Montreal Canadiens fans have a few NCAA names worth circling this season, and the college route has become a bigger part of the prospect watch than ever. For supporters trying to keep up with the next wave, three players stand out: Michael Hage, LJ Mooney and Timofei Runtso.
Michael Hage is the easiest place to start. He’s been on the radar for a couple of seasons, and plenty of people expected him to be NHL-bound this upcoming season.
Instead, he’s headed back to the Michigan Wolverines for his junior year. Hage put up a huge 2024-25 campaign with 13 goals and 39 assists in 39 games, but after Michigan’s loss to the Denver Pioneers in the Frozen Four, he chose not to leave college yet.
His playoff run wasn’t at full strength, either. Hage injured his ankle in a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes and wasn’t his usual self when the postseason arrived, which was one of the reasons he decided to return to Michigan.
This year, he’ll be leaned on as a leader for the Wolverines as they chase an NCAA National Championship. If things go the way Montreal hopes, Hage could follow that up with another big season, then sign his entry-level contract with the Canadiens and possibly join the roster for the final stretch.
LJ Mooney is a little less obvious, but no less intriguing. The Canadiens’ 2025 fifth-round pick has the kind of skill that jumps out right away, even if his size doesn’t.
John Mooney is nicknamed “Little John” because of his height, and at 5’7” he was probably knocked down a bit in the draft because of it. Still, he answered plenty of questions in his first year with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
As an 18-year-old, Mooney finished third on the team in scoring with seven goals and 23 assists in 34 games. He also ranked fourth among all Big Ten freshmen in points.
The biggest wrinkle in his game right now is clear: he was a real force on the power play, with 18 of his 30 points coming on the man advantage. That kind of production stands out, but he’ll need to do more at even strength if he wants to make the NHL jump.
In his second season with Minnesota, Mooney should be one of the Gophers’ main offensive pieces and a key driver of their power play. Depending on how this year goes, he could sign after the season - or he could take the Hage path and come back for a junior year, since he still has a couple of years of eligibility left.
Then there’s Timofei Runtso, one of the newer names in the Canadiens system. The defenceman is moving from the WHL’s Victoria Royals to the NCAA’s Miami Redhawks, giving him his third team in three years.
His path has been a rapid one. After going undrafted while playing for the St.
Cloud Norsemen in the NAHL in 2025, he jumped to the WHL the next year and broke out in a big way.
Runtso finished with 11 goals and 33 assists in 68 games, good for third in rookie scoring among defencemen. That season pushed him onto Montreal’s radar, and the Canadiens took him 57th overall in this year’s draft.
Now he’s off to Miami University in Ohio, where his role as a rookie will be worth watching closely. From undrafted in 2025 to a second-round pick in 2026, Runtso has already made a sharp climb, and he’s another Canadiens prospect fans should keep tabs on.
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