2026 Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #20 Jared Davidson
Introduction
It was a tale of two seasons for Jared Davidson. The first half featured fantastic highs including his NHL debut. In the second half, it felt like nothing could quite go his way.
He earned an NHL call-up after contributing nine goals and two assists in 13 games for the Laval Rocket by early November. However, his post-NHL time was marked by just seven goals and seven assists in his final 40 games. After a 24-goal season the year before, he scored just 16 times, seeing his total offence cut nearly in half.
While he didn’t hit the same highs of his sophomore season, Davidson did enough to earn a second contract and put himself on the radar for an NHL role.
Voting
Davidson’s votes were clustered in the 20s for the most part, with one vote each side of that range. If he had kept up his original scoring pace, it’s entirely likely he would have taken full advantage of the six graduating NHLers to move inside the top 15.
I personally placed him just outside the Top 25. I think there is a very good goal-scorer there, but some of his limitations will prevent him from becoming more than an NHL replacement-level player as it stands.
Top 25 Under 25 History
Drafted as a two-year over-ager, Davidson steadily rose in his five years in the organization in which he was eligible for the Top 25 Under 25. He makes the official countdown for the first time in his final year with a jump of eight places.
History of #20
| Year | #20 |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Jared Davidson |
| 2025 | Joshua Roy |
| 2024 | Filip Mesar |
| 2023 | Jesse Ylönen |
| 2022 | Logan Mailloux |
| 2021 | Michael McNiven |
| 2020 | Brett Stapley |
| 2019 | Jayden Struble / Joni Ikonen |
| 2018 | Joni Ikonen |
| 2017 | Joe Morrow |
| 2016 | Jake Evans |
| 2015 | Jeremy Grégoire |
| 2014 | Daniel Audette |
| 2013 | Gabriel Dumont |
| 2012 | Blake Geoffrion |
| 2011 | Mark Mitera |
| 2010 | Ian Schultz |
Strengths
The many comparisons he’s drawn to Brendan Gallagher are apt in a lot of ways. Davidson’s game is based around getting to the best areas on the ice, and doing everything he can to put the puck in the back of the net. Throughout his career, and especially since the start of the season that got him drafted, he has done nothing but score goals with startling efficiency, and therein lies the key to his future success.
Whether it’s going to the net and looking for rebounds to jam home or setting himself up as a trigger-man inside the offensive zone, there isn’t an area on the ice where he won’t go looking to finish the play. With a heavy, hard shot, it didn’t take him long to rise up from the Rocket’s fourth line to their top line and even into the NHL for a 10-game stint.
Part of what made the Rocket power play click so effectively is that when Davidson got himself settled in at the right faceoff dot, he became an absolute howitzer. With a knee-down one-timer or even just settling the puck down for a quick snapshot, he was lethal.
He is also just as willing to throw himself into the dirty areas to make things happen. If there’s a rebound loose around the crease, he’ll be there. If there’s a scrum around the net and the puck is there to be dug out, you bet your bottom dollar it’ll be Davidson right in the mess.
While he’s not the biggest player at a charitable 6′ tall, he throws his body around as much as the bigger guys on the team. That includes throwing off the gloves if he has to, as there is no bottom to the energy that he plays with night in and night out.
Weaknesses
The thing that is going to hold Davidson back from ascending to his fullest potential is his skating ability. There’s never a lack of effort, but you will often see him flatfooted or a step behind any counter-attack. In the AHL it’s less of a problem, but at the NHL level it was readily apparent that he was often behind the play.
Skating and edgework can be worked on, but now entering another full professional season having already turned 24 and it still being a noticeable issue rings a few alarm bells. Given how the Canadiens deploy their bottom six, and how that role has changed in the NHL, being unable to skate efficiently is going to limit Davidson’s chances of claiming that spot without improvement.
My biggest concern for him, and part of why he slotted just outside my top 25, is that after his NHL call-up he vanished for the Laval Rocket. While he started the year as one of the hottest players in the AHL, down the stretch and in the playoffs he wasn’t generating the offence that the team needed. It was highly disappointing to see, especially as the team struggled in key situations.
Projection
Davidson just re-signed with Montreal on a one-year, two-way deal, and it’s a season that will likely determine his future with the club. After three full seasons in the AHL, it is becoming likely that his ceiling is that of a bottom-six NHL forward. Much like for Tyler Thorpe and some other upcoming players, the lineup spot that he is attempting to occupy will be a hotly contested one. A point in Davidson’s favour is that he leans much more heavily on the offensive side of the puck and could find himself in a role not dissimilar to what Emil Heineman played a few seasons ago.
Chances are that Davidson will start the season with the Laval Rocket, which isn’t a bad thing for him, and he will potentially be a leader on the team as well. A great start earned him some NHL time last year, and there is no reason to believe he can’t do the same again.
He has NHL talent, but chances are to fully seize that chance it might end up being outside Montreal without a major change this year.
