2025 Draft Profile: Justin Carbonneau

There’s a high-scoring forward in this upcoming draft, with a surname very familiar to Montreal fans. Justin Carbonneau is that highly touted player, and although he’s no relation to Canadiens legend Guy Carbonneau, he is ranked in this year’s draft around the middle of the first round. Here are some reasons why Montreal should strongly consider drafting Justin.

Bio

Right Wing
Shoots: Right
DOB: November 25, 2006
Height: 6’1.25”
Weight: 205 pounds

Rankings

Elite Prospects: 11
Future Considerations: 8
Daily Faceoff: 15
The Hockey News (Ferrari): 41
The Hockey News (Kennedy): 17
TSN (Bob McKenzie): 17
TSN (Craig Button): 14
NHL Central Scouting (N. American): 16
Sportsnet (Cosentino): 15
Sportsnet (Bukala): 16
Recruit Scouting: 14
Dobber Prospects: 19
Draft Prospects Hockey: 12
Smaht Scouting: 19
McKeen’s Hockey: 16

Statistics

Scouting Report

Given his current height and weight, Carbonneau already has a pro-sized body. His shot is elite in this draft, among the very best. He has quick hands which allow him to convert goal attempts in different ways but equally effective: wrist shot, snap shot, slap shot, backhand. His passing skills are also strong, both in taking or giving a pass with high accuracy. He is a little selfish, but then most goal-scorers play to their strengths.

When it comes to skating, he has excellent straight-ahead speed and knows when to change the pace to adapt to a play. Carbonneau’s lateral skating is also very good, helping him to be more elusive when carrying the puck. His puck-handling skills are also at a very high level. Justin often drives the play on the rush due to his speed and ability to carry the puck. His hockey sense is strong, which allows him to be creative with the puck and helps him to time his approach to the play to get open for a scoring chance. In one-on-one situations, Carbonneau thrives on picking apart an opponent to improve his scoring chance or set up a teammate.

During the NHL Combine this year, Carbonneau scored the 8th highest rating for the Fatigue index part of the dreaded Wingate Cycle Ergometer test. This indicates Justin’s ability to recover quickly from a previous shift, which is a very positive sign.

When it comes to the defensive side of the game, he is inconsistent. In some games, he shows a willingness to backcheck well and has the intelligence to break up plays with his stick. In others, he appears disinterested in that part of the game. In my experience, this is a coachable trait that can be worked on at the pro level. Most highly ranked junior-aged players in their draft year are focused more on improving their own stats than bettering their weaknesses to help get themselves ranked as high as possible.

Timeline

It’s practically unheard of for a player from the ‘Q’ to break into the NHL as a teenager. There have been only a handful of players since 2000 to achieve that feat: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Alexis Lafreniere. The first two players are now superstars in the NHL, and Lafreniere has developed into a very good but not yet great player.

With that in mind, the odds are against Carbonneau making the NHL in the next two years. However, the team that drafts him has the advantage of working with him on his deficiencies to help him break into the league as a junior-graduated 20-year-old player. Montreal can certainly use a point-producing right winger in their prospect system. Since some NHL teams do not typically rank players from the QMJHL very high, there is a good chance Carbonneau will be available for Montreal to select in the first round.