Two Habs prospects are currently flying under everyone's radar
On JiC's show on TVA Sports, there was a debate about who was the most underrated Montreal Canadiens prospect.
According to Nicolas Cloutier, it's Sean Farrell, the Habs' fourth round pick in 2020. He's not just an under-the-radar prospect in Montreal, but across the league.
"He is in my opinion one of the most underrated prospects with the Canadiens, but also in the NHL. 72 assists last year in the USHL is a league record. This season, he already has seven points in two games with Harvard. To get a really good idea of the type of player he is, I recently watched all of his NCAA footage."
Farrell has been compared to Johnny Gaudreau many times during his young career. However, in Cloutier's words, Farrell has a little extra something in his game.
"He's a hockey brain. He knows what he's going to do with the puck before it gets to him. His stick is also in every passing line. Usually I want to be careful with the prospects, but I really see him as a future impact player on a first line. He's a Johnny Gaudreau type of player who can also play on the power play. I know the season is still young, but what I see so far is exactly what I saw from him in the USHL last year. Farrell is just too smart for it not to work."
Anthony Martineau, meanwhile, has opted for defenseman Jayden Struble, the Canadiens' second-round pick in 2019. Struble is an improved version of Alexander Romanov, according to him. He even mentioned that the American back would be more useful than Sami Niku and Chris Wideman in Dominique Ducharme's lineup.
"Right now, you have Sami Niku and Chris Wideman on your last pair. Jayden Struble, you know what he's going to bring to you and he's going to bring it consistently. Physically, he's already NHL ready. I see him as a potential top-4 player."
Martineau greatly likes Struble's attitude, a rather confident young man.
"One sweet morning in September, Struble said to me : I'm going to be the player I want to be in the Bettman circuit. I have no limits."
"Yet, too few people seem to appreciate his talent, even though he is really close to being NHL caliber. I think we have the perfect definition of "underrated" here. Struble is, in my opinion, an improved version of Alexander Romanov. Bergevin actually proclaimed him a "Greek god" a few months ago. He hits like a train, but he also skates like the wind and can generate offense with his ability to move the puck quickly."
Yes, the Habs can count on a nice lineup of good young prospects in Cole Caufield, Jesse Ylonen, Riley Kidney, Cayden Primeau and Jordan Harris, among others, but Struble and Farrell could represent interesting bets for the organization.
