The Habs Top 10 Prospects: Honorable Mentions

Joshua Roy has been an interesting prospect, as skill-wise he’s easily top 10 in the Habs prospect pool, but oftentimes his work ethic is just not there. Over the last two seasons, the Quebecois forward has been a star player for the Laval Rocket, but it has yet to truly translate to the NHL level.    

During the 2023-24 season, it was looking like he had put it together at the NHL, until a wrist injury caused his season to end. Last season, he was expected to make the NHL opening night roster, but after a very disappointing camp, he was sent down to the AHL. It seemed that it affected his game to start the year, as he struggled to get going early on. Once he found his game, he was eventually recalled to the NHL, but he just couldn’t put it together and seemed a step behind everyone, and it was clear he wasn’t ready.   

Roy has the skill to be a middle-six winger in the NHL, but it’s whether or not he is willing to put the work in to get there. This upcoming season will be a big one that will have huge implications for his future with the Montreal Canadiens organization. Compared to last year, there is more of a logjam at forward, so he’s expected to start in Laval for the 3rd year in a row.  

Bogdan Konyushkov, D:

Over the last couple of seasons, Bogdan Konyushkov has been a solid KHL defenseman. The Canadiens drafted him in the 4th round of the 2023 NHL draft as a double-overager, so his game was already more rounded out than most prospects.    

Konyushkov has been a staple on the defensive core of Novgorod Torpedo for the past 3 years, where he has refined himself into a strong shutdown defenseman. There is hope that he could one day be an NHL defenseman, but he  needs to learn how to adapt to the smaller ice in North America to get to that point.   

After seeing him at this summer’s Prospects Development Camp, it is clear he needs time playing on North American ice before he can have any impact at either the AHL or NHL level.   Unfortunately, Konyushkov is signed with Novgorod Torpedo until the end of the 2026-27 season, making him 25 years old at the end of his contract.    

Konyushkov may never come over, but he has the tools that could make him a strong defensive presence for the Habs. He has a good skating stride and brings good defensive positioning in the KHL. The question will remain on whether or not his KHL tools can eventually translate to the North American game.  

Aatos Koivu, F:

  Before the World Junior Showcase, there was no way that Koivu would be on my honourable mentions list, but he was the best performer in the short tournament with 6 goals and an assist in 5 games.    

Aatos, being the son of a former Canadiens captain, could feel a lot of pressure to break out of his father’s shadow, and that performance helped him start carving his own path as a Canadiens prospect. It will be interesting to see if Koivu can bring the momentum of the four games he played for his National team into his upcoming season in Liiga for TPS Turku.   

If Koivu is to ever make the NHL, he will need to continue to add muscle to his lanky 6’1 frame. By doing this, it will help him get to the slot to release his lethal wrist shot that made him stand out at the World Juniors Showcase.     

Hopefully, we see that shot more often than last year for TPS, as Koivu only scored 1 goal in 32 Liiga games during his first full Liiga campaign.