NHL Player of the Month: Cole Caufield
Several Canadiens players had incredible performances in March, a month in which the team only lost five times, and four of those were to either the San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks. They played a lot of games of critical importance to the playoff race in the Eastern Conference and won every one of those games save a loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
There were three legitimate candidates to claim this honour this time, but the winner is the one who led the league in a few categories. Cole Caufield has made headlines all season long for his timely goal-scoring, and no one scored more than the three game-winners he had in 14 games, tying him with five others. He sat alone atop the even-strength goals like with 10 of his 12 scored in those situations, and overall ended up one goal behind Pavel Zacha for the outright lead while playing two fewer games (and one in which he was too ill to take a regular shift).
FORTY GOALS FOR COLE Habs win in OT!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 10:47 PM
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For several decades, the Canadiens had been searching for a player who could score 40 goals in a season. Caufield has blown right past that once unattainable mark, and now, sitting on 47, it’s just a matter of time before he hits 50. Even teams fighting for their playoff lives can’t figure out how to stop him as he’s figured out how to break through even the tightest coverage.
Honourable mention: Jakub Dobeš
Dobeš went into the month with an .893 save percentage on the season, significantly better than the .874 mark of Samuel Montembeault, but trailing the .902 that Jacob Fowler has posted in his time with the team. Dobeš had managed to win significantly more games than he lost, but there was room for improvement in his play.
The team had just switched goalie coaches before the Olympic break arrived, and in March we saw the effect that Marco Marciano’s arrival has had on Dobeš. In 10 games played, facing an average of 30 shots a night, his save percentage was .927. Over the six-game winning streak that the Canadiens carry into April, his efficiency has been .965, allowing just five goals in four starts for a 1.25 goals-against average in two games versus the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes, one versus the charging Columbus Blue Jackets, and last night versus the Tampa Bay Lightning who had the chance to take the conference crown from Carolina. He’s been nothing short of incredible, and even better than the team needs its goalie to be, allowing them to enjoy a larger margin of victory recently despite going up against some of the teams with the best systems in the league.
Honourable mention: Nick Suzuki
Suzuki has claimed the monthly honour in the past with less impressive performances than he had in March. The captain, who now has 92 points on the season, yet again settles for an honourable mention because of how prolific his linemate’s finishing touch has been.
Suzuki played 15 games in March and tallied 24 points, outdone only by a player he helped hold pointless with a -3 goal differential last night, Nikita Kucherov, with 26. His eight goals also ranked high on the NHL’s monthly leaderboard. He won 55.2% of his faceoffs, one of three centres on the team to win at least 55% of their draws, making life a bit easier for a defence that had struggled in its zone for much of the year.
He may not be getting recognized in this series this year, but there’s probably a more tangible award waiting for him at the end of the season. His linemate is in a race for the Rocket Richard Trophy, but Suzuki may already have his first Selke Trophy locked up with his elite-level 200-foot play.
— Justin Blades
AHL Player of the Month: Florian Xhekaj
March was an extremely uneven month for the Laval Rocket as the club battled some hefty injury troubles as they tried to close in on another North Division title. With players like Laurent Dauphin and Adam Engström missing time with injuries and Jacob Fowler finding a permanent home in the NHL with the Canadiens, the Rocket needed some new players to step up and lead.
Enter, Florian Xhekaj.
After an electric rookie year in which he piled up 24 goals and led the AHL in penalty minutes, the younger Xhekaj brother entered his sophomore year on a much quieter note. Yet, with the Rocket in need of some clutch goal-scoring and tenacity down the stretch, it was Florian stepping up in a big way. Pascal Vincent tends to keep his lines pretty well in place, allowing Xhekaj to form a bombastic duo with Luke Tuch on the forecheck in most games.
When it counts the most, he is also one of the first one over the boards to close out tightly contested games. With five goals and an assist in the month, Xhekaj found himself on the scoresheet for more than just penalty minutes, of which he was handed just nine in all of March. Two of Xhekaj’s goals were empty-netters as he played in five-on-six scenarios, and his goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton sent Laval back to the playoffs. He also added a short-handed tally against Springfield to seal a win.
Not to worry, even the newer version of Xhekaj has no problem tossing off the gloves, just ask Mason Geertsen of the Rochester Americans who suffered two post-goal punchings inside the span of a week.
Sean Farrell scores a goal, and Florian Xhekaj celebrates by punching Mason Geertsen in the face
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 7, 2026 at 4:30 PM
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It wouldn’t be shocking to see Xhekaj get some NHL minutes toward the end of the season as he closes in on another 20-goal AHL campaign.
— Scott Matla
European Prospect of the Month: Yevgeni Volokhin
The Russian goalie has been outstanding the whole season, but the month of March was absolutely bonkers. In the opening 12 days, Volokhin played five games and held three clean sheets.
The playoffs started in the last third of the month and Volokhin carried his performance with him. In the nine games he played in March, he had two losses, a .954 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average.
While the focus has been on Alexander Zharovsky (four points in 14 games in March) in the KHL, Volokhin has put together an incredible season in VHL, the Russian second tier.
Volokhin is big, but needs to fill out more, as the VHL site has him listed at 190 centimetres and 76 kilograms. He has always been technically sound, and he is developing in one of the better goalkeeper schools in the world. The fact that he doesn’t need to be rushed means that Montreal has an enticing goalkeeper battle going forward as a lot of young goalies are preforming at a high level in their respective leagues.
— Patrik Bexell
North American Prospect of the Month: Bryce Pickford
With another impressive goal tally in March, Bryce Pickford continues his ridiculous run of form. The Canadiens’ 81st-overall pick in 2025 added nine goals and four assists for 13 points in 10 games, including a hat trick against the Brandon Wheat Kings on March 6. Hidden behind the tremendous release that has become Pickford’s cornerstone skill, however, hides some impressive defensive progression.
Whereas Pickford used to lead with his stick and rely on his hands to disrupt opponents’ carry attempts earlier in the season, he has now added contact details that allow him to keep up with stronger players. He initiates contact early on dump-in retrievals, forcing opponents on their heels and putting him in control of the battle. When he can’t get to pucks first or get inside positioning on forecheckers, he pins their feet to the boards, controls their upper body, or simply lulls them into a sense of security by backing off momentarily, before trucking right through them as they pivot along the wall.
The ways in which Pickford is creating looks for his high-end wrister are also evolving. He consistently leverages give-and-go plays off the blue line and dextrous dangles timed with defenders’ pivots, accessing space behind defensive lines himself rather than settling for off-puck movement to the half-wall. This has made him less reliant on teammates to feed him in high-danger areas, and better equipped to create his own looks.
42 AND COUNTING FOR THE TIGERS D-MAN BRYCE PICKFORD 😳 pic.twitter.com/MwEu3sik3a
— Game Notes (@GameNotesBud) March 7, 2026
There will need to be some adjustment to the way he creates offence at the next level, with his breakouts and blue-line manipulation still being works in progress, but with the added certainty of a more sturdy defensive game to his profile, Pickford is developing in ways that will lead to long-term pro success.
— Hadi Kalakeche
PWHL Player of the Month: Ann-Renée Desbiens
The Montreal Victoire were rolling through March, and tied a PWHL record with points in 11 straight games dating back to January, before the Olympic break. In March they went 5-0-2, not counting their win at the end of February. The scoring was balanced, and they did all of it without Erin Ambrose, and a lot of it without Marie-Philip Poulin.
The mainstay was once again Desbiens. She went 4-0-2 in March allowing only eight goals in the six games (1.33 GAA), with a .940 save percentage and two shutouts. The team has been strong defensively, but even when there are breakdowns, like a short-handed two-on-zero against in the final minute of a game, the opponents then have to beat Desbiens, which has proven very difficult.
DESBIENS DENIES FILLIER! 🚫@thepwhlofficial | @PWHL_Montreal pic.twitter.com/IO79ihYC50
— ION GameDay (@IONGameDay) March 28, 2026
Aerin Frankel may have had an even better month than Desbiens as she stakes claim to the title of world’s best goaltender, but the fact that there can even be a debate between the two is a testament to how well Desbiens has been playing this season. Montreal is a short step away from being the first PWHL team to clinch a playoff berth in all three seasons, and Desbiens is a major reason why.
— Jared Book
Players of January
Players of December
Players of November
Players of October
