There's an onslaught of promising young defensive prospects queuing up to become the next big piece of Montreal's rearguard contingent.

With regular seasons across all hockey leagues beginning to wind down, regardless of whether or not teams are playoff-bound or not, speculation is already starting to heat up for next season. For the Canadiens, it seems that once again Kent Hughes and company will have plenty of decisions to make in the offseason in regards to contracts, the draft, trades, and free agency.

One area that has big questions marks around it is the Habs' blue line. Taking veteran players out of the equation for the moment, the race has already begun for the glut of young rearguard prospects who will likely arrive at training camp in September with their eyes set on an NHL roster spot.

Some choices will be fairly easy, like Kaiden Guhle maintaining his position, and possibly even Arber Xhekaj. But beyond that, there's plenty of uncertainty, and the competition for those precious few remaining available positions promises to be intense.

On this week's episode of Habs Hockey Report I've identified nine young Canadiens prospects who could be in the conversation to win one of those roster spots come October, and objectively review their statistics for this season and provide some opinions on how I think they might rate in the fall.

Plus, I give my prediction on which Montreal prospect currently not on the NHL roster could win a job with the big club right out of camp next year. Click the video to watch the full episode: Which Montreal Canadiens Blueline Prospect Earns NHL Job?

NEW VIDEO: Which Young Habs Defensive Prospects Lead the Pack?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrkrO37U7vg[/embed]

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