Top 15 CH Prospects: Positions 9 through 7

We left off last week with the trio of Tim Runtso, Florian Xhekaj, and Adam Engstrom.
No stars—or even impact players—in sight here. At best, they're solid role players who could have a decent career spanning a few hundred NHL games.
The trio we're featuring this week seems capable of reaching greater heights—at least in theory. We're fairly confident that at least one of them could eventually become an impact player—that is, a player above the NHL average.9. Bryce Pickfo

The New York Yankees have been playing without three of their top four hitters for quite some time now. And while Cody Bellinger could be back as early as tomorrow (Sunday) and captain Aaron Judge is making good progress toward a return sometime in September, the situation is quite different for Giancarlo Stanton.
In fact, while recovering from a calf injury, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that Stanton has injured his other calf and will miss even more time for the Bombers—potentially the r

The Canadiens' season will begin in just over a month. So we can expect some busy weeks ahead, with events like rookie camp, the golf tournament, and training camp.
It's all going to go by fast.
That said, even as the season approaches, Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj are still without contracts for 2026–27. We're wondering when these situations will be resolved… and it's interesting to note that Geoff Molson has spoken openly about the issue.
In an interview with Radio-Canada Sport

Last May, the Montreal Victory won the Walter Cup. It was a wonderful story for the city during a spring when the province was already buzzing with hockey excitement thanks to the Canadiens' playoff run.
And in the hockey world in general, seeing Marie-Philip Poulin win the one trophy she'd never won before also made a lot of people happy.
Just like with the Stanley Cup, all the players got to spend a day with the trophy. Except for Dara Greig (Ridly's sister, who plays for the Senators)—s

To say the least, it's been quite a week for Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The 32-year-old mysteriously missed a game earlier this week against the Boston Red Sox, was placed on the restricted list following his absence, and was then moved to the 10-day injured list due to alleged knee issues.
Speaking to reporters before yesterday's (Friday) game against the Cincinnati Reds, manager Torey Lovullo admitted to feeling “betrayed” when asked to describe his reaction to Marte

It had been a long time since the Montreal Canadiens had given us such wonderful and intense emotions as they did during the 2025–2026 season.
What we experienced last season was simply magical, and it gave us a wonderful glimpse of what's to come for this great team.
The city of Montreal went completely wild during the playoffs, and it's clear that this has set the bar very high for the team heading into the 2026–2027 season.
Reaching the conference finals last year puts the Habs in

The big news in the Aug. 21, 1976, Vancouver Sun was that Frank Sinatra had flown into town for his first Vancouver concert since 1957 .It was the first show in the Pacific National Exhibition’s annual Star Spectacular of big name acts at the Pacific Coliseum, and was a great success.But it overshadowed an even bigger moment in PNE history — the debut of the SuperDogs .Frank’s audience was around 14,000. The SuperDogs drew only 200 to their first show, held in a parking lot be

I don’t know about you, but if you’d told me that Garrett Crochet was going to miss most of the season, I don’t think I would have believed the Boston rotation would have a good season.
Imagine if he can come back (in a relief role, mind you) late in the season: the Red Sox will have options on the mound.
A long catch-up with Garrett Crochet today included talk about his progress, changes to his contract, and an acknowledgment that a return this year would “a million perc

The $90 million, five-year hostile offer made to Leo Carlsson really sent shockwaves throughout the National Hockey League.
Seeing the Philadelphia Flyers offer that much money—$18 million a year—to the Anaheim Ducks forward has completely changed the way contracts are negotiated and signed.
In fact, there has been plenty of evidence of this ever since the Flyers matched the Anaheim Ducks' offer.
Several players have secured much more money than expected—and than they deserved&

As the Montreal Canadiens' 2026–2027 season approaches, Kent Hughes and his team still have two important internal matters to resolve.
In fact, two of his players remain unsigned for the upcoming season, and the more time that passes, the more urgent these matters become.
Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj are still not under contract with the Habs for the 2026–2027 season, which is set to begin shortly.
Obviously, there's no cause for major concern, but we're all wondering why the two

Last night marked Rafael Devers's big return to Boston.
Devers himself wasn't really in the mood to talk to the reporters on site about his time with the Red Sox.
That's fine. He doesn't have to.
We were all pretty eager to see what kind of reception the fans would give him. Would he be booed or cheered by the crowd?
Or both?
In the end, he was booed far more than he was cheered at Fenway Park. For the most part, the fans chose to boo him.
Rafael Devers received some mixed reactions in his retur

It's already almost September, which means we're just over a month away from the return of North American professional hockey.
When I say that, you naturally think first of the National Hockey League, but there's also the American Hockey League to keep an eye on once again this season.
The Montreal Canadiens' affiliate, the Laval Rocket, will kick off its season on October 2 at Place Bell.
After several mediocre years for the farm team, it had become the norm for Habs fans not to follow the Cana

Are you looking forward to the start of the Montreal Canadiens' season? I imagine the answer is yes.
It's already been several months since the team's 2025–26 season ended… and it's time for it to start again.
And just for fun, I've decided to share my five hot takes ahead of the upcoming season. Let me know in the comments if you think I'm crazy—or not…
1: Ivan Demidov will reach the… 90-point mark
In his first (full) season in the National Hockey League, Ivan D

The season is just around the corner. Training camps will open in just over three weeks, and the regular season kicks off on September 29. We're still waiting for the official announcement confirming that hockey will be back on TVA Sports, by the way.
It's not just the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs who will be in action on September 29. Four other games are on the schedule for this first day of the regular season, including one that will pit the Canucks against the Oilers in Edmonton.
Why am I i

Last summer, the Canadiens offered Joe Veleno a one-year contract.
The player, who wore number 90 last season, didn't have a major offensive role with the team; he was mainly used as a depth player and didn't play in every game.
He proved his worth over the course of the season, and we saw him take on important roles in the playoffs. But…
But you can't say that, offensively, Veleno impressed with his production. He tallied a meager five points (two goals) in 61 games… which isn't e

When Craig Button talks about the Montreal Canadiens these days, he's not just talking about a team capable of making the playoffs next year.
According to him, the Habs could be in the running for the Stanley Cup for the next six years.
And, as ambitious as that may sound… there's some logic behind this prediction.
The Canadiens are no longer a team that relies solely on a few veterans who can still deliver: a good portion of their core is still young and should continue to improve over t

Earlier this week, Corey Pronman said on a podcast that Zach Benson faced some crappy teams in the playoffs to justify the young player's low ranking on his list of the top 156 U23 players in the NHL.
And indirectly, it's as if he were saying that the Habs are a crappy team. 
His comments caused a stir because we know the reputation of the person in question. And we know he's been pretty harsh on the Habs and their young players in the past.
But now, during a Q&A session on Reddit, Pron

Flowers for Brandon Valenzuela
Max Scherzer had high praise for him. He likes how quickly he's adapted to the major leagues.
Max Scherzer has high praise for Blue Jays rookie catcher Brandon Valenzuela, who's been thrown into a “crash course” at the major league level this season.
Valenzuela's reaction to getting that praise from a future Hall of Famer?:
@6ixinningpod pic.twitter.com/ebdx3JMpFc
— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) August 20, 2026
Changing His Approach
Is that what l

Nightcrawlers! We are so back! The first teaser for The Pitt’s third season dropped today, confirming what was already unofficially official from earlier this year—season three will start on Dr. Robby’s first day back from his sabbatical.
The time jump this time is just a few months (supposedly, November), and Dr. Robby is returning to the chaos and the mayhem of PTMC.You know what actually makes me the happiest in this teaser? No, not the prominence of Dr. Abbot, who is now a

Certain rankings of the Canadiens' prospects have sparked a lot of discussion lately.
In particular, the rankings by Adam Kimelman of the NHL website and Grant McCagg placed David Reinbacher and Gleb Pugachyov ahead of Alexander Zharovsky, which seemed to rub quite a few people the wrong way.
Did I see things the same way as McCagg and Kimelman back in July when I was calmly putting together—as I do every year—my top 15 list of the Habs' most important prospects, which I've been reve

The Looney Tunes are one of America’s most enduring franchises, beginning in 1930 and running all the way to the present day basically uninterrupted, as iconic as any American institution. So many of the Looney Tunes are iconic unto themselves, chiefly Bugs Bunny, but Wile E. Coyote and his archnemesis Roadrunner are, arguably, one of the most famous screen pairings in American cinema, period. Created by Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese in 1949, Wile E. Coyote was inspired by Mark Twain&rsq

The Ducks find themselves with quite a problem on their hands.
They're just over $9 million under the salary cap… and as of this writing, Cutter Gauthier still has no contract in sight for next season.
According to the latest reports, the young player reportedly turned down a $13 million-per-season offer from Anaheim. He's asking for a lot… but that's to be expected.
Leo Carlsson's situation has complicated matters for the Ducks, who need to find a solution to keep everyone happy.

Last winter, Kyle Tucker signed a $60 million-a-year contract to join the Los Angeles Dodgers. The outfielder, who was the best hitter on the market, opted for a short-term deal with a massive annual salary.
The problem is that, so far, Tucker is having a miserable year. The outfielder is struggling at the plate (especially at Dodger Stadium)… and things aren't much better on the defensive end.
The footage speaks for itself.Kyle Tucker is being booed by the Dodger Stadium crowd on Sunday.

Aaron Donald's future with the Los Angeles Rams remains uncertain as the legendary defensive tackle continues to consider a possible return to the NFL.
Head coach Sean
McVay says, however, that Donald is expected to participate in additional practice sessions before making a final decision.
The defensive lineman practiced Saturday at the Rams' facility in Woodland Hills. It was his second time on the field with the team since the start of training camp. Despite this involvement, no official deci

Constance Wu was at the Blue Jays game and we aren’t going to talk about their playoff chances because I don’t want to jinx anything but…there’s a chance, right? Right?!View this post on InstagramA post shared by Constance Wu (@constancewu)
Sarah wrote about the business of AI today and it’s a must read to see how she, as usual, connects all of the dots. The uptick in conversation is partly because of Goop’s leaked invitation for an off-the-record night with

Eric Robinson won the Stanley Cup last spring with the Carolina Hurricanes.
And while he was finally able to spend HIS day with the coveted trophy, he chose to share that moment with people who hold a very special place in his life.
In particular, the forward invited Guy Gaudreau—the father of Johnny and Matthew—to come celebrate with him.
It's worth noting that Guy Gaudreau was one of Robinson's coaches when he was younger and just starting out in hockey.
So in a way, it was a retur

The great thing about being friends with Lainey is she is a fast texter. You have something urgent to say, she will respond with equal urgency. The terrible thing about being friends with Lainey is that if you have a crush on a celebrity, she will end it with glee. She is the bringer of the ick. She once killed one of my crushes by describing a “really thin T-shirt” that a celebrity I liked wore on a red carpet. If you are down bad and want to shake it, it’s helpful. If you are

The Boston Red Sox are 68-59 this season and hold a five-and-a-half-game lead over the Minnesota Twins for the final American League Wild Card spot.
MLB
Every series is therefore important at this stage of the season. But the race for the postseason won't be the only topic in town during the Red Sox's series this weekend.
That's because the San Francisco Giants are coming to Boston, which means the Sox will welcome back their former star Rafael Devers for the first time since the 2025 trade that

Last month, the CH traded Sean Farrell to the Ducks. Farrell, after a strong college career, was never able to establish himself as a full-time player in the NHL.
In return, the team acquired another prospect who has been slow to establish himself: Sasha Pastujov. He's a younger prospect who has been dominating the AHL for the past two years.
That doesn't guarantee he'll make it in the NHL, of course. But he clearly has talent.
And Tristan Luneau, his former teammate in the Ducks organization, a

The Montreal Alouettes have once again shown why they're at the top of the Canadian Football League.
In their
convincing 46-16
victory
over the Ottawa Rouge et Noir, Davis Alexander delivered a particularly effective performance, even though his 260 passing yards might, at first glance, seem modest.
The Montreal quarterback completed 20 of his 23 attempts, several of which came in situations where the defensive coverage was particularly tight. Two of his passes directly led to touchdowns
. His e