical performances week by week for the creation of all the Habs Hebdo. After more than twenty games this season, I like to look back at where the prospects were at this time last year. Of course, there’s a lot of context, such as league or team changes. But for the Rocket players, are we plateauing? The team is doing better than last year—much better, in fact. And the lineup is much more experienced than last year.

So, at this time last year, Joshua Roy was producing at a rate of 0.87 points per game. This season, he’s at 0.95. Logan Mailloux is the only other prospect playing with the Rocket to show an increase in production compared to early December last year. His production has risen from 0.57 points per game to 0.78 this season. Sean Farrell, Xavier Simoneau, William Trudeau, and Riley Kidney are all showing a drop in production in their second season with Laval.

PROSPECT OF THE WEEK: OWEN BECK

Here’s one who’s impressing as a rookie with the Laval Rocket. Owen Beck had a great week with 4 goals and 1 assist in three games. As my colleague Jessika explained in a recent episode of the TSLH Podcast, it’s amazing how Owen Beck can score when it matters. Of his 7 goals this season, four have been game-winners. Even this past weekend, he played the hero with a goal 20 seconds before the end of the third period to give the Rocket the win. He’s having fantastic offensive moments, but we shouldn’t overlook Beck’s contributions without the puck. He excels in faceoffs and also brings a physical edge to his game, even though he’s just a rookie in the AHL.

Will we see Beck in the NHL this year? I think he deserves a shot, but for the sake of consistency with the other prospects, I’m taking my time with him and letting him win in Laval. Owen Beck is a winner, and he helps foster a strong culture in the locker room, as many have said about him in junior. You want a guy like him in a championship race in Laval. Once he gains that experience, next year, perhaps he could be brought in for a role on a third line. That said, while I advocate for patience, I’m very excited by Beck’s progress so far. I’m not surprised, given he’s met my expectations since the draft, but I’m thrilled to see him making such a significant impact offensively in his first pro season.

A new scoring leader!

The second big news of the week for this Hebdo CH: a new leader among the point scorers! But it’s not Owen Beck, despite his strong performances this week. In fact, Tyler Thorpe has taken the top spot for the Canadiens’ prospects across all leagues. With 5 points this week (1 goal, 4 assists), he was competing with Beck for the title of prospect of the week. I leaned towards Beck for his game-winning goal, but also because he earned his points over 3 games, while Thorpe played 4 games this week.

Tyler Thorpe, a 5th-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in 2024, is in his 3rd season in the WHL. Standing 6’4″ and weighing 215 pounds, he’s a promising development project, but far from finished. He excels in front of the opponent’s net and can collect points simply by positioning himself in front of the goalie to create traffic. However, he’s not the most explosive skater. He can throw hits, but his lack of speed means he loses power in his checks. This season, he’s totaled 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 28 games with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL. The big winger also drops the gloves from time to time, but sometimes it doesn’t work out in his favor.

Jacob Fowler remains unbeaten in 3 games

It was a good week for Jacob Fowler, who had to play 3 games. It’s quite rare in the NCAA to have more than 2 games on the schedule. Often, during weeks with holidays, teams also play on Wednesdays. Anyway, three starts for him, and he ends the week with two wins and one tie. His third start was more difficult, occurring on Monday after playing on Wednesday and Friday. Although he allowed two goals on 13 shots, Boston won the game.

Last week, I mentioned the lack of consistency in Fowler’s performance. This week, considering the workload, we can understand that he was a bit out of gas in his third game. He still had some days off between his starts, yet it was still difficult. This indicates that he’s starting a bit further behind in this aspect, unlike a player like Dobes, who could perform better in his third game of the week when he played in the NCAA.

Yevgeni Volokhin doesn’t have the confidence of his coaches

Now, let’s move to the KHL with HC Sochi. Yevgeni Volokhin is still part of a three-way goalie situation, but he is clearly the third goalie on the team. The coaches don’t seem to have much confidence in the Montreal Canadiens’ prospect. This week, Sergei Ivanov was pulled from the game and replaced by Volokhin. Two days later, Ivanov was put back in net, only to get crushed again without Volokhin even being called upon.

Well, he doesn’t have the confidence of his coaches, but he’s not helping himself either. Yevgeni Volokhin allowed two goals on a total of 10 shots in relief of Ivanov. Nothing to convince his coach to give him the next start. It’s tough for him in the KHL, especially without the strong defense he had in front of him with Mamonty Yugry in the MHL. Not only does he have to adapt to a new league with a higher caliber, but he’s being tested much more than he was in the MHL behind a team that plays far less defensively.

FLASH NEWS

– Jakub Dobes got injured on a breakaway by Alex Steeves this past weekend against the Marlies. He will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. The Rocket goalie was struggling to put weight on his left leg as he left the ice. To watch the play, click HERE.

– A bit of a dry spell for Sam Harris, who didn’t record any points this week in the NCAA. He was battling for the points lead among prospects, but is now in 6th place in that category.

– Filip Mesar has resumed skating on his own with the Rocket. We can expect him to return after the Holidays. *Update*: Right after publishing this article, Filip Mesar practiced with the group on the first line, but with a no-contact jersey. Expect him to be ready by the Holliday season.

– Michael Hage got injured during this week’s training. That’s why he was not able to compete this week. We’ll keep you update.

Statistics collected from December 2 to December 8, inclusive.

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