The 2025–2026 season is well underway, and with the NHL currently on pause, the TSLH Podcast took a closer look at the Montreal Canadiens’ prospects in a recent episode. As such, here is the top 10 ranking of the Canadiens’ best prospects as of January 2026, according to Pascal Lapointe and Mathieu Paradis.

All the explanation and analysis (in french) about the rankings in this podcast !

Unsurprisingly, Jacob Fowler sits at the top of the rankings for both of our analysts. While it would have been reasonable to place Michael Hage in that spot, the goaltender has already provided a sample at the NHL level and performed well, which are clearly data points working in his favor. The American netminder is labeled by both observers as the goalie of the future, and they also envision a strong short-term tandem featuring Dobes and Fowler. Fowler is enjoying an excellent season in the AHL, but he must continue to log professional mileage before realistically aspiring to a 50–60 game role with the Canadiens.

Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky therefore unanimously round out the top three prospects in the Canadiens’ system according to our observers. The American should be joining the organization sooner, while the Russian is expected to continue developing in Russia for at least another year, according to Mat and Pascal.

A thinning pipeline

It proved somewhat more difficult for our observers this season to round out the bottom of the top 10. Indeed, the Canadiens parted with both of their first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and several of the organization’s top prospects have already graduated to the NHL roster. This is why Jakub Dobes, Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, and Oliver Kapanen do not appear in this exercise. As a result, the pipeline is becoming significantly thinner than what we have seen in recent years.

Moreover, the final top 15 ranking of the Canadiens’ best prospects for the 2024–2025 season is available exclusively in the TSLH Prospects Deluxe Guide, accessible on Patreon. However, back in March 2025, here is what the rankings looked like from those same two observers.

March 2025 ranking

January 2026 Top 10 Habs Prospects

Mathieu

Pascal

OTHER SCOUTING REPORTS