Ranking the Montreal Canadiens' Top 5 Prospects

Even with rookies Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk graduating to the NHL last season, the Montreal Canadiens are plenty rife with young talent.

At the 2013 NHL entry draft, for example, the Habs were able to further address their needs for additional skill and size, as well as depth at the goaltending position.

It’s perhaps a testament to their scouting and pipeline that their first-round pick from this summer, Michael McCarron, just misses making this list. Already 6’5”, he ironically fell just short despite being a much-needed power forward who should be invaluable to the Habs for many years to come.

Taking potential, pedigree and development up to this point into account, here are the top five Habs prospects yet to earn a full-time spot in Montreal heading into the 2013-14 season:

5. Louis Leblanc

Perhaps considered an underdog by many to make this list, Louis Leblanc’s mission this coming season should be to escape purgatory with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

His development undeniably took a step back last year in the American, Hockey League, as the 2009 first-round pick (18th overall) scored just 18 points in 62 games. This after it seemed he had made the Habs for good, with 42 games played in 2011-12 (five goals and five assists).

However, it wasn’t meant to be.

Originally a center, he fell behind 2012 first-round pick Galchenyuk on the team’s depth chart. Switched to the wing and into indirect competition with eventual Calder Memorial Trophy nominee Brendan Gallagher, Leblanc was almost doomed from the start. And he certainly didn’t do himself any favors with a 17-game goalless streak.

Nevertheless, Leblanc’s skating and speed are strong suits, and, at the very least, he should be able to make the Habs lineup as a third-liner. While him making it this year is a bit of a long shot with the Habs currently boasting a relatively deep lineup, where he lands as a pro will ultimately be up to him.

4. Sebastian Collberg

Making an earlier-than-projected North American debut last year, Swede Sebastian Collberg was able to get in two end-of-season (and scoreless) games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Despite a lack of size (5’11”, 181 lbs), he has loads of offensive skill, and, like Leblanc, versatility with an ability to play either wing. Additional pros include a great shot, speed and an underrated physical game, which will likely only get better once he puts on an almost-prerequisite few extra pounds.

Collberg is no doubt an intriguing option for the future once a player like captain Brian Gionta moves on at the end of his deal. Amazingly, a bigger option too (Gionta is 5’7”, 173 lbs).

3. Zachary Fucale

While McCarron was the Habs’ first-round pick this past draft and just missed making the list, the team’s 36th overall pick, goalie Zachary Fucale, takes the third spot for several reasons.

Backstopping the Halifax Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup victory, Fucale is a proven big-game goalie who, by most accounts, should have gone in the first round instead of the second, potentially even ahead of McCarron.

After the Habs used their first second-round selection on center Jacob De La Rose (34th overall) and Fucale was still available two picks later, the Habs snatched up the potential franchise goalie with little hesitation. Despite the late selection, Fucale was still the first goalie taken this summer and the consensus best player at his position entering the draft.

While Fucale is admittedly a bit of an organizational redundancy—the Habs already have a young No. 1 goalie in Carey Price—Fucale is a full eight years younger. The Habs also required organizational depth at the position, with no one projected as being able to take over for Price when his deal runs out in 2018 (assuming he doesn’t re-sign).

Assuming a scenario whereby Price rebounds from a lackluster past few seasons, Fucale will still realistically develop into a starting netminder and serve as trade bait in the future.

As it stands now, there are far worse options than having an 18-year-old goalie who, according to HockeysFuture.com, “never seems to get rattled and plays with the poise and maturity of a much older player” as a fallback.

2. Jarred Tinordi

Mountain-of-a-man Jarred Tinordi (6’6”, 215 lbs and getting bigger) is almost a lock to make the Habs this year.

While that’s mainly a direct result of fellow defenseman Alexei Emelin being injured for the first few months of the season, should Tinordi indeed make the roster there are few indications that he will be demoted upon the former's return.

When healthy, Emelin is the Habs' most physical player (110 hits in 38 games last year), even more than Tinordi. Nevertheless, Tinordi brings an extra dimension to his game sorely lacking in the Habs' current lineup: size.

Tinordi may not yet be an answer to Boston Bruin Zdeno Chara (or the question “what does it take to get Chara off his game…short of dressing up like a Chicago Blackhawk, that is?”), but he is still pretty green at 21.

Despite his age and inexperience, though, he was the replacement defenseman head coach Michel Therrien turned to in the playoffs to help eat up Emelin’s lost minutes. That’s as good an indication as any he isn’t going anywhere.

1. Nathan Beaulieu

At 6’3”, Nathan Beaulieu gives up a few inches to Tinordi, but he’s still taller than any current Habs defenseman. Blessed with actual offensive acumen (which Tinordi lacks at this stage of his career), Beaulieu is on track to becoming a top-pairing, complete defenseman for the Habs.

According to HockeysFuture.com, the “highly mobile” Beaulieu is “smart about the amount of chances he takes…equally adept shooting and distributing the puck."

Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, the same site claimed he is “showing maturity on and off the ice” prior to him getting charged with assault along with his father earlier this year. So, nothing is truly for certain.

Still, while Tinordi has more of an inside track to making the Habs this coming season, that’s more to do with Tinordi’s specific skill set and being a year older, and likely less to do with any legal troubles Beaulieu may be facing.

All in all, there’s little doubt that Beaulieu will make it eventually. It’s just a matter of when. Assuming smooth sailing from a legal perspective, it may even be a matter of mere months, not years.