Six young players in the CH organization could be surprisingly released by Kent Hughes, including two bigger names

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MarcO
December 18, 2022 (8:03 PM)

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In the last five years, the CH has selected no less than 49 players in the draft. If this strategy of selecting in quantity increases the chances of finding good players, it also has a negative side.

Indeed, the organization only has a certain amount of time to come to an agreement with the players it has drafted and must make decisions, sometimes hastily, as to whether or not it will keep the rights of its players by giving them an NHL entry contract. The problem is that teams cannot have more than 50 NHL contracts in its organization.

Kent Hughes will have to have a good plan regarding his prospects because many young players will have to be signed next summer in the CH organization.

The problem is that the CH already has 46 contracts out of a limit of 50. The GM will not be able to sign everyone and will have to make decisions that could be heartbreaking.

Last summer, the CH somehow got around this problem by giving AHL contracts to Xavier Simoneau and Joe Vrbetic. These contracts do not count towards the 50-man limit. It would be surprising though, as Marco D'Amico reminds us, if they agreed to that next year, especially for Simoneau who is currently playing very well (18 points in 23 games with the Rocket). Knowing that they could sign an NHL entry-level contract with any other team in the league will play a big part in their decision.

Another prospect that is intriguing is Jayden Struble. The American defenseman currently playing for Northeastern University is doing very well in the NCAA. This case is somewhat similar to Jordan Harris' case last year when he was in danger of refusing to agree to a deal with the CH. Struble was very reassuring, however, when he recently sat down with Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports.

"I definitely want to be a CH player! It's the organization that drafted me and it's a club with such a rich history. If everything falls into place, I would love to line up for Montreal. I have a lot of respect for the team and the recent hires at the top level mean a lot to me." - Jayden Struble

It remains to be seen if Kent Hughes also wants to retain the youngster's services...

One thing is certain, these are important decisions to watch. Xavier Simoneau and Jayden Struble in particular will be ones to watch closely.