The Anaheim Ducks selected Maxim Masse in the third round and he's expected to have a big year in 2024-25.
With the 66th selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Anaheim Ducks selected Maxim Masse out of Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the QMJHL.
Ducks select Maxim Massé with 66th overall pick
In 2023-24, Masse scored 36 goals and 39 assists in 67 games, adding three goals and three assists in eight playoff games as the Cape Breton Eagles eliminated Chicoutimi in a second-round sweep. He led Chicoutimi in scoring by a 15-point margin and wore an "A" on his sweater.
His 36 goals tied him for eighth in the QMJHL and his 75 points placed him at 13th.
Masse was the third overall pick in the 2022 QMJHL Draft and won QMJHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, scoring 29 goals and 33 assists in 65 games.
In a recent video for CHL.ca, Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects predicted Masse would eclipse the 40-goal mark in his upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
“He’s got a little Brandon Saad in him," Robinson stated. "I think that he’s going to become a little more of a power forward, elevate his game, and maybe score 40-plus goals this year."
Taking into consideration the progression of his goal total from 2022-23 to 2023-24 and that Chicoutimi will have the majority of their top-scoring players returning for the 2024-25 season, a 40-goal prediction may be a tad modest.
Masse possesses an NHL frame, standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 190 pounds. He plays a pro-style game, thriving in the tight areas of the ice along the wall and in front of the net.
Primarily a finisher, he can find lanes and soft ice off-puck while possessing above-average puck skills to fend off defenders until seams open. He is a quality forechecker, often pressuring and disrupting breakout attempts and finishing his hits on puck retrievers.
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He struggles at times with the transporting and transition playmaking aspects of the attack, often letting passing lanes close or mistiming cutbacks.
Masse fits an archetype the Ducks have targeted in recent years at the draft. Whether it's Nico Myatovic, Carey Terrance, or Coulson Pitre in 2023 or Nathan Gaucher in 2022, they are gravitated toward physical, two-way forwards with knacks for winning battles along the boards and finding the back of the net.
In theory, players like Masse are perfect compliments to the more puck-dominant creative players the Ducks have in abundance within their organization like Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, and Beckett Sennecke.
"If he can get hot early, perhaps he can put himself on the map for the Canadian World Junior selection camp,” Robinson concluded.
Masse represented Canada in a limited role at the U18 World Championship in April and May, yet still managed to score two goals and three assists in seven games en route to a gold medal.
An invite to the Team Canada selection camp for the U20 World Junior Championship would be welcome, but making the final roster may seem a bit farfetched at this junction, barring an extremely productive start to the 2024-25 season.
Chicoutimi begins their season on Sept. 20, when they will take on the Quebec Remparts.
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