The Montreal Canadiens will have four players take part in the Memorial Cup starting tomorrow night, two of which are the clubs most recent first round draft picks. With the players on three teams it means every game in the tournament will feature at least one Hab prospect, Jarred Tinordi (London Knights), Nathan Beaulieu (Saint John Sea Dogs), Morgan Ellis (Shawinigan Cataractes), and Michaël Bournival (Shawinigan Cataractes). Hamilton Bulldogs fans should keep a close eye on the games since all four players should be on the club next season so it's a chance for them to see some of the Habs top prospects in action.

Gabriel Dumont Makes it 25

One of the best things the former Montreal Canadiens GM Andre Savard did for the organization was to bring over Trevor Timmins who he had previously worked together in Ottawa with the Senators. Since the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Timmins and his staff of scouts have selected 67 players over the 9 years and with Dumont appearing in his first NHL game last night he became the 25th drafted prospect to dress in an NHL game. Very impressive, especially when you take out the last 2 draft classes, that would mean that 25 out of 55 picks have appeared in at least one NHL game over 7 draft classes. In addition are the un-drafted CHL and NCAA prospects that the club brought in and have appeared in an NHL game to date. David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins, Yann Danis, Frederic St. Denis, Andreas Engqvist, Brendon Nash, Robert Mayer and Brock Trotter.

Hamilton Bulldogs Future Outlook

When training camp ended this past fall, the Montreal Canadiens sent their rookie class to Hamilton, but the 2011-2012 class was a little thin then in years past as the organization has been able to steadly re-stock the farm team every year with a solid group of prospects. Things could be very different when camp breaks next fall as the Habs look to be putting together the biggest and impressive class of rookies they have ever had since moving to Hamilton in 2003. The Dogs could have the following rookies next season, Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Brendan Gallagher, Morgan Ellis, Patrick Holland, Michael Bournival and Greg Pateryn plus there's a chance they could add more if NCAAers Danny Kristo and Steve Quailer turn pro instead of heading back for their Senior year.

The 2011-2012 season was nothing short of a disaster for the Montreal Canadiens as injuries and a lack of depth among other things saw the Habs struggle all season long ending up near the very bottom of the league. To show just how bad this season has been, the Habs are on pace for a top 4 pick in this summers NHL Draft, since 1981 the Habs have not had 1 single top 4 pick. As bad as it's been for both the Habs and the Hamilton Bulldogs, things have gone very well for many of the organizations top prospects like Nathan Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Brendan Gallagher, Morgan Elllis and Mac Bennett just to name a few.

The Montreal Canadiens selected Colin Sullivan in the 7th round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft after watching in the USHS Northeastern Prep league where he played for Avon Old Farms the same team that former Hab Chris Higgins played for just before heading off to Yale to play in the NCAA. Following in the foot steps of Higgins, Sullivan was slated to attend Yale but the club wanted him to play next season in the USHL so he decided to de-commit and it appears he will instead commit to Boston College which is currently playing in the Final Four of the NCAA's Frozen Four Tournament.

The Hamilton Bulldogs have 11 games remaining in what has been a difficult season, management for the Montreal Canadiens must decide what the best corse of action will be for their NCAA prospects as their respective seasons have ended for all but three who are all in action tonight via a single elimination game. For guys like Greg Pateryn the question becomes sign him now to get a few matches in under his belt as he just played in his final game ever in the NCAA in a heartbreaking loss in overtime to Cornell, while others like Steve Quailer may opt to turn pro this summer if both sides agree that is what's in his best interests. Scott Kishel could be playing in his final NCAA game tonight, if UMD can not advance, although he will be hard pressed to get an NHL contract as the Habs may not have room for him despite it being a career year for the former 7th round pick. Danny Kristo will look to help his team advance with a win today in what should be a tough matchup vs the current CCHA champs of Western Michigan, a loss and his season will be over but will his NCAA career also end?

It's been an up and down type of season for several players on the Hamilton Bulldogs as Alexander Avtsin, Joonas Nattinen, Alain Berger, and Philippe Lefebvre all had their struggles as several were likely forced into bigger roles then they were ready for due to the large number of injuries and callups this year. The injury bug really hit the Dogs hard this year as Andrew Conboy, Brendon Nash and Hunter Bishop all missed an entire season or close to it.

North Dakota Wins WCHA Title

The Montreal Canadiens will likely have a team of scouts on hand for the start of the NCAA's Frozen Four Tournament that gets underway next weekend. The Habs will have six prospects in action on four different teams in three seperate conferences. Mac Bennett and Greg Pateryn (Michigan), Danny Kristo and Mark MacMillan (North Dakota), Josiah Didier (Denver) and Scott Kishel (UMD). Last night saw North Dakota win it's third consectative WCHA title, they became the first team in WCHA history to win three in a row. With the win they get enter the tournament as a #1 seed in their confernce.

As the season continues to wind down the deadline to sign draft picks from the 2010 draft is getting closer, while over in the NCAA teams can start signing players as the season is coming to an end now that the playoffs are underway. Management still has a few players left to sign before the June 1st deadline for CHL and Euro league draft picks, as Patrick Holland and John Westin must be signed or the club will lose their rights. In the NCAA two players will see their NCAA careers end over the next month or two as Greg Pateryn and Scott Kishel must be signed before August 15th or they will become UFA's.

This season has been a disaster for the Montreal Canadiens and their fans, but the future is looking bright on the backend as the team appears to be building for the future through the blueline as they have picked two quality D prospects in the first round during the last two drafts getting Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi. In addition to the first round picks, the scouting staff hopes they uncovered some gems in 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds in Mac Bennett, Morgan Ellis and Darren Deitz who all are enjoying breakout seasons in their respective leagues this year.