The future is bright for the Montreal Canadiens, and not just because of the young players already skating with the Habs, but because there are more exciting prospects coming, including one who has been on fire of late with the University of Minnesota Gophers.
While we’ve talked at length about Bryce Pickford’s season, there’s another Montreal Canadiens prospect who’s having a great season: LJ Mooney. The diminutive winger who was drafted 113th overall by the Habs at the 2025 draft has been on fire of late with the University of Minnesota Gophers.
The 5-foot-8 and 165-pound winger has 13 points in his last 10 games and 28 points in 31 games since the start of the season. He’s third in scoring with the Gophers behind Brodie Ziemer and Brody Lamb, meaning he’s Minnesota’s highest-scoring rookie. The soon-to-be 19-year-old has looked more at ease as the season went on, and he’s showing a lot of promise.
While his small stature no doubt explains why he slid so late at the draft, the Canadiens have never been afraid to gamble on smaller-sized players when the talent is there. The Habs used a second-round pick in 1979 to draft 5-foot-7 Mats Naslund, who went on to score 243 goals with the Sainte-Flanelle over eight seasons, including two 40+-goal seasons. More recently, they also used the 15th overall pick at the 2019 draft to select 5-foot-8 Cole Caufield, who has led the team in goals for the last two seasons, and another second-round pick (the 62nd overall) at the 2022 draft to pick 5-foot-9 and reigning Calder Trophy winner blueliner Lane Hutson.
It remains to be seen if there will be room for him in the Canadiens’ lineup when he’s ready to turn professional, since the Habs do not have a very imposing lineup physically. But if he pans out and keeps performing as he goes from one level to the other, he could become a very interesting trade chip for Montreal if the Habs’ brass feel it already has enough players of smaller stature.
Don’t expect Mooney to turn pro at the end of this season, though; he could definitely use more seasoning in the NCAA and more time in the gym to gain more muscle t. The Canadiens are not in the business of rushing their NCAA prospects. Caufield and Hutson both played for two years in college before signing with the Habs, just like Jacob Fowler and Michael Hage, who will more than likely sign at the end of this season.
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