How Adam Engstrom Should Be Used With The Habs This Week

Montreal Canadiens defensive prospect Adam Engstrom will likely get his first taste of NHL action this week, while the team is on the road in the Midwest. Given the fact that he’s only 21 years old and will need playing time to continue developing, it wouldn’t make sense to call him up if they weren’t planning on playing him. In prior trips, the Canadiens brought up Marc Del Gaizo to serve as an insurance policy in case of injuries, but he was never actually needed, and if they just needed insurance, why wouldn’t they have called him up? With that being said, the Canadiens have a clear plan to see what one of their top defensive prospects can do in the NHL. Now how he should be used on this road trip is a good question.

After how good Engstrom has been in the AHL this season, it was only a matter of time before he would get his cup of coffee in the NHL. He is coming up to the NHL off his best performance in the AHL with a goal and 4 assists on Saturday. He is now up to 6 goals and 15 points in 21 games with the Rocket this year as their primary puck mover. At the NHL level that won’t be the case; instead, he will likely play a lot of sheltered minutes with someone like Alexandre Carrier, who can cover for him if he tries to carry the puck and get caught up ice. Over the last year, he has gotten much better at picking his spots when the puck is up ice, but he can still get caught up ice at times, so having a primarily defensive defenseman who can cover for him is a good idea to shelter him in his first couple games in the NHL.

Adam Engstrom at Habs practice today

pic.twitter.com/yNwCXGkarE

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 24, 2025

Despite Engstrom being known for being a better player on the offensive side of the puck, ever since his AHL debut at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, he has gotten much better on the defensive side of the puck and has been touted as arguably the Habs’ most NHL-ready prospect with the Laval Rocket. Now that he is finally at the NHL level, he will get tested to see if he can live up to playing in the NHL already.

One thing that makes Engstrom very unique is that despite being a left-handed defenseman, he has played a lot of time on the right throughout his young career and maybe even feels more comfortable on his off-side. It is a rare trait, but with that fact, Engstrom may even end up playing on a 3rd pairing with one of Jayden Struble or Arber Xhekaj during the trip to test just how good he can be at the NHL, which would allow Carrier to move back up into the top 4 alongside Lane Hutson.

Adam Engstrom continues to add strong performance after strong performance, and this, at RD.

He's become an intriguing piece for the Canadiens' future.

It won't be long until he's in the NHL, has all the tools.

— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) November 22, 2025

It will certainly be interesting to see how Engstrom performs at the NHL level. Despite his recent dominance of the AHL, he is very unlikely to break out in his debut at the NHL level, as he doesn’t have nearly the explosiveness that Hutson had in his first game. Chances are he will get incredibly sheltered when the Habs play him for his first game, as being a rookie defenseman is much harder than being a forward. The reason being is a forward’s flaws are easier to hide as opposed to a defenseman, who plays a big role in preventing the other team from scoring, and every little mistake can get scrutinized.

Adam Engstrom today on getting the call up from Laval:

“Maybe I'll have a little bit more confidence. It was a little bit nerve-wrecking when I got the call (that I was joining the Habs). It was an exciting time. I'm just really happy to be here right now.” pic.twitter.com/YspBchrCWA

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 24, 2025

This is why I believe he should be glued next to a guy like Carrier, who is a very responsible veteran defenseman who will be able to help Engstrom adapt to the NHL game.

Who do you see Engstrom playing with in his first NHL game?