When a prospect gets drafted by an NHL team, they may feel like they made it, like the hardest part is over but that’s seldom the case unless you are a generational player. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby arrived in the NHL straight after being drafted, but most drafted players are a work in process. The deeper you go in a draft, the more unlikely you’ll be a top player in the NHL; there are exceptions, but not many. Yesterday, the time had come for the Montreal Canadiens to decide what they wanted to do with four prospects drafted in 2022, Kent Hughes’ first crop.
Jared Davidson Gets a 2-Year Entry-Level Contract
Jared Davidson went undrafted twice at the NHL draft before the Canadiens decided to roll the dice on the overage junior when they drafted him 130th overall in the fifth round of the 2022 Entry Draft. Initially, he tallied 16 points in 59 games before scoring 89 points in 64 games in the season before he was drafted, which probably convinced the Canadiens to draft him. The center played five years with the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds before being offered an American Hockey League contract with the Canadiens’ affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
Related: Canadiens Prospect Review: Jared Davidson
In his first pro season with the Rocket in 2023-24, Davidson skated in 38 games, registering 16 points, including 11 goals. This meant he was third in goals scored by the team’s rookies, behind only Logan Mailloux and Joshua Roy. Satisfied that it was worth having a more extended look, the Canadiens offered him a 2-year entry-level contract with a $862,500 cap hit.
Cedrick Guindon Is No Longer a Canadiens Prospect
A Rockland, Ontario native, Cedrick Guindon was picked 127th overall by the Canadiens at the 2022 Draft. His scoring progression was impressive but not enough to convince Montreal to offer him an entry-level deal.
Furthermore, there’s a limit to how many contracts a team can have on the books (50), and the Canadiens have had so many draft picks over the last few years that this situation is bound to repeat itself going forward. Guindon is also not very tall and lacks any wow factor. There is nothing he does exceptionally well to set himself apart from the pack. Aside from the fact that he speaks French, I’m happy to see it didn’t automatically mean he was getting a contract.
Petteri Nurmi Can Stay in Finland
Finish-born left-shot defenseman Petteri Nurmi has kept playing in his country after the Canadiens picked him 194th overall in the seventh round. He did have a slight amelioration to his offense, with 15 points in 48 games and 16 points in 60 matches in back-to-back seasons, but it was not enough to move the needle in the “hired” direction.
Considering the logjam on the Canadiens’ blue line, especially with left-shooting defensemen, it’s not surprising to see. Like Davidson, he was overaged already when Montreal took a chance on him at the draft, but two years later, there’s very little improvement to show. His plus/minus rating has stood at minus-7 and minus-9 for the last two seasons, and while it can be a very misleading stat, the Habs probably have scouting staff in Finland who reported on what they saw to help them make the decision.
Miguel Tourigny Is No Lane Hutson
Miguel Tourigny was picked 216th overall in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft. At 5-foot-8, it would always be tricky for the defenseman to make his way to the NHL, even though he is a right-shot blueliner. In the QMJHL, Tourigny was an offensive dynamo, registering 80 points with the Blainville-Boisbrillant Armada and the Acadie-Bathurst Titans the season before being drafted.
Unfortunately for Tourigny, however, the Canadiens had already earmarked the role of small offensive defenseman on the team for Lane Hutson, who is about the same size but shiftier and faster. After his draft year, Tourigny went to Europe to play in Slovakia, but when he came back to Canada the following year, he couldn’t play his way into the Rocket’s lineup and was sent to the Trois-Rivières Lions in the ECHL.
The Canadiens still have 21 players on their reserve list, and with 12 selections in the 2024 NHL draft, that number could significantly grow. It could also diminish before the draft is held if Hughes finds a deal to his liking to improve his current lineup. For instance, that second first-round pick could be on the move if he can swing a deal to get some help up front for his offense-starved side. In less than a month, we’ll find out what Hughes has in store for us.
