The Canadiens are opening rookie camp on September 11, and this year’s group comes with a very different feel. Montreal’s roster is thinner than usual, with most of the organization’s biggest prospects either in the NCAA, overseas, or already in the mix for a spot on the NHL team. In fact, only one player drafted by the Canadiens in the first 100 picks of the NHL Draft is on the camp roster.
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to watch. It just means the spotlight shifts to a smaller group of players trying to make a case for themselves over the two games against the Winnipeg Jets and Ottawa Senators on Saturday and Sunday.
Luke Mittelstadt is one of the more interesting names in camp. The defenseman, drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL Draft, spent the last four seasons at the University of Minnesota and wore the captain’s “C” for the Golden Gophers last season.
Once his NCAA year ended, he joined the Laval Rocket and played nine regular-season games, picking up five points, then added two more points in five playoff games. He may not be close to the NHL yet, but he looks set for a significant role in Laval this season, and rookie camp gives him another chance to strengthen that case.
Owen Protz is another defenseman worth tracking. Montreal took him in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, and he has already logged four seasons in the OHL, playing 198 games and collecting 74 points.
The Canadiens signed him to a three-year entry-level contract this summer, and he’s expected to be in Laval alongside Mittelstadt. CHL.ca described him this way: "Known for his physical edge, shot blocking, and penalty-killing ability, Protz has built a reputation as a dependable, team-first defenceman.
His style of play and consistency have made him an important part of a Bulldogs team entering the postseason as a championship contender."
There are also seven tryout players in the group of 23, and Alexei Vlasov is one of the most intriguing. He exploded for 80 points in 64 QMJHL games last season, including 44 goals.
At 5'9", size is the obvious question, but Montreal has shown it can live with smaller skill players, as it has with Cole Caufield. That doesn’t mean Vlasov is the next Caufield, but at 18, he may be the kind of player the Canadiens are willing to be patient with if the shot and upside are there.
Arseni Radkov brings a different kind of attention. He’s the highest-drafted player at rookie camp after going in the third round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Last season, he split time between the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL, posting a 3.45 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage in 40 games. Goaltending is a position to watch in Montreal over the next year, with Samuel Montembault in the final season of his contract and Jacob Fowler expected in the NHL sooner rather than later.
Laval’s other goalie is Kaapo Kahkonen, who signed a one-year deal with Montreal this summer. If Radkov makes noise at rookie camp, it could give him a useful boost heading into his first NCAA season at the University of Massachusetts.
The top-end star power may be missing, but this still looks like a camp with some real potential.
In Other News...
Canadiens Pressure Is Rising As Trade Options Still Linger Before Camp
With training camp drawing closer, the Canadiens are still being linked to a handful of names that could reshape the conversation around the roster if anything actually comes together. Dylan Larkin sits near the top of the speculative board, while Rasmus Ristolainen remains part of the broader discussion as Montreal keeps weighing ways to add help before the season begins. Nothing on this front is close to confirmed, but the fact that these options are still being floated says plenty about the pressure building around the clubs next move.
Cutter Gauthier has also come up as a possible fit because of his contract situation with Anaheim, and Shane Wright is another name circulating in the same trade chatter. The common thread is obvious: Montreal is looking at players whose situations could make a deal more realistic than usual, even if each case comes with its own complications. For now, it remains a waiting game, with the Canadiens watching the market and the rest of the league trying to determine who might actually be available when the talks get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Sam Montembeault Decision They Didn't Expect
Samuel Montembeaults place in Montreal has shifted since Jakub Dobes arrived, but the bigger issue now is less about the depth chart and more about timing. Once the Canadiens primary goaltender, Montembeault is entering a contract year, which naturally puts his future under a different kind of scrutiny than it did a season ago.
The discussion around him has picked up because of turbulence elsewhere in the goalie market, with Connor Hellebuycks trade request in Winnipeg potentially setting off a chain reaction. If that happens, Montreal could be drawn into movement it did not plan on, and Montembeault may wind up at the center of a decision the Canadiens never expected to confront this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Still Havent Solved Their Top Six Problem
The Canadiens ongoing search for help in the top six got another dose of what-ifs this week when Luke Evangelista changed hands in a deal that sent him from Nashville to New Jersey. For Montreal fans, the move immediately landed as more than a routine transaction, because Evangelista had the kind of profile the Canadiens have been trying to find: young enough to fit the timeline, productive enough to matter right away, and versatile enough to look like a plausible answer in a key scoring role.
Evangelistas name has hovered around the Canadiens wish list for a while, and the timing only sharpened the discussion as Montreal continues to work through a gap it has not yet solved. He is coming off a career-best season and had been seen as one of the players who checked several of the boxes the Canadiens want to fill, which is exactly why this latest move stings a little more than most. For a team still trying to round out its forward group, it is another reminder that the market keeps moving while the fit in Montreal remains unresolved. [Read more 🡒]