Top 15 Habs prospects: positions 9 to 7 | Who would I choose instead of Zharovsky?

Dose
Crédit: Laval Rocket goalie Jacob Fowler prays water on his face during a playoff game.

Slowly but surely, we’ve already reached the halfway point of our annual countdown. As you know, the peculiarity of this ranking is largely based on the scarcity and anticipated use value of the Habs’ various prospects, as well as on ensuring that they can reach their full potential.

A young player will always need a high enough level of potential to make it to the NHL, but he still needs to develop and, when the time comes, land an enviable role in order to be considered “important” and, at the same time, improve the team. So, the three players we’re presenting today in positions 9 to 7 all possess a fair amount of hockey talent. But will they be able to make an impact in the NHL? Will they be able to find THE chair they were “destined” for when they were drafted?

9. L.J. Mooney | AD | 18 years old |113rd, 2025

Potential: 34.5/40Insurance: 14.5/20 Usefulness/rarity/use value: 22/30 Trade value: 5.5/10 Total 76.5/100

I have to admit, I had a little less time than expected this year to evaluate prospects for the latest draft.

So, after catching a quick glimpse of Mooney at the Prospect Challenge in November – he was just coming back from a knee injury – he no longer appeared on my radar screen of the 40-45 or so players I dissected in greater detail.

Among other things, I should have looked more closely at the Under-18 championship, where he was certainly one of the USA’s good players, finishing tied for first among American scorers with 11 points in 7 games.

[content-ads]In retrospect, if I had been more alert in his case instead of focusing too much on his teammate Jack Murtagh, Mooney would probably have deserved a place in the honorable mentions of my top-20.

Having watched him more closely since his draft, he is to my mind very close to Cameron Schmidt, whom I liked a lot and whom I ranked 19th….

In short, as many think, just by watching him play, you can see right away that Mooney does indeed have first-round talent.

So, again and again, it’s size, size and size that discredits players like him and Schmidt, because, yes, let’s remember that the latter – for all his dynamism, his fiery shot and the fact that he was tipped as a late first-round pick by many analysts – ultimately went out at… 94th!

Call it the “Florida Panthers effect”.

[content-ads]Now, speaking of fire, Mooney seems to be playing with that holy fire. He’s quite a competitor. And that’s clearly what we saw at the development camp. There’s also a subtle, joyful ember in his eyes in interviews, especially when we talk about his size.

Mooney may be small, but he’s big enough, solid on skates and not afraid of contact.

Quick as that, we won’t go away in fear, but he reminds us a little of Martin St-Louis, Brad Marchand… and Lane Hutson.

Not convinced? Take a look.

[content-ads]It’s simple, Mooney is already one of the best skaters and puck-handlers in the organization. Add to that his vision of the game, and you’ve got one of the most dynamic prospects of the last draft

So you can put me on the believers’ side in his case, and I won’t have a problem with it.

If we then want to discuss his assurance of reaching his full potential and, by the same token, the NHL, the keenest observers will have noticed that, unlike in basketball, the object that has to be put in the net in hockey rests – like the net itself – more often than not on the ice!

So if you’re fast, talented and tough enough, being “small” isn’t necessarily a big disadvantage. In fact, the opposite is often true. Among other things, you can accelerate faster and take advantage of that famous lower center of gravity, as Radio-Canada’s excellent analyst Gilles Tremblay frequently reminded us back in the days of Mats Naslund and 8 p.m. Saturday night games!

For what it’s worth, at 6’4, Vincent Lecavalier has always found it harder to contain 5’7 guys than taller opponents.

[content-ads]That said, the road to the NHL probably won’t be a smooth one for Mooney.

He’ll have to avoid the kind of injury he suffered last season by not getting hit hard as often.

He’ll then have to dominate fairly quickly in the NCAA, where he’s expected to play a minimum of two years.

After that, he’ll have to force the organization’s hand, either by breaking the bank in Laval and/or proving himself superior to the competition in Montreal at a practice camp, sometime in 27-28 or 28-29..

In terms of use value, currently much better than his trade value (113th pick…), if Mooney successfully completes all his steps, albeit in a completely different style, I could very well see him eventually replacing a guy like Brendan Gallagher in the Habs lineup on the3rd line and on a second powerplay unit of a powerful team.

But Mooney also has the talent to play on a 2nd line if need be… or on merit.

A kind of spark plug that increases the tempo of the players around him.

[content-ads]8. Alexander Zharovsky | AD | 18 years old | 34th, 2025

Potential: 34.5/40 Insurance: 14/20 Use value, utility, rarity: 22.5/30 Trade value: 6.5/10 Total: 77.5/100

Here’s a ranking that seems appropriate in this countdown for the “jewel”, the ” Demidov light “, the ” Zhar ” of Lapointe and Bobrov’s last draft.

The latter were quick to point out that Zharovsky would have been selected 16th or 17th if the Habs had kept at least one of these two picks in the last draft.

That’s a very bold statement, and we’d certainly like to have a Dolorean trafficked into the future to see if Zharovsky will live up to their expectations, if he will indeed become, let’s say, one of the top 20 players of 2025.

There’s no doubt that the young Russian, a good competitor, has a sense of the game and hands worthy of the very good players in the last auction.

[content-ads]But he’s also one of the least explosive skaters selected in the first two rounds.

Acceleration and raw speed on skates can be corrected, and there are worse shortcomings, but in our viewings we found him downright slow in a straight line, and it will be very surprising if the Barbara Underhills of this world turn him into a rocket.

If Zharovsky can become a Kia Niro, that’s something. Surprising acceleration!

You’ll have gathered that, while I don’t dislike his selection, I do have certain reservations about Zharovsky, and so the time has come for me to reveal who would have been my choice if I’d had to make up my mind at number 34.

I would have chosen Jack Murtagh, the dynamic winger and very good scorer from the USNTDP.

This isn’t second-guessing at all, as I had ranked Murtagh 17th in my final top 20 a few weeks before the draft. I had also identified him as one of my three realistic targets a few days before the auction.

Murtagh is a powerful skater with good size, an excellent shot and an adequate sense of play that fits more with a north-south style.

I still don’t understand why he was selected as late as 40th by the Flyers (who had already been able to select Martone and Nesbitt!).

Based solely on his play on the ice, I find it hard to see what NHL scouts were missing.

Perhaps his personality and character didn’t appeal to everyone?

Who knows?

[content-ads]Anyway, this time I hope I’m wrong and that the Habs didn’t pick Zharovsky just to please their friend Ivan Demidov, as they did with Filip Mesar in 2022 to make Slafkovsky’s night even more magical..

Since then, we’ve seen that Jiri Kulich(my choice in place of Mesar) has risen rapidly in the Buffalo forward hierarchy..

One of the rare missteps of the Gorton-Hughes duo, Mesar..

Now, if we return to Lapointe and Bobrov’s perspective on Zharovsky, they anticipate a future top-6 forward, perhaps one who will complete that famous and dangerous core that all champion clubs possess..

With that in mind, we’d much prefer his chances of getting there to those given to Mesar in 2022… but in this case, the bar really isn’t very high!

First of all, Zharovsky will have to assert himself in the KHL next season and find a way to get appreciable ice time in this league, which is often one of the strangest with the youngsters destined to leave it quickly..

[content-ads]Secondly, it would be a good idea for the Habs to buy out Zharovsky’s contract and bring him to America quickly, probably to Laval, so that he can acclimatize to hockey here; a more “direct” style, a faster, more sustained pace than the KHL.

That’s when we’ll have a better idea of whether we’ll see the young Russian reach his full potential in the best league in the world. Until then, I’ll remain cautious.

That said, Zharovsky certainly already has some value around the NHL, since we’ve learned that one team (Nashville?) was preparing to draft him 35th, hence the trade the Habs had to make with the Hurricanes to secure his services.

In short, we have a talented player and an interesting project; exciting for some, somewhat intriguing for others.

[content-ads]7. Jacob Fowler | G | 20 years old | 69th, 2023 | Last ranking : 5th

Potential: 35/40 Insurance: 15/20 Use value, utility, rarity: 22.5/30 Trade value: 7/10 Total: 79.5/100

After another absolutely brilliant season in the NCAA for elite Boston College, Fowler was enthusiastically welcomed to Laval last spring.

[content-ads]Fowler didn’t miss a beat in the post-season and the playoffs, where he won in the first round without having to steal any games; the opposition from the Cleveland Monsters really wasn’t that strong..

It was much harder for him in the second round, when Cayden Primeau had to come in and win the three games needed to eliminate the Rochester Americans.

Then, in the third round, both goalies collapsed against the Charlotte Checkers, a club that seemed clearly superior to the Rocket in the playoffs.

As a result, Fowler didn’t repeat Carey Price’s great feats of 2007 with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

That doesn’t stop us from thinking that he could one day become a good number one in the NHL, but it does invite us to put a few things into perspective.

Drafted5th overall in 2005, Price was nothing less than a generational goalie, the archetypal modern goalie

The Habs and, in particular, their scout Billy Ryan, may have loved him and considered him the “best goalie” available in 2023, but Fowler remains a “project” drafted in the third round (69th), the sixth goalie selected that year.

As with just about every goalie not named Price or Vasilevskiy, who knows what Fowler’s career will look like in 5 years’ time?

[content-ads]If we’re still prepared to give him a better chance of success than other goaltenders in the organization on the basis of his draft rank and his convincing performances since the draft, we have to do so with a certain amount of caution.

Firstly, in general, it is now very rare for goaltenders to establish themselves in the NHL before the age of 24. A lot can happen during his 5-6 years of development after the draft..

Secondly, many of the best goaltenders now come from Russia and the surrounding area. In Volokhin and Radkov (Belarus), the Canadiens have recently invested in two slender, athletic guys from this part of the world.

Both are slightly taller than Fowler, and their skating skills are quite impressive.

Who’s to say these two won’t be better than Fowler by 23-24?

Sorokin and Shesterkin, to name but two, were picked 78th and 118th respectively in 2014…

It seems that there are quite a few diamonds in the rough hidden in “Uncle Vladimir’s” lands, and that the more “holistic” way of developing them into excellent athletes first often yields good results.

In this respect, it will be interesting to visit Blainville next year to follow the progress of Radkov, who has decided to continue his development in the QMJHL.

[content-ads]That said, the United States is no slouch when it comes to goalkeepers (Helleybuck, Swayman, Ottinger, among others), and it could well be that Fowler, who has already represented his country with some brio at the 2024 WJC, will follow in the footsteps of his illustrious compatriots and enjoy a very successful career.

Finally, if we are to say a few words about his trade value, Fowler undoubtedly has the most of any goalkeeper in the team’s bank of prospects at the time of writing.

But, all it would take is for the American to stumble a bit in Laval, for Dobes to warm Montembault’s ass in Montreal, for Radkov to burn up the QMJHL or for Volokhin to land a #1 spot and dominate in the KHL for all this to be quickly called into question..

Such is life in the world of goaltending..

Of the lot, there’s sure to be at least one who’ll find a place in the sun.

That’s clearly the Habs’ strategy in front of the net

[content-ads]Conclusion

With Mooney, Zharovsky and Fowler scoring between 34 and 35 out of 40 in terms of potential, in the best-case scenario we’re anticipating future impact players, perhaps even a “star” goalie in Fowler’s case.

But, in all three cases, it’s the assurance of reaching this famous potential and occupying these preponderant roles that was a bit tricky and that we preferred to remain conservative. None did better than 15 out of 20 in this category. As for the players themselves, I’m really not so sure that Zharovsky will become a better player than Mooney. But given his draft rank and the fact that he seemed to be coveted by other teams early in the second round of the last draft, he can certainly be considered more important to the Habs. He’s simply more valuable to the team… right now. But, who knows, by going for the long ball in rounds 2 and 4, perhaps the Canadiens have simply drafted the best Russian and American forwards of the 2025 auction? He who lives will see… [content-ads]Fowler, for his part, has dropped two spots from last year. The competition has perhaps never been so intense among the organization’s many young goaltenders, and that has no choice but to affect his value in use, his scarcity. And it’s not his fault that Kent Hughes pulled off another masterstroke and found himself a place in our top 6…So here we go again next week with positions 6 to 4!Departures, Graduations and Honorable Mentions Positions 15 to 13Positions 12 to 10