With the NHL on hiatus due to the Olympic break, it’s the perfect time to discuss the top Montreal Canadiens prospects, as voted by you, Habs fans.
Today’s article will take an in-depth look at the first player in the top 10, Kelowna Rockets forward Hayden Poupanakis.
To qualify for the project, potential candidates must be 23 years of age or younger and currently playing outside the NHL. In other words, even though Canadian players like Len Hutson, Juraj Slafkowski and Ivan Demidov are young enough to qualify, they have already established themselves as NHL players and are no longer considered prospects.
Previously published Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings
Canadian prospects who just missed the cut
Canadiens prospects ranked 20-16
Canadiens prospects ranked 15-11
Hayden Poupanekis
10. Center, Shoots Wright, 19, Kelowna Rockets (WHL), 6’5″, 203 lbs. Selected 69th overall in 2025.
They say time heals all wounds, but there are some rivalries that take longer than others to get over, and that was certainly the case when discussing the Canadiens and Boston Bruins.
In 1964, the Canadiens traded with the Bruins to acquire the rights to a 16-year-old goaltender named Ken Dryden. In return, they sent two players to the Bruins: Paul Reed and Guy Allen.
Dryden became one of the best players in league history, while neither Reed nor Allen ever suited up for an NHL game. From that point until the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Canadiens and Bruins completed a total of three trades.
A few months after the Dryden trade, Montreal acquired Orval Tessier for cash, but once the Bruins learned of their franchise-altering impropriety in the Dryden trade, relations between the organizations broke down, as evidenced by the fact that the next trade occurred in 2001, when the Canadiens traded Eric Weinreich for Patrick Travers.
It would take another 24 years for the next trade to materialize. The trade involved sending picks No. 79 and 108 to the Bruins in exchange for pick No. 69 in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, which allowed the Habs to select Poupanekis in the third round.
In other words, Poupanakis had the kind of potential that made a deal with the Devils a logical path forward, a testament to the increased level of interest from the Montreal Canadiens.
At 6’5″, Poupanekis has the type of frame that would interest most NHL teams, and although he didn’t set the WHL on fire during his draft season, his raw talent was too attractive to ignore. Poupanekis scored 15 goals and 24 assists in 71 games, and split his time between the Spokane Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets after a blockbuster trade that included draft pick Andrew Cristal from the Washington Capitals.
It should be noted that he battled mononucleosis to begin the 2025–26 season, causing him to miss the Canadiens rookie camp. This led to a relatively slow start to the year, but he then improved his play, scoring 14 goals and 16 assists in 43 games for the Rockets. This represents a 25% increase in scoring compared to the previous season.
Strength
When it comes to his scoring ability, he tends to defer to his heavy one-timers if he has enough time and space in the offensive zone. If the shot does not beat the goaltender cleanly, he puts enough power behind it to create a second-chance scoring opportunity for his linemates.
As far as his wrist shot goes, the release is somewhat slow, causing a fair amount of shots to be blocked. Poupanakis has some work to do when it comes to increasing the fluidity of his shot mechanics, but that’s par for the course when evaluating a player who has grown four or five inches over the past two seasons.
His size and strength allow him to create valuable ice near high-danger scoring areas, with the responsibility of deflecting point shots near the slot or pouncing on rebounds.
It’s important to note that taller players are described as ‘good skaters for their size’, which is code for a larger potential player struggling in the skating department.
But Poupanekis is a good skater, full stop.
This allows him to quickly drive the net and stake a claim, something he was specifically asked to work on after the Canadiens drafted him in 2025. This is the same directive the team gave to 2022 prospect Owen Beck, pointing to the organization’s desire to add players who not only have an interesting skill level, but who can also survive the rigors of professional hockey once they’re ready to take the biggest jump in their careers.
“Being 6’5 inches, I’m a big guy, I want to play big,” Poupanekis explained. “That’s the biggest thing for me this year, playing big, being open around the puck.”
weaknesses
Even though he is usually the biggest player on the ice, Poupanekis can improve his overall physical play. He is not a particularly tough prospect, and although it may not seem fair, the 6’5″ hockey player will always be expected to continue to play physical.
That being said, he’s doing a much better job of getting into puck battles this season, and he’s also improved his defensive ability, thanks to his ability to anticipate the play, not to mention his impressive reach.
His playmaking leaves something to be desired, especially in transition, as he can sometimes force a pass into the offensive zone, leading to turnovers or scoring opportunities for his opponents. When it comes to creating time and space for his teammates, he takes the path most traveled and lacks a certain level of innovation.
What to expect from Poupanekis moving forward
Poupanekis is a classic project, in the sense that he needs to hone a lot of his skills before he is ready to make the jump to the NHL.
Spending a few seasons in the AHL is the most likely path forward, giving him a chance to work on execution speed, offensive awareness and release.
It also remains to be seen whether he can handle the physical play involved in professional hockey. Hitting very young players in the WHL is a far cry from facing seasoned veterans who have thrown and absorbed more than their fair share of hits in a professional league.
In terms of his potential to display, I would argue that he could one day become a fourth line center in the NHL, although he may end up in a third line role if he is able to add a little more stability when it comes to offering a reliable amount of secondary or tertiary offense.
The most encouraging aspect of his development is that Poupanakis seems to be taking a step forward each week, a sign that he is only scratching the surface when it comes to his full potential.
All Montreal Canadiens and Hayden Poupaneakis statistics via Elite Prospects.
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