{"id":123107,"date":"2025-07-13T13:45:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T13:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/123107\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T13:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T13:45:09","slug":"bolduc-trade-dobson-trade-prospect-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/123107\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolduc Trade, Dobson Trade, Prospect Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONTREAL \u2014 There\u2019s always Montreal Canadiens news to be absorbed on a daily basis, but there are only so many hours in a day. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL<\/a> news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.<\/p>\n

Monday<\/p>\n

L.J. Mooney may be the smallest player at development camp, but there\u2019s also a healthy chance he\u2019s one of the most talented. The 5\u20197\u2033 forward stole the show as the prospects took part in an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday morning.\u00a0[Highlights \u2013 Mooney & New Habs Prospects Standout At Camp<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Aatos Koivu\u2019s shootout goal was a nice homage to his father\u2019s classic move.<\/p>\n

Tel p\u00e8re, tel fils \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Like father, like son#GoHabsGo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kyVGZhd7EG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Canadiens Montr\u00e9al (@CanadiensMTL) July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Hage and Owen Protz were among the prospects invited to take part in Hockey Canada\u2019s World Junior Summer Showcase.<\/p>\n

Names I\u2019m told have been invited by Hockey Canada to the World Junior Summer Showcase:
Sascha Boisvert
Cole Reschny
Jake O\u2019Brien
Cameron Reid
Brady Martin
Malcolm Spence
Owen Protz
Justin Carbonneau
Michael Hage
Henry Mews
Cayden Lindstrom
Kashawn Aitcheson<\/p>\n

Names I\u2019m told didn\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) July 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Okay, so the Habs don\u2019t necessarily have a bona fide No.2 centre in the lineup, but they do have options, and those options improved with the fantastic trade that saw Zachary Bolduc join the organization. In our (very early) projection, Bolduc serves as a second-line forward. [Projected Canadiens Forward Lineup Including Bolduc<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Tuesday<\/p>\n

The Habs let Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Michael Pezzetta, and Rafael Harvey-Pinard walk in free agency, and though they weren\u2019t the team\u2019s most popular players, there\u2019s no doubt the team lost a little depth. Fortunately, there are plenty of players waiting in the wings to take advantage of the liberated ice time.\u00a0[Former Canadiens Players Find New Homes in Free Agency<\/a>]<\/p>\n

A highlight video featuring Montreal Canadiens prospect LJ Mooney through the years is ample evidence to suggest he was always one step ahead of the curve. [Habs Prospect \u2013 Mooney Impressive Youth Hockey Highlights<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Speaking of Mooney, he did well when presented with a fairly ridiculous question.<\/p>\n

Reporter: \u201cDo you know if you\u2019re still growing by the way? Have you looked into it, from a medical point of view?\u201d<\/p>\n

LJ Mooney: \u201cI\u2019m not really sure. I don\u2019t think it matters.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/QQXt6ArEFq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \/r\/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday<\/p>\n

It\u2019s funny how quickly Noah Dobson lost his elite lustre according to certain fan bases. The good news is that the numbers do not lie (across the board).<\/p>\n

The problem with the \u201cDobson is bad\u201d narrative is that you can\u2019t find a single model the doesn\u2019t consider him elite\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/KP3rz9t5Qu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dom\ud83e\udd45\ud83c\udfb5 (@DomUn1que) July 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

With Dobson and Hutson in the mix, the Habs will certainly enter 2025-26 with much more mobility on the back end, but how will the actual defensive pairings shake out? For the first time in a long time, head coach Martin St-Louis has some options. [Projecting Canadiens Defensive Pairings Including Dobson<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/p>\n

The Habs still have some salary cap space available should they want to upgrade their lineup prior to the start of the 2025-26 season. If we look beyond next season with the help of Cap Wages\u2019 Build A GM Mode<\/a>, the salary cap situation is actually quite healthy, even if we include the Lane Hutson mega extension.\u00a0 [Montreal Canadiens Salary Cap Projections For Two Seasons<\/a>]<\/p>\n

It seems like new Montreal Canadiens prospect L.J. Mooney is stealing all the summer headlines. The talented forward was among the forwards invited to Team USA\u2019s World Junior Showcase in late July. [Habs Prospect \u2013 Mooney Impressive Youth Hockey Highlights<\/a>]<\/p>\n

4\ufe0f\u20e32\ufe0f\u20e3 players have been invited to the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase set for July 25-Aug. 2 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis! #WorldsJuniors<\/a><\/p>\n

More info and \ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f: https:\/\/t.co\/EPnbNFjHR2<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FNB3Esg4ZR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 USA Hockey (@usahockey) July 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Did Michael Pezzetta steal Ryan Reaves\u2019 job in Toronto?<\/p>\n

TRADE: We\u2019ve acquired defenceman Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Ryan Reaves pic.twitter.com\/dZKTlDwXGP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for the yearly Montreal Canadiens prospect vote! As per usual, we ask Habs fans to help us out by identifying the top 10 prospects in the organization. Once the votes are registered, we will roll out our in-depth Habs prospect rankings. [Habs Fan Vote \u2013 Ranking Top 10 Montreal Canadiens Prospects<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Laval Rocket general manager John Sedgwick was named the AHL\u2019s outstanding hockey operations executive for the past season, on the back of the team\u2019s franchise-best regular season. Laval finished the year as the top team in the AHL, with a fantastic 48-19-3-2 record. Sedgwick was one of the lone holdovers from the Marc Bergevin era, and though he doesn\u2019t necessarily enjoy basking in the spotlight, it\u2019s only fair to say he\u2019s been a key part of the organization in recent years.<\/p>\n

At some point, another team will come calling with ambitions to offer Sedgwick a general manager position in the NHL, but in the meantime, fans can rest easy knowing there\u2019s a very smart executive in place who is helping Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton look good on a daily basis. He also happens to be a Bluenoser, and though that has no bearing on his hockey decisions, it\u2019s never a bad idea to have a few Nova Scotians in the mix.<\/p>\n

Le directeur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral du Rocket de Laval, John Sedgwick, a \u00e9t\u00e9 nomm\u00e9 laur\u00e9at du troph\u00e9e Bruce Landon pour la saison 2024-2025, d\u00e9cern\u00e9 au dirigeant par excellence des op\u00e9rations hockey de l\u2019ann\u00e9e dans la AHL.
D\u00e9tails au https:\/\/t.co\/Xo5HCaOsxZ<\/a><\/p>\n

Laval Rocket general manager John\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/gxYwEFywZl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) July 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

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