2026 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: The Projects (42-35)

Introduction

Getting closer to the top players in the organization, we find a group that is neither on a track to play in the NHL nor appearing hopeless to do so. These prospects have generally performed better than those we just discussed as Long Shots, with a larger base of skills to work with.

Three of the players are from the 2026 NHL Draft class, but there is an equal number of off-season additions for the Laval Rocket. In both cases, they are new players to the project, which tends to make it hard to place them above players we have a few years of experience with. The two returnees in this section moved up from the last year, and some of the newcomers could experience something similar in their future.

#42 Parker Trottier

Forward – 18 – Regina Pats (WHL)

The Canadiens made several trades of draft picks between their selection with the Philadelphia Flyers’ fourth-round pick and their own assigned sixth-rounder. At 189th, they landed Parker Trottier, who had spent the season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. There was a time when that path seemed like a golden ticket to a high draft position, but the squad hasn’t had the same quality in recent years, with just one player selected in the first round this year and the majority going in the later rounds.

That’s the context required when evaluating Trottier’s draft-year performance. In USHL action he had 14 points in 24 games of his 27 points in 61 games total in the program. His overall point total ranked 11th on the team, and he was second on the roster with 78 penalty minutes.

His time in the box was the result of relentless physical play as he crashed around the boards trying to win battles. That is a good base to build a game on, and Montreal will hope he can develop offensive habits to take better advantage of the battles he wins. He will work on those elements in particular following a move to the WHL this season, ready to begin a campaign with the Regina Pats before heading to Notre Dame.

#41 Emmett Croteau

Goaltender – 22 – Dartmouth College (NCAA)

Now in his fifth year in the organization, Emmett Croteau enjoys his highest placement at 41, rising a total of 11 positions in the past two years. His transfer to Dartmouth College is proving a wise decision. Posting an .835 save percentage with Clarkson University in 2023-24, he got back above the .900 mark in the first season with his new school, and last year ended at .922, going 15-5-4 on the season. With that performance, he took over starting duties after splitting them the year prior, and made the ECAC Second All-Star Team.

The sudden rise so was so strong that Croteau was mentioned as a possible trade chip in deadline deals the Canadiens were involved in. We’ve seen in recent years that the overall quality of goaltending in the NHL has been dropping, and many of this year’s post-season teams were flipping between goalies trying to find one who could make important saves. Not so long ago a position that was deemed unworthy of wasting resources on, goaltending is starting to get discussed again as a vital position, and Montreal happens to hold a number of prospects showing the potential to become NHLers, with four more yet to be profiled in this countdown.

#40 Ethan Samson

Defenceman – 22 – Laval Rocket (AHL)

Ethan Samson didn’t even see out the entirety of his entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, traded last year by the team that used a sixth-round pick on him in 2021. His new organization, the Tampa Bay Lightning, didn’t extend him a qualifying offer at the end of the season, leaving him to become an unrestricted free agent before turning 23. With freedom to sign with any club, he chose the Canadiens on the opening day of free agency.

Finishing his Junior career with 15- and 18-goal seasons in Prince George, he has been able to translate that finishing ability to the pro ranks, scoring 12 goals in 2024-25 and having five in 30 games with the Syracuse Crunch following last season’s trade. He’s generated right around two shots per game in the past two seasons, converting on about 8% of them.

Samson might see Montreal as a chance to play a few NHL games, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him join the team for road trips as an extra defenceman, especially since he’s a right-shot option.

#39 Hunter McKown

Right Wing – 23 – Laval Rocket (AHL)

Last year, Luke Tuch ranked 34th in the countdown. In 2026, his replacement comes in at 39th. Hunter McKown will turn 24 within the next two weeks, making this his one and only appearance in this project.

McKown played 63 of 72 games last season for the Cleveland Monsters, contributing a total of 25 points. It wasn’t a high offensive total, but Cleveland only had four players crack the 40-point plateau despite a rather healthy roster. That was also about double the production Tuch produced in any season with Laval.

McKown did score 21 goals in his final year at Colorado College, which got him a contract with Columbus in the first place. His best season as a pro came in 2024-25 with 13 goals and 18 assists, totals that both he and the Rocket will hope he can replicate in his new environment.

#38 Cooper Cleaves

Defenceman – 20 – Dartmouth College (NCAA)

Cooper Cleaves was a third-round pick of the Canadiens, but debuts below the player Montreal selected 24 picks later. He is a two-year over-age player, set to turn 21 in January, and that played a role in the voting.

The Canadiens must have seen Cleaves play in their check-ins with Croteau at Dartmouth College and liked what they saw. His offensive totals were decent, but it was his defensive play that drew interest. He’s a hard-hitting player, one of several the Habs added in reaction to their playoff experience, and he puts in the effort in his own zone.

Outside of the hits and work in the defensive end, he’s not a particularly strong skater, passer, or playmaker, but gets by in those areas. Those are all places he will need to improve to have a real shot at playing in the NHL.

#37 Brayden Klimpke

Defenceman – 18 – Saskatoon Blades (WHL)

Bayden Klimpke doesn’t have the physical game of Cleaves, nor the size of most of his classmates, but is more of a skilled player. In his draft season, he was the Saskatoon Blades’ top-scoring defenceman, and finished six assists off the team lead.

With strong skating ability, he was free to dabble in all elements of being a defenceman without needing to specialize, and he has become good at every aspect, outside of hitting as a 174-pound player. He is a strong puck-mover thanks to accurate passing, a player whose hands keep up to his feet.

If you could combine Klimpke and Cleaves into one package you would have a complete player, but Klimpke will need to work on the things that Cleaves excels at. He doesn’t have the frame to be a powerful hitter, but can use his mobility and stick skills to win more battles in the defensive zone, or at least pin his check to get his teammates involved in that battle. We will probably have to wait until he begins his university career a year from now to see how his defensive game really stands up.

#36 Sam Harris

Left Wing – 22 – University of Denver (NCAA)

Last year I predicted that Harris would make the Top 25 this summer. While that didn’t happen, I still believe he’s heavily underrated by voters. In his third season with the University of Denver, he once again had 35 points. That came with eight fewer goals than the previous year which didn’t help his case for a large jump, but he was still four points off the lead on a team that was, for the second time in Harris’s tenure, NCAA champion.

He may only be 5’11”, but he plays a hard style of game, not afraid to get involved with opponents. He does everything required of a bottom-six player, and that role in the NHL isn’t such a far-fetched dream.

I think we would have all been satisfied with his performance if he had been a second- or third-round pick. I believe his chance to prove his NHL merits is coming, but not until after he helps take Denver on another long run looking for another title.

#35 Maksymilian Szuber

Defenceman – 23 – Laval Rocket (AHL)

We’ll wrap up this article with another player I believe is underrated. Maksymilian Szuber has been a steady performer wherever he’s played: developing in the DEL, playing the North American pro game with the Tucson Roadrunners, or with Germany at the IIHF World Championship, an assignment he had accepted for three consecutive seasons until last year.

There hasn’t been much offence on the international stage as he seems to settle into a stable defensive role for his nation (or one of them anyway; he also has Polish citizenship). There has been plenty of it when he opens up more at the AHL level, including a career-best 11 goals last season. He’s a versatile player who plays the situation needed, and generally has a positive impact whatever the required play style.

Szuber will be a big help for the Rocket, especially with Marc Del Gaizo no longer on the roster. I don’t believe he will be locked into an AHL role any more than Joshua Roy, the player he was traded for, who got into multiple NHL games in each of the last three seasons. I think we’ll see Szuber in a Habs jersey at some point in 2026-27, doing whatever the conditions that lead to his recall demand.

The final section before the official countdown begins on Monday features nine players ranked 34-26. It starts off with three players covered by about half a rank on average, and ends with a player whose exclusion from the Top 25 came down to a high-vote tiebreaker.