Montreal Canadiens

A Look at the CH’s Prospects: Michael Hage Is at the Top of the NCAA
Mathis Therrien
A Look at the CH’s Prospects: Michael Hage Is at the Top of the NCAA
Credit: Twitter

We're back with the famous roundup of the Montreal Canadiens' prospects, which takes place every weekend, featuring a recap of the best performances by players drafted by the Habs who aren't yet with the Blue, White, and Red.

This weekend, there are plenty of standout performances to note and analyze, which once again demonstrates just how deep the Habs' prospect pool still is.

Without further ado, here's that roundup.

Michael Hage – Center – 20 years old

The Canadiens' top prospect—who, according to just about everyone, should already be playing in the NHL—continues to be far too good for the NCAA.

He recorded four points yesterday, all four on the power play, including this goal.

Hage now has 26 points, including five goals, in 11 games, placing him at the top of the NCAA scoring leaders, just two points ahead of Carolina Hurricanes prospect Jayden Perron.

(Credit: Elite Prospects)

That's a massive output, one that remains impressive even though, ultimately, we know Hage is too good for this league and should already be with the Canadiens in the NHL.

In my opinion, he's wasting a bit of his time, but according to his coach, he's developing his defensive game and his physicality this season—two aspects that weren't previously prominent in Hage's play.

Brayden Klimpke – Left-handed defenseman – 19 years old

Here's a player we're likely to hear more and more about, given that he's relatively unknown at the moment, even though he was a fourth-round pick (117th overall) in the most recent draft.

Brayden Klimpke is a left-handed defenseman who plays for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, and let's just say he reminds us a lot of a certain Bryce Pickford who dominated the WHL last season.

Klimpke is his team's captain this season, and he's really coming into his own offensively, averaging more than one point per game for the first time in his career.

He had one goal and two assists last night in the Blades' 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Here's his power-play goal.

Klimpke now has 24 points, including seven goals, in 18 games, making him a defenseman to watch closely this season.

Luke Mittelstadt – Left-handed defenseman – 23 years old

The Laval Rocket defenseman has long since needed no introduction, as he's completely dominating the American Hockey League this season.

Mittelstadt is the defensive and offensive cornerstone of the Montreal Canadiens' farm team, and he proved it once again last night by recording four assists in the Rocket's 5-4 overtime loss to the Rochester Americans.

The Rocket's No. 3 now has 24 points in 17 games and remains atop the American Hockey League's scoring leaderboard.

He is likely to be called up soon if Mike Matheson remains sidelined and Adam Engstrom continues to struggle.

It's also worth noting that in the loss, Sasha Pastujov scored a hat trick, bringing his total to 15 points—including ten goals—in 16 games.

Pastujov is another player who deserves to be called up.

Miscellaneous Highlights

  • Vinzenz Rohrer is having an excellent season in the Swiss top league with EV Zug, having tallied 19 points—including ten goals—in 16 games, including his two points yesterday in a 4–2 victory over his former team, the Zurich Lions.
  • Logan Sawyer is playing in the shadow of Michael Hage, but he, too, is having a strong season in the NCAA with 15 points in ten games, including an assist yesterday in Providence's 5-0 win over Merrimack.

Here are the other Habs prospects and their respective performances.

In Brief

– Ouch. The Leafs are historically bad.

– The Habs are at the top.

– Must-read.