Introduction
Sean Farrell is a player who has found himself out of the limelight in the Montreal Canadiens prospect pool. The incredible depth of talent under 25 years of age continues to increase every year, and that inevitably causes skilled pieces to drop. Farrell is currently caught up in that rushing current as the Habs reload their prospect pool and then some.
He was originally selected in 2020, with Cole Caufield even tweeting out that the selection was a “steal.” Due to COVID, he spent an extra year in the USHL where he set a plethora of records before heading off to Harvard University. He put together a pair of seasons where he was over a point-per-game pace, while also getting to represent the United States at the Olympic Games and World Championship.
After his time at Harvard came to a close, he joined the Montreal Canadiens for six games at the end of the 2022-23 season, notching his first professional goal in the process. It was unlikely that Farrell was going to make the NHL team out of camp last year, but there were fairly big expectations for him joining the Laval Rocket alongside several other rookie prospects.
Like the Rocket team itself, it was a year of inconsistency and growing for Farrell as he battled injuries and a rotating cast of linemates across his 47 games. He posted nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points, good enough for eighth on the team. Thriving primarily as a playmaker, Farrell has plenty of talent to work with, and a healthy sophomore season with the Rocket should see his stock rise by this time next year.
Voting
The voting for Sean Farrell was primarily bunched around the mid- to late-20s. He is snugly tucked in between the 23rd- and 21st-place finishers in the countdown.
Most of the community votes placed Farrell firmly from 20th to 30th on their ballots.
Top 25 Under 25 History
| 2023: #15 | 2022: #8 | 2021: #10 | 2020: #21 |
History of #22
| Year | #22 |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Jayden Struble |
| 2022 | Michael Pezzetta |
| 2021 | Joshua Roy |
| 2020 | Michael McNiven |
| 2019 | Otto Leskinen |
| 2018 | Lukas Vejdemo |
| 2017 | Daniel Audette |
| 2016 | Brett Lernout |
| 2015 | Zachary Fucale |
| 2014 | Gabriel Dumont |
| 2013 | Zachary Fucale |
| 2012 | Joonas Nättinen |
| 2011 | Joonas Nättinen |
| 2010 | Alexei Emelin |
Strengths
At his core, Farrell is a cerebral playmaker who thrives at exploiting lapses in coverage inside the offensive zone. He is constantly scanning the zone with his head up, looking to find a passing lane or a soft spot in the defence to position himself in order to create scoring opportunities.
The above play showcases that ability to perfection. He collects the puck behind the net while checking over his shoulder, then spins off an opponent to put the puck right into the wheelhouse of his teammate for a goal.
Given how well he uses his space, an increased power-play presence this season should see his production numbers increase. It’s unlikely that he’ll replace anyone at the NHL level on the first wave of the man advantage, but there is every opportunity for him to become a second-power-play option.
Weaknesses
Farrell is an incredibly smart player, and he has to be given that he is not a large player by any stretch of the imagination. Standing at 5’9″, he is prone to some of the pitfalls of smaller players as they transition into the professional ranks. That was part of what caused the inconsistency with his season as he found himself outmuscled by larger opponents in many situations.
As he adjusts to the speed of the AHL, he has to refine how he attacks the opposition as well. What was working for him at the USHL and NCAA levels might not be as effective in the AHL, and it shows when he sometimes tries to make a deke but finds himself shut down and without a second option. He has to learn that he cannot try to work his way through two to three opponents alone.
It’s a similar issue to what plagued Riley Kidney this year, and with a year of experience there is every chance that Farrell can take his game to the next level this season.
Projection
Farrell is an extremely talented prospect, and one of the smartest ones in the Canadiens’ prospect pool. However, with the amount of depth being added, we’ve seen Farrell slide seven spaces in each of the last two votes. A stop-and-start sort of year in his rookie season definitely plays into that, but ignoring his entire body of work would be a mistake.
There were definite growing pains for the Laval Rocket and for Farrell last year, with moments where it looked he had put it all together and others where there were struggles for multiple games in a row. With a year under his belt and the smarts to continue evolving his game, there could be a big step forward for him in his sophomore campaign.
That would look something like Farrell sticking as a bona fide top-six option for Laval, and becoming a true catalyst for the team on the power play. It’s extremely likely he will be without Joshua Roy as a linemate, who was a huge piece in helping Farrell find his feet in the early parts of the season. There will be a number of dependable veteran centres for him to work with and to find the right fit in Pascal Vincent’s offence.
Expecting him to produce at a point-per-game pace may be unrealistic, but if he can stay healthy there is no reason that Farrell isn’t capable of producing 15 goals and 30-plus assists. The biggest goal for Farrell should be forcing his way back toward an NHL recall and see if he can keep himself in front of the wave of prospects steadily graduating into the professional ranks.
With his skill set there is no reason to write him off as an NHL prospect at this point in time, but the window to make the jump to the big leagues is narrowing rapidly as the rebuild progresses. I make no bones about being one of Farrell’s biggest supporters, and I firmly believe that he will surprise a lot of fans this season.
Scott Matla joins the podcast to discuss Sean Farrell:
0:30 – Intro
2:00 – Sean Farrell
5:30 – Sean Farrell vs. Vinzenz Rohrer
8:00 – Size?
10:00 – Can he become an NHLer?
15:00 – Expectations on this year?
17:00 – The Future?
