Rarely does a Canadiens prospect come with a backstory like Timofei Runtso’s.
At 14, the defenseman was only 5-foot-6. A few years and a stack of growth spurts later, he’s listed at 6-foot-2, and he says he may still have more coming.
"I’m hoping to get a few more inches," he said.
That kind of jump changes the whole conversation for a defenseman. The reach is different.
The presence is different. The player is, in his own words, basically a different guy.
Runtso’s rise has been just as dramatic on the ice. One year ago, the California native called himself "nobody," and he was still in the NAHL, a junior league below the USHL and well outside the usual NHL radar. He was nowhere near being a second-round NHL Draft pick.
Then came the 2025-26 WHL season with Victoria, and everything took off. Runtso put up 44 points, including 11 goals, in 68 games, turning in the breakout year that put him on Montreal’s list of intriguing young defenders.
Even he didn’t see it coming.
"I exceeded my own expectations.
If you had asked me at the beginning of the year whether I'd end up here, I wouldn't have predicted it."
That kind of upward trajectory is exactly what makes him appealing to the Canadiens. He’s a defenseman whose game is still climbing fast, and whose ceiling is still being written.
"I think they see that I can only keep growing. The sky's the limit."
With his body still changing and his game moving right along with it, Runtso is the sort of prospect who makes people look twice. The next step may be even more interesting than the last.
In Other News...
Canadiens Delay On Bolduc And Xhekaj Signals Something Bigger Ahead
Montreals offseason to-do list still has some important names on it, and the wait on Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj fits the way Kent Hughes has handled the roster so far. The Canadiens have been careful with their cap space, keeping flexibility while also trying to shape the lineup around bigger moves, and that means even with more than $14 million available, nothing is moving in a straight line.
Kirby Dach is still unsigned too, but Bolduc and Xhekaj are in a different spot because there is no hard signing clock pushing either side into a quick deal. They are not the kind of restricted free agents who scream offer-sheet risk, which helps explain the patience, but the bigger question is whether Montreals pursuit of a top-six forward on the trade market changes the math and forces the club to settle its remaining business sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospect Retires At 22 In A Brutal Carey Price Twist
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His name also carries extra weight in Montreal because he was one of the assets tied to the Carey Price trade, a reminder that even major deals can have unexpected aftershocks years later. Laroques recent seasons were already interrupted by injuries, and while the Canadiens will move on with their prospect pool, the loss of a young defender this early is another harsh example of how quickly a hockey career can change course. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Just Got Another Reason To Love Lane Hutson's Deal
Pavel Mintyukovs new deal in Anaheim is another reminder of how quickly the market for young defensemen has climbed, and it also gives Canadiens fans a fresh way to look at Lane Hutsons contract. Montreal was among the teams linked to Mintyukov before he decided to stay put, so the comparison is more than just theoretical for a club that has been hunting for blue-line help and watching the price tag on that kind of player keep rising.
Hutsons value only looks better against that backdrop. His production has already separated him from Mintyukovs, and the contract gap feels even wider when the market is pushing upward around them. For the Canadiens, it is the kind of development that makes an already favorable deal look even sharper, even if the broader defenseman market is still leaving plenty of room for more expensive decisions elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]