Top 15 CH Prospects: Positions 9 through 7

Tony Patoine
Top 15 CH Prospects: Positions 9 through 7
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

We left off last week with the trio of Tim Runtso, Florian Xhekaj, and Adam Engstrom.

No stars—or even impact players—in sight here. At best, they're solid role players who could have a decent career spanning a few hundred NHL games.

The trio we're featuring this week seems capable of reaching greater heights—at least in theory. We're fairly confident that at least one of them could eventually become an impact player—that is, a player above the NHL average.


9. Bryce Pickford, D


Potential: 32/40
Confidence: 13/20
Usage Value: 13.5/20
Trade Value: 14/20

Total: 72.5/100

Ranked 15th last summer, Pickford has become a relatively prominent prospect in the organization—arguably the most anticipated player in Laval this fall once he recovers from his shoulder surgery. 


Potential

At age 19–20, at the junior level, a young player really needs to have an extraordinary season to catch the attention of analysts and other experts. Yet that is exactly what Pickford accomplished last season in Medicine Hat.

After a magical playoff run in the spring of 2025, Pickford followed it up with a season in which he nearly hit the one-goal-per-game mark (45 goals in 55 games) while racking up a total of 83 points and posting a +55 plus/minus rating! Unsurprisingly, he was named the CHL's Defenseman of the Year.

He certainly wouldn't have converted as many shots into goals in the NHL, but Bryce still possesses a shot that's both powerful and extremely accurate—a well-above-average wrist shot.

Pickford is also an excellent leader and a physically tough player, even going so far as to drop the gloves when necessary—even though he's not exactly a “beast” at 6'1, 185 lbs.

That said, one has to wonder what the “brains” at Hockey Canada were thinking when they completely overlooked him for the last World Championship… Canada sorely lacked character and leadership. Pickford, a hero of the 2025 Memorial Cup and former teammate of Gavin McKenna, certainly wouldn't have hurt. Anyway…

Confidence
That said, while we can certainly expect him to quickly dominate on the power play in the AHL, it's his play in his own zone that will catch the attention of his coaches and NHL scouts. If Pickford—who, incidentally, is an average skater—fails to prove reliable in his own zone, he may never establish himself in the NHL on a regular basis, at least not as a defenseman.

Therefore, given his age and his weaknesses in his own zone, one should still exercise considerable caution before giving Pickford high marks regarding his likelihood of reaching his full potential in the NHL.


Value to the Organization

After being selected in the third round at age 19 in 2025, Pickford's market value has undoubtedly increased over the past year thanks to the sensational season he had.

However, the fact that the Habs drafted Runtso and Cleaves (both right-handers) in addition to the highly mobile left-hander Klimpke last June does tend to diminish his utility value within the organization somewhat. It has taken away some of his rarity…

Furthermore, we must also consider that he still has quite a bit of ground to cover before he can move ahead of Reinbacher and Engstrom, who are knocking on the NHL's door. 

As a result, Pickford won't have much time to stand out within the Habs' organization—probably two years at most. The path is pretty blocked up front, and things are already getting a bit crowded in the back.

Could the Habs then consider converting him to a forward, as Simon “Snake” Boisvert has already suggested? Like Mark Streit back in the day, Pickford has obvious offensive attributes that could also serve him well on the attack. Stay tuned.

Finally, after his magical season, many of us thought that Pickford's trade value might never be higher. But with his injury and subsequent shoulder surgery (he's expected to return in November), we can bet that many professional scouts from other organizations will hold off on their judgment before enthusiastically recommending him to their bosses. 

In short, I'd be very surprised if Pickford changes teams in the coming months, but if he makes a successful transition to the pros, he'll attract even more serious interest.

8. Zachary Bolduc, AG
Potential: 32/40
Confidence: 14/20
Usage Value: 14/20
Trade Value: 13.5/20

Total: 73.5/100

After being ranked 6th on this list last year following his red-hot streak with the Blues just before being traded, Bolduc appeared to take a step back last season with the Canadiens. Will he be able to bounce back and show us the impact player we were hoping for, or will we only get the role player he's been since arriving in town?


Potential

Perhaps because he was drafted by the Blues, we tend to forget that Bolduc is still a prospect—at least in the sense we're using the term in this ranking. At 23, the Quebec native still has only 175 regular-season NHL games under his belt. And unlike Juraj Slafkovsky, who was drafted a year after him, he hasn't yet had his big breakout.

So, will this third full season in the “big leagues” be the one for this “small-frame” power forward—the one where Bolduc spreads his wings and shows us his true scoring talent? Or will we once again be treated to flashes here and there and another season of around 30 points and 12–15 goals?

It all depends on Bolduc's level of play and the confidence he can instill in his coaches, who will then decide his role in the lineup. 

If Bolduc asserts himself confidently on the second line alongside Demidov and contributes on the second power-play unit, he could hit his stride and rack up around 45 points. He'd then become a sort of Jake DeBrusk, and everyone would be pretty happy with that. 

Bolduc has a dream shot, but his foot speed and skating power aren't yet on par with what we see in DeBrusk…

We hope he's working on that.


Confidence

After a blistering start in his first three road games (three goals), the reality of the Montreal market seemed to weigh heavily on Bolduc's shoulders last year. It took him a long time to feel comfortable at the Bell Centre. In fact, the Trois-Rivières native scored only three goals at home in 2025–26, including his first two in a single game on December 18 against the Chicago Blackhawks…

This raises a difficult question: Is Montreal the city where Bolduc will be able to thrive? 

No. 76 seemed to adjust a bit better toward the end of the season and in the playoffs. We hope he finds his footing quickly this fall…

But for now, we're a bit less confident than we were at this time last year that Bolduc will reach his full potential with the Canadiens.


Rarity, Utility, and Value to the Organization

Bolduc, the 18th overall pick in 2021, possesses the skill set of a “light” power forward—a profile that's still fairly rare within the organization. At his best, he cuts to the net and shoots with authority while being effective in the faceoff circle. It's a style of play (similar to that of a 34-year-old Tararenko) that could very well complement players like Demidov and (eventually) Hage, provided he plays with the necessary speed…

Bolduc's profile—what he can bring to the middle six—is undoubtedly appealing to many teams. In fact, it was this very profile that brought him to Montreal, and there's no doubt his name could come up again in numerous conversations between Hughes and his counterparts.

His utility value is likely even higher than his trade value in the eyes of his management, but the length and amount of his next contract will tell us quite a bit about what the organization truly thinks of him.

7. L.J. Mooney, RW/C
Potential: 33/40
Confidence: 15.5/20
Usage Value: 14.5/20
Trade Value: 13.5/20

Total: 76.5/100

Mooney did nothing to discourage his admirers during his first season in the NCAA. On the contrary, he gave them even more reason to cheer. And for the second consecutive year, the diminutive American turned heads at the team's development camp. As a result, he moves up from 9th to 7th place in this summer's rankings. Not too shabby for the 113th overall pick in 2025…


Potential

To put it mildly, with 30 points in 34 games, the confident and productive Mooney lived up to expectations on a fairly weak team last year at the University of Minnesota.

The Americans could also have used him more during the last World Junior Championship (3 assists in 5 games). He brought a spark that they ultimately lacked. But, as we saw at the last Summer Showcase, he should be a pillar of the team as a veteran in the upcoming competition…

Mooney stands out for his speed, his dekes, his vision, and above all for his passion and exceptional work ethic—an essential attribute when discussing him, as Scott Wheeler (The Athletic) recently highlighted in an excellent interview.

As is also true for Lane Hutson, in Mooney's case, it's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters; it's the size of the fight in the dog.

In short, we continue to see Mooney as a future standout center, highly versatile, small but talented, tenacious, and incredibly courageous.

We believe he has the potential to become a Newhook-style impact player, capable of 40- to 50-point seasons. Like Newhook, Mooney sometimes seems to lack a bit of finishing touch in his game, preventing him from becoming a true scoring machine and a star like his cousin Logan Cooley…


Confidence

As Martin St-Louis—who is probably already a fan of his—likes to say, Mooney is a hockey player, not just a young man who plays hockey.

He seems to share the same passion for the game that we see in Hutson and Demidov.

In addition to his obvious progress over the past year, there's probably no better guarantee of making it to the NHL and making an impact there than the fire that drives him.


Rarity, utility, value to the organization

If the Canes were able to easily win a Stanley Cup by relying on players like Aho, Jarvis, Stankoven, and Ehlers in their top 9, it's hard to see how adding a talented player of Mooney's caliber to the top 9 would be such a big deal for the Habs two years from now. Only Caufield will be clearly smaller than him. Suzuki weighs over 200 lbs, and Newhook is also quite stocky for a 5'10 player. 

In short, as long as we're not in the Smurfs' village, heart and talent are always welcome in a locker room, regardless of size.

But Carolina's victory is also likely to boost the value of players like Mooney. After all, if we're going to engage in a bit of demagoguery—much to the delight of the Canes—didn't Stankoven “outplay” Rantanen last spring?

And hasn't Brad Marchand—now a two-time Stanley Cup champion—also shown that small, talented, strong, creative, and fiery players can hold their own in a game where the puck is on the ice 98% of the time, rather than 12 feet in the air?

So we can't rule out the possibility that teams might eventually express interest in Mooney in their discussions with Kent Hughes… 

In addition to talent, heart and work ethic too often outweigh muscle and size to be ignored.

Carolina has just proven this once again.


Conclusion
: Those who prefer “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” might prefer to see Bolduc ahead of Mooney, who is still a work in progress at this stage.

But even though his playoff performances have been fairly good overall, the problem is that Bolduc really didn't give the Habs what was expected of him last year during the regular season. He seemed both nervous and stiff on the ice for much of the season, especially at the Bell Centre. 

So, in my view, Bolduc isn't quite a “sure thing” yet—a true safe bet.

That being said, Mooney's work ethic, natural confidence, and exceptional creativity currently give me more confidence that he'll reach his full potential in Montreal.

It's up to Bolduc to prove me wrong—and I hope he does!

As for Pickford, he's certainly an exciting prospect given his success in Medicine Hat over the past two seasons, and some would undoubtedly rank him higher than ninth.

But let's not forget that the statistics for 19- and 20-year-old defensemen in the WHL—a league with a slightly more open style of play and one that's been significantly weakened by new rules (players leaving for the NCAA, etc.)—should be viewed with a great deal of caution.

We'll soon have a much better idea of his true value (as a defenseman or forward) after about 30 games in the AHL.

We'll be back next week with positions 6 through 4!

WARNING: It's going to be a very close race between the next three players!

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!