Mooney Another Potential Draft Steal For Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are always looking for diamonds in the rough, including when they selected L.J. Mooney with the 113th overall pick at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
(Editor’s Note: This is an article written by special contributor Tyler Major- McNicol. You can follow him on X by clicking here.)
Not The Size Of The Dog In The Fight
The Habs struck gold by selecting 5’9″ Lane Hutson at the 2022 NHL Draft with the 62nd overall selection, and three years prior, the same can be said about the selection of 5’8″ Cole Caufield at 16th overall.
Could there be a little more magic brewing from the strategy of drafting small, but highly-talented players?
Standing at 5’8″, Mooney is not physically imposing, however, he has the ability to slip through checks, using his elite awareness and impressive puck skills to evade attackers pursuing him. And while it’s true having too many smaller players can be a drag on a team’s results, there is certainly value in having players with dogged mentalities, even if they had to wait quite a while before being tall enough to ride a rollercoaster.
Before making the jump to the professional game, Mooney will benefit tremendously from adding some muscle to his 162 pound frame, but given the fact that he is set to play his sophomore season with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, he has ample time to hit the weight room between his class schedule, and weekend games.
L.J. Mooney Taking The Next Step
If there is one thing to be said about Canadiens Head Coach Martin St-Louis, it’s that he values hard work above all else. This isn’t all that surprising when you study the journey that he embarked upon to establish himself as an NHL player, and eventual superstar. Sure, St-Louis ended up winning a Stanley Cup, and the Hart Trophy, along with bevy of other impressive accolades, but it was an anything but glamorous journey to the NHL.
In other words, he knows exactly what it takes to not only survive, but thrive as a small forward in a league of giants.
As for Mooney, he kicked off his college career by posting 30 points in 34 games, including 23 assists. This left him in a tie for second place on the points leader board with New York Rangers prospect Brody Lamb, and six points behind top producer, Buffalo Sabres prospect Brodie Ziemer. With Lamb graduated to American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack, Mooney will have a fantastic opportunity to seize the day.
It will be a crucial year, as it will go a long way in establishing whether he can take the lead from an offensive standpoint, improving his odds of eventually carving out a role with the Canadiens as a smaller forward.
To put things into perspective, the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes had three forwards on their roster that were under six feet tall. There was Jackson Blake, five-foot-eleven; Logan Stankoven, five-foot-eight; and Seth Jarvis, five-foot-ten. Stankoven is good comparison from a physical attributes standpoint, as he is the same height as Mooney, and roughly weighs the same. Suffice it to say, he wasn’t exactly bullied around the ice.
The goal is not to suggest Mooney is the next Stankoven. But he is a smart player who has an excellent work ethic, something he has developed throughout the course of his career.
Given his size, Mooney has been doubted, surely for most of his hockey playing days, but that hasn’t stopped him. Rather, it has ignited a fire, and wholehearted belief that, because of his size and the way he has developed, he will prove doubters wrong, and turn many more heads en route to the NHL.
For now, Mooney will continue impressing coaches and spectators in the college ranks, but there is a very real chance that Mooney becomes another fantastic, undersized forward, in a long line of exciting players that have donned La Sainte-Flannelle for the most celebrated franchise in the NHL.
L.J. Mooney statistics via Elite Prospects.
