The Montreal Canadiens clearly had a desire to add older players with their late-round picks in this year’s draft, and Sam Harris was another example of this. He’ll be turning 20 right around the beginning of the next NHL season, one which he is expected to spend in the NCAA with the University of Denver.
Birthplace: San Diego, California
Date of birth: October 14, 2003
Shoots: Left
Position: LW
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 185 lbs.
Team: Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
A product of the same Shattuck-St. Mary’s program that once saw Sidney Crosby for a brief period, Harris has been in the USHL for the last two seasons with the Sioux Falls Stampede. In 2022-23, he put up precisely a point-per-game clip (30G, 26A) earning himself a ranking of 213 on the NHL central scouting list for North American skaters.
The book on Harris is one of a physical menace, constantly looking to land big hits and get in the face of his opposition at every turn. He’s not the biggest player on the ice at 5’11” and 185 pounds, but plays a much bigger man’s game. His scouting reports read like one of those players who is just a nightmare to play against, albeit while bringing a somewhat flawed game.
That point-per-game pace was extra impressive considering that Sioux Falls was one of the worst offensive teams in the USHL. Harris generates his offense primarily by driving the net, often slowing down and trying to bait opposing checkers into contact so he can drop his shoulder and try to run through them.
He gets to the slot often, and when he can’t he is effective at drawing defenders into him before dishing to one of his teammates filling the open lane. Getting to high-percentage areas with and without the puck often is a solid building block, and if he can improve his game around that, he could become a more intriguing prospect.
From a skating perspective, he lacks speed as well as lateral quickness. He really relies on his strength to make things happen as a result of not being able to beat defenders with his skating. In one report, Mitch Brown from Elite Prospects described him as having two gears: “slow, and slower.”
Improving his mechanics and adding another gear would be vital if he wants to compete at the professional level one day. Even at the NCAA level he’ll struggle to create offence if his only move is to try to physically dominate, as he’ll be encountering bigger, stronger players than he might typically in the USHL.
Going off statistics alone, it is clear there are some defensive deficiencies in his game, and he’s a little one-dimensional as a pure power forward looking to drive the net. If he were to add more of a defensive element to his game while playing in the NCAA, this would almost certainly improve his NHL chances.
This pick was a little off the board, but very in line with the Canadiens’ known desire to acquire age-specific players. A step up in competition should give us a much clearer picture of Harris’s NHL outlook next season.
