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Elite Prospects ranks the Maple Leafs’ prospects ahead of the Canadiens’ prospects
Michaël Petit
Elite Prospects ranks the Maple Leafs’ prospects ahead of the Canadiens’ prospects
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

As we all know, even though the Montreal Canadiens have a very good team, they still have several high-quality prospects in their organization.

It's safe to say they have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL.

When ranking prospects or prospect pools, the results can be quite subjective, which can obviously spark debate.

It's safe to say that the website Elite Prospects has sparked some reaction with its ranking of the best prospect pools.

The Habs are ranked 5th, which isn't all that bad, but the site notably placed the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the Habs, in 3rd place…

The article linked in the tweet above explains how the rankings were compiled, and what we can gather is that Gavin McKenna carries a lot of weight in the rankings.

They prioritize teams with A+ caliber young players (like McKenna) over depth in the prospect pool.

Additionally, only players who have played—or could have played—their first career game this season are eligible (so Macklin Celebrini and Ivan Demidov are not included).

We also note that Jacob Fowler is ranked as the 6th-best prospect on their list, while the Habs' 2nd-best prospect is ranked only 43rd (Michael Hage).

Yet Hage is having an exceptional season this year at Michigan with 26 points in just 11 games… Let's just say that the 43rd ranking isn't really representative.

Also, considering Luke Mittelstadt's incredible season in the AHL during his rookie year (the AHL's leading scorer with 24 points in 17 games as a defenseman), one would think he'd be ranked fairly high.

Certainly higher than Elite Prospect's 255th ranking, anyway.

In short, there are clearly other prospects across the NHL who are ranked far too low, but the Habs' prospect rankings really don't reflect reality.

How can a player like Ethan Procyszyn—a 20-year-old forward in the AHL with three points in 16 games—be ranked higher than Mittelstadt, a defenseman with 24 points in 17 games who is the AHL's leading scorer…

In short, I think this ranking needs to be completely reevaluated, and even though McKenna is most likely the best prospect on this list, the Leafs absolutely do not deserve to be ranked 3rd.

In a Nutshell

– Interesting.

– Before acquiring Arvid Soderblom, the Rangers had placed Shesterkin on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season, thereby saving his entire salary on the payroll.

– He has 14 assists in 10 games this season.

– Must-read.

– Listen to this.