Pascal Vincent’s future in Laval has been the talk of the town for some time now.
There are rumours that he’ll be leaving the Rocket to join an NHL team, and there’s talk that he’ll be back in his position with the Rocket next season…
At the moment, it’s a little difficult to come to a definite conclusion about the main interested party.
But the more things go on, the more NHL teams are hiring assistant coaches.
For example?
Last week, the Lightning hired an assistant who is not Pascal Vincent.
And, today… we learn that the Islanders have two new assistants and that Vincent isn’t one of them.
Benoit Desrosiers keeps his job, but the Isles have also hired Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner to help Patrick Roy behind the bench.
#Isles News: The New York Islanders announced today the hiring of Ray Bennett and Bob Boughner as Assistant Coaches. They will join Head Coach Patrick Roy’s staff, including returning Assistant Coach Benoit Desrosiers and Goaltending Coach Piero Greco.https://t.co/7ly2leNzYs
But then again, seeing the clubs hire guys and seeing that it doesn’t involve Pascal Vincent, it does raise some questions.
Did the clubs see that the Rocket head coach made questionable (?) decisions in the playoffs regarding the use of his goalies?
Are clubs afraid to hire him after seeing the Rocket crucified in the Eastern Final against the Checkers, even though the Laval outfit finished 1st overall in the AHL?
Or does all this mean that, right now, there’s a better chance of Vincent staying in Laval than of him leaving for the NHL?
Clearly, the file refuses to die, and that’s why there’s uncertainty at this level.
On the other hand… time is starting to run out for him if he wants to get back to the big league, and that’s why right now, I really believe in the scenario of seeing him stay in Laval for next season (at least).
Overtime
– I love it.
A.J. Greer is returning to the Panthers lineup for Game 3, and apparently NONE of his teammates trust him to take care of the Stanley Cup pic.twitter.com/mAqteQxGG0
Solid bat flip from Québécois Charles Davalan! His circuit helped the University of Arkansas qualify for the NCAA World Seriespic.twitter.com/3HSIGCKGzK
The Anaheim Ducks are a club to watch this summer. Especially in the free agent market…
After a few difficult seasons, the club would like to take advantage of the off-season to help the guys in place get to the next level. It could be Mitch Marner, who knows…
But then Marco D’Amico, along with Shaun Starr, brought Aaron Ekblad’s name into the conversation.
The Ducks are looking for a big defenseman, and the Panthers are likely to lose him this summer. Seeing him go to Anaheim to a club with money and a desire to improve, might make sense.
D’Amico, who raised the name without referring to it as official info, recalled that Ducks coach Joel Quenneville knows Ekblad well…
The good thing about the approaching summer season is that rumors abound. So there are plenty of things to keep an eye on in the market for available players.
For example?
1. At the moment,Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes there are only three untouchables in New York. Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin (who’s a year away from free agency) and Adam Fox.
This means that, at the right price (clearly not at a discount), Alexis Lafrenière could make a move?
3. Speaking of staying with his team: it wouldn’t be surprising to see Brad Marchand choose to stay in Florida. He’s good there, he’s loved there and we can’t see why he’d want to leave.
4. Also in James Mirtle’s piece, we learn that the chances of Sam Bennett becoming a free agent and leaving the Florida Panthers are slim, right now.
And that makes sense. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to leave either.
5. Today’s theme: don’t leave. Because, according to Pierre LeBrun (The Athletic), expect Jon Cooper to get a contract extension by the start of the next campaign, which is the last of his current deal.
What does this mean for Pascal Vincent?
Stanley Cup Final observations: Bennett’s price tag, McDavid’s ‘walk-on-water’ moment, Bobrovsky and more. From me and@reporterchrishttps://t.co/PMcL05AFP3
6. According to what Frank Seravalli said and what TVA Sports reported, Samuel Girard’s name is circulating more and more. He’s likely to leave Denver this off-season.
Will he be in demand at $5 million a year for two more seasons? Watch this space.
overtime
– News from CF Montreal.
#CFMTL this Monday morning at the Nutrilait Centre.
1. Giacomo Vrioni is back with the group and without constraints.
2. Dominic Iankov and Dawid Bugaj are also back with the regulars.
3. Owen Graham-Roache is here; he was with the Canadiens U17 team in Spain. He… pic.twitter.com/SmyawAtngC
2 days only in the Cup final during travel my Zach, not just for the players but also for the media who are in great numbers in the final and who have to travel and do their work in between travel day and game day. Plus, having lived through it for 2 years..
The Carolina Hurricanes spent last summer at the heart of the Martin Necas rumour mill. And why? Because the guy clearly didn’t want to stay in town long-term.
And finally, without much fanfare, he left for Colorado during the season.
The reason it didn’t cause much of a stir, for a guy of his calibre, was that Mikko Rantanen, at the end of his contract and with no extension in place, came to town in return.
Rantanen never wanted to stay, and left at the deadline for Dallas… with a big contract waiting for him in Texas.
Since then, it’s easy to see why the Carolina club is looking for a top-notch star. Because even if Logan Stankoven went the other way, he’s not a big name.
Mitch Marner, though struggling in the playoffs, is a big name. And we know that Carolina tried to pick him up in recent months, but it didn’t work out.
In fact, at the deadline, a Mikko Rantanen for Mitch Marner trade was discussed. But the Torontonian didn’t want to lift his no-movement clause to go to Carolina… who will no doubt try to lure him back this summer.
The Core 4 almost disassembled?!
The Canes wanted to trade Rantanen for Mitch Marner but Marner wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause. pic.twitter.com/4zWZ76OkIh
– Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 9, 2025
But did you know that the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes also discussed, at the deadline, another scenario involving Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen… but without the Canadiens heading to Carolina?
We don’t know if Marner felt like saying yes to that, but you’d think that with a new baby in the family, he’d have said no to finishing the season anywhere but at home.
But what put the brakes on the project was what the Golden Knights would have given the Hurricanes. It would have been an historic transaction…
The Hurricanes preferred to send Rantanen out West (Dallas) for Stankoven, but also for two first-round picks and two other third-round picks.
What did Vegas offer? Will the club be able to make room for Marner this summer? Who knows.
Which position does the Canadiens currently have the most (quality) depth in?
If you answered left defensive end, you have two points. Or three, if we use the soccer scoring system.
Kaiden Guhle (23), Mike Matheson (31), Lane Hutson (21), Arber Xhekaj (24), Jayden Struble (23) and Adam Engstrom (21) are all under contract with the big club.
Second question: which position does the Canadiens most need toupgrade over the summer? Center. Everyone’s got that one.
Despite the depth on the blue line and the glaring lack of talent at center, Scott Wheeler believes the Canadiens will draft a left-handed defenseman and a winger with their two first-round picks. Need I remind you that Scott Wheeler is a prospect specialist who writes for TheAthletic?
At #16 in his annual mock draft, Wheeler placed the name of Cameron Reid. Reid, who stands 6’0 and weighs 183 pounds, is a player the Canadiens like a lot, from what they hear.
He has 54 points in 67 OHL games and added five more in 14 playoff games.
At #17, Wheeler sees the Habs wavering this time between Lynden Lakovic (left winger), Carter Bear (left winger) and Justin Carbonneau (right winger).
“Even if they need a center, I don’t think they necessarily have to select Braeden Cootes or Cole Reschny (who I see coming out at 18th and 19th).” – Scott Wheeler
What does Scott Wheeler’s mock draft tell us about the Canadiens’ short-term intentions?
1. Clearly, the team’s two first-round picks won’t fill its need at center of the second line. At least, not in the short or medium term..
2. At the draft, it’s better to draft the best player available, not the one who best suits our needs. Remember that the Canadiens turned up their nose at Brady Tkachuk because they wanted to draft a center (Jesperi Kotkaniemi) in 2018..
3. Hague, Reid… there’s reason to wonder whether Arber Xhekaj will still be in Montreal in September, and if so, whether he’ll still be used on the blue line.
4. In analyzing all this, the option of trading a first-round pick or two for reinforcements or to move up should be studied. In the middle of the first round, you start gambling. And I’m not sure gambling is the best solution for the Habs, given their recent success on the ice.
At the moment, Kasperi Kapanen is in the best of moods.
After all, a player in the Stanley Cup Final has good reason to be in a good mood. He’s getting dangerously close to his dream of winning the Stanley Cup.
His father Sami played in the 2002 final (and lost), but his son could bring the Cup home.
But we know that a player like him, who once played for the Maple Leafs, never really escapes questions about his former destination. Even in the midst of the final…
Asked recently what he remembers about his experience, he talked about the media.
There’s a big media presence over there and that’s not necessarily the best thing. But it prepares you for the future. When I came to Edmonton, Canada, I was ready for it.
But I think it’s on another level here in Toronto. – Kasperi Kapanen
Ex-Leaf Kapanen on experience in Toronto: “Media presence is big there & not always necessarily the best thing, but it does prepare you for the future. Coming to Edmonton, with it being in Canada, I was used to it. But I think you guys in Toronto, it’s still on another level”
It’s interesting to note that the first thing he wanted to talk about when it came to Toronto was the imposing media presence.
Perhaps because it was a member of the Toronto media who asked him the question, even though Toronto has no report on the 2025 Stanley Cup Final…
If Kapanen had wanted to be politically correct, he could have talked about the passion of the people there and how it has prepared him for a final. But he chose not to release the tape.
For all the times we really want to hear what the players think, we’re not going to knock Kapanen on the head for gossiping. But his club can tell him to keep certain opinions to himself in the middle of a final, can’t they?
overtime
– Bravo, champ.
Rafael Devers, on the other hand, was criticized for not forcing himself.
It was 32 years ago today that the Canadiens won their 24th and most recent Stanley Cup, beating the L.A. Kings 4-1 in Game 5 of the final series at the Forum. Here’s story Pat Hickey and I wrote on the 25th anniversary looking back at that Cup run #Habs:https://t.co/dbpBJyAr2r
As you’ve probably seen, the Trois-Rivières Lions are the new ECHL champions.
The Habs’ feeder club is officially affiliated with the Habs, but it’s not often you feel the connection with the Canadiens. And here’s further proof.
Because it took the Habs more than 24 hours to acknowledge the Lions’ victory on Twitter. And let’s just say it was a rather… sobering mention on the part of the Canadiens.
And it’s not as if the Canadiens never publish anything.
After all, the club retweets NHL posts for games involving the Oilers and Panthers. The club cheers on Montrealers in the NBA Finals. The club loves the video of Sean Monahan being honored by Meredith Gaudreau and the NHL. #BillMasterton
By necessity, people in Trois-Rivières feel that the club they cheer for/cover isn’t really part of the big Montreal Canadiens family.
And we’re not just talking about the fans here.
After all, it’s worth noting that when journalist Matthew Vachon announced that Samuel Montembeault had travelled to see a game in the final, he received a comment to the effect that the goaltender was the only member of the Habs who cared about the Lions. And he didn’t deny it.
The Canadiens’ attention is mostly on the Rocket and the top prospects playing around the world. And the big prospects often don’t play in the Mauricie region. It’s only natural.
But a simple “congratulations” 24 hours late doesn’t sound too good.
overtime
– Really?
This NBA Final is at another level. Wonder what MJ and the rest of the funky bunch thinks about this 2 teams…beautiful beauty contest. Thank the good lord hockey still exists.
And that’s understandable, as few hockey fans in Slovakia must have the opportunity to follow the player’s exploits on a daily basis, and probably haven’t seen how taxing his end-of-season and playoffs have been for him.
Still according to Jurco, Slaf’s absence means nothing and he should eventually play with the national team if his health permits.
An interesting point: how much pressure should be put on players for a competition like the World Championship?
Timing dictates that this tournament starts after the first round of the playoffs, a period when many players are nursing injuries and are exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Personally, I’d rather see Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield get some rest and arrive 100% ready to help the Canadiens next season.
Should we think about changing the date of the MHC?
Maybe something more summery like July, a month sorely lacking in hockey and with more rested players who could use the competition to stretch their legs.
Overtime
– A bit cheap, isn’t it?
The Montreal Canadiens finally acknowledge their affiliate winning the ECHL championship, with the bare minimum level of effort possible. pic.twitter.com/0p1Y7PnGOT
The Laval Rocket is coming off an excellent season, the best in its history, finishing first in the AHL and reaching the third round of the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the team lost in four games to the Charlotte Checkers, but let’s not let that rushed elimination overshadow the Rocket’s many accomplishments over the past campaign.
Behind these successes, there were many good performances from the Laval players and a few nice surprises.
He even considered sending the young forward to the Trois-Rivières Lions or returning him to junior with the Brantford Bulldogs.
In the coach’s plans, it was instead Luke Tuch who was to assume the role of Rocket strongman.
In the end, not only did Xhekaj stay with the Rocket for the entire season, but he also scored 24 goals, a franchise record for a rookie, and accumulated 175 penalty minutes in the regular season.
His offensive production was more subdued in the series, with just three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 13 games, but he continued to impose himself physically, earning 59 penalty minutes.
It also shows the rapid development of his game, as he has gone from an uncertain player to a regular forward who helps his club succeed.
And that’s good news for the Canadiens, because players who can both play the goon role and contribute offensively are still a rare commodity in the NHL.
Florian Xhekaj is only the second player in AHL history with 20+ goals and 150 penalty minutes in a season.
What’s more, the Habs are clearly going to need more sturdiness if they want to make it far in the playoffs in the years to come, and a player like Florian Xhekaj can clearly bring that element to the team.
We’re not talking about a future top-6 forward, but he’s clearly a player who could add some physicality to one of the last two lines.
However, I don’t think the young forward is ready to make the jump to the NHL just yet, and I’d give him at least another year to develop in Laval.
On the other hand, if he continues to improve like this, he could perhaps cause a surprise at the next camp, or at least ensure that he’s the first player on the Habs recall list.
Overtime
– Still in the League?
Pavel Datsyuk says he doesn’t want Alex Ovechkin to leave the NHL until he scores 1,000 career goals: “Until then, we won’t let him into Russia ” https://t.co/MzO0V2VL3i
Ex-Leaf Kapanen on experience in Toronto: “Media presence is big there & not always necessarily the best thing, but it does prepare you for the future. Coming to Edmonton, with it being in Canada, I was used to it. But I think you guys in Toronto, it’s still on another level”
For a long time, it looked like the Habs weren’t going to keep these two picks. We could see the club moving up in the draft or using those picks to close a deal for a center… but those options seem less and less realistic the more time passes.
For both high picks and big center players, demand is high… and there are few (if any) available.
So, right now, we’re wondering if the Habs will be stuck with these two picks… but in the latest The Basu & Godin Notebook, Marc Antoine Godin wondered if the Canadiens might try to trade one of them for a first-round pick next year.
And that’s a really interesting idea.
The problem with the current crop is that, after the first group of players (which, depending on the team, consists of around 7-8 players), the quality seriously diminishes. There are some good players after that, but nowhere near the quality of the top prospects.
In other words, the crop doesn’t have a ton of depth… and it definitely has less than last year.
So the 16th pick, for example, doesn’t have a ton of value… but the Habs could still try to get by in other ways. If, in the 16th spot, a team calls because it likes a player who falls, the Habs could trade that pick for a first-round pick next year… which would give them a second first-round pick next year.
The one they’d get in a trade would almost certainly be top-10 or even top-15 protected (a team won’t risk giving away such a high pick for the 16th pick of a shallow draft), but for the Habs, it’s still of interest.
If, for example, next year’s draft turns out to be deeper, perhaps a mid/late first-round pick in 2026 would be more valuable than the 16th pick in 2025. And maybe next year there’s a second center suddenly available that the Habs will love.
Having two first-round picks to do that next year would make the job easier.
Of course, all this is far from a guarantee. Maybe there will be even fewer center players available in a year’s time, and the draft will be even shallower… but as long as you’re going to take an ordinary prospect at No. 16 (who won’t be the same age as the rest of the core), you might as well take the chance to put it off until later, so you’ll have more bargaining chips a year from now.
Of course, a team still has to fall in love with a 16th-ranked player and be willing to give up a future first-round pick to get him… but if that happens, maybe it’s something the Habs should consider, because that’s probably how they’ll maximize the value of those picks.
Schaefer hasn’t played a game since his sad and spectacular injury at the CMJ during the holiday season. It’s been a long time!
He was present at the Combine this week and took the opportunity to share his personal experience for a good cause, having lost his mother to breast cancer in February 2024.
Otherwise, almost everything has already been said about him. An exceptional skater, capable of becoming a complete defenseman with considerable offensive potential. You always see a mixture of Heiskanen, Makar and Niedermeyer when you think of him.
That’s just it, the Islanders are lucky… at least in theory.
Because with Schaefer, we’re not in the same territory as with Celebrini and Bedard at the last two auctions. We don’t have the same level of certainty that he will indeed become the best of his crop.
Reason: injuries.
A player with such speed needs to have a better sense of danger than he does of where he is on the ice(awareness). You can’t self-injure yourself by crashing into the post at 100 mph, without lacking a bit of orientation or a sense of the game, can you?
Canada’s Matthew Schaefer went down the tunnel after running into the goal at full speed with his shoulder then hitting the boards pic.twitter.com/TJoyQ3Qcui
And to answer your question, no, I wouldn’t take Schaefer over Lane Hutson. And probably not in front of Cole Hutson either. Both of them know everything that’s going on on the ice at all times…
But Schaefer has all the talent in the world and will undoubtedly learn from this injury.
There’s no better scoring touch than Misa’s in this draft. The author of 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games outrageously dominated the competition in his 3rd OHL season. Awarded exceptional player status at age 15, Misa, 6’1, 185 lbs, has literally EVERYTHING you could want in an offensive center, in addition to being defensively responsible. Name one offensive quality he possesses.
Some see him having more success on the wing in the NHL, however, and the possibility of him playing on Celebrini’s wing in San Jose could give fuel to that idea.
My only concern with Misa remains: is he good under pressure?
His performances and stats aren’t that great under the biggest lights. After an ordinary series in 2024, including the Memorial Cup, Saginaw’s early exit in the first round of the playoffs this spring, in which he scored just 3 points in 4 games, with a horrible minus-10 differential, might give some pause… Anyway, Misa remains in 2nd place in my rankings, but we’ve rarely seen a player with such stats in the regular season raise so little enthusiasm…
Will a team dare to pick Desnoyers second, ahead of Michael Misa? The Québécois will become a slightly more imposing center and probably more dominant defensively than the Ontarian, but we think Misa’s offensive touch will ensure he tops Desnoyers (and Frondell) at the finish line.
Desnoyers stands out for his superior intelligence and positioning on the ice, without being a strictly cerebral player. He’s also a hard worker and a technically near-perfect skater (he could do with more explosion), capable of beautiful changes of direction. Without being very flashy on a regular basis, Desnoyers is adept at puck protection, strong along the ramps and proves to be a well above-average passer.
He still reminds me a lot of Jonathan Toews, but a little less dynamic. I’m inclined to agree with him on this one!
We know that the Canadiens like him a lot and that he’d love to play for the Habs. But will the Habs like him enough to make an irresistible offer to the team about to draft him? And what would such an offer look like?
It would take a lot more than first- and second-round picks. The clubs likely to draft Desnoyers will want solid value, which would force the Canadiens to part with some of its young core…
Perhaps it was Desnoyers’ excellent series and Frondell’s ordinary U18 that finally put the Québécois just ahead of the Swede at the finish line. But it’s a very tight race between these two complete future centerpieces.
In addition to a sharp sense of play all over the rink, Frondell already possesses impressive physical maturity, as well as a powerful skating stroke and shot. He’s probably less likely than Misa to become a first-line player and a big point producer, and I don’t think he’s as good a passer as Desnoyers. But will he be any less useful to his team, given that he’s one of the best shots in the draft? He’s the kind of pivot who should be playing big minutes late in the season and in the playoffs, even if his U18 hasn’t been sparkling…
At 6’3 and over 200 lbs, many dream of Martone becoming the NHL’s next big, hard-hitting power forward. While the Ontarian is not afraid of a strong game, he is first and foremost an excellent passer and a very crafty, creative player with excellent hands and a great deal of finesse.
An average skater technically (his knees aren’t at 90°), he’s still agile and quick on his feet.
Corey Perry and Mark Stone come to mind when you watch him in the offensive zone. Like those two, he can also anticipate the play and steal pucks with his long range.
I had my doubts about him over the winter – does he dominate because he’s older (he’ll be 19 in October) and bigger? – but I’ve come around. Even if we don’t always like his defensive retreats, Martone is just too smart on the ice and too good with the puck – excellent quickness of execution – to miss.
Clearly a future top-6 NHL winger… and a good one.
Hagens may be the second most “beautiful talent” in the draft, but he didn’t exactly set tongues wagging this season at Boston College, where he played alongside Ryan Leonard (8th, 2023) and Gabriel Perreault (23rd, 2023). The American nonetheless had a good junior world championship at the center of the same two Sparrows, but did he dominate the competition as a result?
We simply had too many expectations of him after his absolutely phenomenal U18 last spring, following which everyone – myself included – saw him coming out on top in 2025… It’s now not out of the question for him to leave the top-5 in June. Perhaps he didn’t live well with the pressure of his draft year , even if he still believes he deserves to be picked first. Is he suffering from Shane Wright syndrome? Was the leap to the NCAA more complicated than he anticipated? Who knows?
The fact remains that if we tell you his style and talent are reminiscent of Logan Cooley or Clayton Keller, it’s hard to place Hagens lower than the top-6.
An excellent future #2 center, ideally behind a solid, larger #1 center? A top-6 winger? In short, he remains a dynamic, fast and creative forward who will score several hundred points in his career.
Right-handed center, 6’2, 98 points in 66 games, good for 9th in OHL scoring at age 17, intelligent in both directions of the rink, superb passer, great creativity, good work ethic, good shot, O’Brien has moved up a few spots in this ranking since last February. However, he needs to improve his stride mechanics (average skater for now), his face-offs and his physical strength (175 lbs…).
Here’s a player who could cause a bit of a surprise at last year’s Sennecke and break into the top-6. But if logic is anything to go by, it’s at #7 that O’Brien’s heart will start beating a little faster. This other Ontarian will have to put on a lot of muscle mass over the next few years, but the end product could be well worth it. Not as good a skater as Sennecke, nor as imposing, he’s a bit of a light version of the man who was picked third in 2024.
Intensity, liveliness, dynamism, responsibility, efficiency. Bear, 6’0, more often than not the F1 in check forward, is a constant “double threat” in offensive territory. His overall profile is a little reminiscent of Tij Iginla, whom I liked last year. An unorthodox skater (leaning too far forward), Bear still gets from point A to point B with his pedal to the floor. But he also thinks the game at high speed and regularly wins his battles for the puck with a ” dog on a bone ” approach. Intense and dedicated all over the ice, Bear knows where to go to score goals and create chaos. He scores many of his goals in the slot, with sharp, precise shots or deflections, qualities that translate very well to the NHL.
As the playoffs prove every year, you win with guys like Carter Bear in your line-up, and Everett would no doubt have liked to count on him. Still, he seems to have recovered well from his Achilles tendon injury, and I don’t think it will really affect his draft ranking.
Fueling under pressure, in love with his sport, the guy just seems to have the perfect personality for a market like Montreal. He also finds a way to excel on the power play, where he’s often very aggressive on the puck carrier.
Having made meteoric progress over the past three seasons, Bear is a sure bet and could become a “spark plug” that wouldn’t hurt a club like the Canadiens…
Habs officials have met with him on several occasions, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they tried to select him on June 27. Could an offer like this be enough?
It would be surprising if there weren’t at least two defensemen in the top-10, and Mrtka is the second-best defenseman in the draft, according to my observations. Mrtka, a bit of a personal “darling” of mine in 2025, has made a seamless transfer to Seattle (WHL) from his native Czech Republic’s top professional league. He often played more than 27-28 minutes.
Author of almost a point per game in Canadian junior during his first 30 games, his production slowed a little in the final stretch of the season, but nothing to worry about, as he played for a fairly weak club, barely qualified for the playoffs, where Mrtka did not do badly without being brilliant (3 pts in 6 games, -3) against Everett (without Carter Bear).
The nearly 6’6 giant moves with an ease reminiscent of Tyler Myers and Vladimir Malakhov, and shoots dryly and effortlessly like the latter. Although we’d like him to be a little more truculent, he’d be a damn fine option for the Habs on the right side of defense. A top-4 defenseman capable of eating up big minutes any day of the week.
The Habs, undoubtedly a little worried about their right-side backup, have spied and met with the Czech on several occasions in recent months. Considering the Austrian’s history of knee injuries, it’s fair to wonder whether Mrtka might not have a more successful career than Reinbacher, even though the latter may have more talent and robustness in his game..
A complete defender with an outstanding physique who will probably reach his true physical maturity in his mid-twenties, Mrtka isn’t that far from the NHL. He just needs to get a little stronger and a little meaner in front of the net.
The riser of the last few months. After a very good season but short series in the OHL with a bad club in Sault Ste-Marie, the burly, abrasive Martin has been a very solid contributor to the U18, recording no less than 11 pts in 7 games.
An adept of the zone near the goalie, a distributor of brutal body checks, some are already comparing his game to Sam Bennett, playoff hero of the last three springs. We’re even starting to hear Martin’s name in the top-5..
But it’s also possible that Martin has little offense to offer in the NHL and will become a third-line center or a sturdysecond-line winger. Already at or near physical maturity, he may already be very close to his ceiling, and what you see is what you get.
But, as with Carter Bear, the proof is in the pudding: if you want to win, you need guys like him, and that’s going to be worth a lot of money on June 27.
We’ll soon be reconnecting with positions 11 to 20. A little bird tells me that some of you might be interested… #16-17MTL
pic.twitter.com/mAqteQxGG0
(@JeremyFilosa) June 9, 2025
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#GoRocket
IND (1-0) OKC 
(@cjzero) 