NHL Prospect Watch: Montreal Canadiens
Ahead of the 2025-26 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. This series will highlight current and former WHLers who are signed to an NHL contract, have recently been drafted by an NHL team, or meet the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
Today, we’re heading to La Belle Province to see what the Habs have cooking.
Jared Davidson
The 2023 WHL Champion doubled his offensive totals while bringing some grit and bite to the Laval Rocket lineup in his second season of pro hockey. Davidson buried 24 goals and 21 assists for 45 points in 69 regular-season games, tying for second on the Rocket in goals and third in points. The 6-foot, 183-pound forward closed out the campaign with three goals and six assists in his last eight games and rolled into the postseason with another four points (3G-1A) in 13 postseason contests to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. The gritty 23-year-old has a penchant for laying big hits and netted a pair of assists in two preseason contests with the Canadiens, setting himself up to take a shot at a depth spot with the big club or a starring role on the AHL squad in 2025-26. Davidson, from Edmonton, Alta., amassed 99 goals and 111 assists for 210 points in 254 games over five seasons with the Seattle Thunderbirds. He earned WHL U.S. Division First Team All-Star honours twice and wore the ‘A’ for Seattle’s 2023 WHL Championship Run. He was drafted by the Habs with the 130th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Jared Davidson caps off a two-goal night with the shootout winner🎯@RocketLaval | #LAVvsSYR pic.twitter.com/EQUeSesxZg
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) November 16, 2024
Hayden Paupanekis
Another youngster with major power forward vibes, Hayden Paupanekis has gone from a depth forward on the Spokane Chiefs to a key building piece for the 2026 Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound centreman was the key returning piece in the trade that sent Andrew Cristall to Spokane at the 2026 WHL Trade Deadline. Paupanekis was thrust into a top-line role in the Okanagan and finished out the season with 22 goals (11 of which came with Kelowna) and 21 assists for 43 points in 71 games. The Winnipeg, Man. product finished second on the Rockets in goals, sixth in assists and third in points, while ranking 15th among all WHL skaters in faceoff wins with 614 (49.7%). Montreal called his name with the 69th overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft. Paupanekis, 18, owns 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points in 133 regular-season games. Could he find a new gear on the revamped Rockets with the Memorial Cup coming to town this spring?
Hayden Paupanekis s'échappe et crée l'égalité
Hayden Paupanekis scores on a breakaway to tie the game
⚪ 2 – 2 🔴#GoHabsGo | Under Armour pic.twitter.com/4WStchbAiU
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 3, 2025
Bryce Pickford
When Montreal snapped up Bryce Pickford with the 81st overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft, they reunited the two-time WHL Champion with his 2023 Seattle Thunderbirds teammate Jared Davidson. Pickford was a rookie when the T-Birds went all the way, but his breakout season as a clutch alternate captain for the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2024-25 put NHL teams on notice. Pickford netted 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 48 regular-season games. Despite the shortened campaign, the 19-year-old let all Tabbies defenders in goals and points while tying for fourth in goals among all blueliners. He saved his best for the playoffs, where he bagged 24 points (13G-11A) and set a modern WHL record (1996-present) for goals in consecutive playoff games by a defenceman with 10 tallies in eight straight matches to lift the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound rearguard followed it up with two more goals in four Memorial Cup twirls, where the Tigers fell just short in the title match.
AUTOMATIC.
Bryce Pickford extends his goal streak to NINE straight!@tigershockey | #NHLDraft | #MemorialCup pic.twitter.com/Oehap50g36
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) May 24, 2025
Tyler Thorpe
Another big man reporting for duty! Six-foot-4, 215-pound winger Tyler Thorpe set new personal bests across the board with 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points and a +11 rating in 68 games with the Vancouver Giants. Thorpe tied for third on the team in goals, third in plus/minus and finished seventh in points. With his dangerous shot and massive frame, Thorpe also racked up six shorthanded goals (good for second in the league) as part of Vancouver’s top-tier penalty kill. The Richmond, B.C. product added another three points (1G-2A) in five postseason tilts. Upon the conclusion of his WHL season, Thorpe made his pro debut with Laval and netted a pair of assists in a 5-4 overtime win against the Belleville Senators. Originally selected with the 130th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, Thorpe put pen to paper on a three-year, entry-level deal with the Canadiens in April of 2025.
Tyler Thorpe is the annual 'Bringer of Bears' for the @WHLGiants!@CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/LRDLxhBxkt
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) December 15, 2024
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