Introduction

After a pretty decent start to his professional career, Jayden Struble earned himself a call up in 2023-24 that gave him the opportunity to play 56 games in the NHL. Last year, he was able to match that games total while also adding three more points.

Everyone was waiting to see if Struble could build upon his first professional year. Being used sparingly by Martin St-Louis following the team’s acquisition of William Carrier, Struble was loaned to the Laval Rocket on a conditioning loan in mid-January, playing two games before being called up and staying with the big club for the rest of the year and played two of Montreal’s five post-season games.

It wasn’t long after his recall that he began to play with Lane Hutson, adding his strong defensive play to the rookie’s skill set. That ending up being Struble’s most common pairing, seeing big minutes with the player who went on to claim the Calder Trophy, before playing the final couple of weeks next to David Savard.

As a restricted free agent, Struble went fairly long into the off-season before signing an extension with the team, doing so on July 28. His time in this series comes a conclusion in his final appearance, but he is now signed on for two more years, and will still be an RFA when the contract expires.

Voting

Struble received all but one of his votes in the teens. This is a testament to his defensive play last year, showing everyone he belongs in the NHL, albeit likely in a lower role. I had him at 11, mostly because of his great play and chemistry with Hutson that hints at more for him to offer.

He received placements as high as eighth in the community voting, but the most common spot was somewhere in the mid-teens.

Top 25 Under 25 History

Struble’s final year in this series ends with a seventh consecutive appearance in the Top 25.

History of #17

Year
#17

2025
Jayden Struble

2024
Jordan Harris

2023
Arber Xhekaj

2022
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard

2021
Riley Kidney

2020
Lukas Vejdemo

2019
Lukas Vejdemo

2018
Cayden Primeau

2017
Simon Bourque

2016
Daniel Audette

2015
Noah Juulsen

2014
Christian Thomas

2013
Jacob de la Rose

2012
Mac Bennett

2011
Mac Bennett

2010
Joonas Nattinen

Strengths

The physical elements to his game are some of the best in the organization. When opponents head down his side, they already know what’s waiting for them. The 6’1”, 200-pound blue-liner is well known for his big hits and solid defensive play. Despite his fairly modest height, he gains the upper hand in most puck battles by outmuscling even large forwards.. He had developed the art of playing with an edge while being responsible in his own zone. He shifts his weight well, maintaining and using his centre of gravity to his advantage to throw players off-balance. Along the boards, his body-positioning and core strength make him more likely to separate opponents from the puck.

His skating is also one of the best elements he possesses. He moves extremely well, with an explosive stride, good top-end speed, and agility that would befit a speedy forward. He’s very stable on his skates, and is able to skate right into the opposing players, fight for the puck, and come out with it.

He has a strong toolbox that could help him be a decently productive player at the NHL level. He’s agile and knows how to weave through opposing players, has a cannon of a shot — both his slapshot and wrister — and can dish out cross-ice passes easily, though not to the same degree as Hutson.

What makes him most dangerous on the ice is that he never stops looking for ways to improve his lanes. Even though the points totals don’t suggest an Adam Fox-type player, he still tries hard to find ways to enable the offence to work. As a responsible member of a defence corps that now also features Noah Dobson, he may not get the opportunity to explore the full range of that ability.

Weaknesses

Despite all the glorious tools Struble possesses, there is still a glaring weakness that needs to be addressed. Sometimes his poor decision-making rears its ugly head and leads to questionable plays. Whether it’s because he strives so hard to make offence materialize or simply because he overthinks plays developing in front of him, he is caught making some Ill-advised pinches and reckless hits that take him out of position.

Consistency remains an issue that limits his overall effectiveness. Sometimes you’ll see him playing a disengaged game. At other times he will seem possessed and do everything in his power to win the game at hand. Improving his focus would help with some of his on-ice decision-making as he’s prone to misreading the situation and creating more problems for himself.

His tendency to retaliate earned him some unnecessary penalty minutes last season. For someone willing to dish out so much physically, he needs to accept that others will try to do the same to him. Especially in the NHL where most players won’t let a big hit go unanswered.

Projection

Kaiden Guhle just started his new contract and will be playing in a top-four role. Mike Matheson is still here, and Hutson has cemented his spot as a top defenceman. The newly acquired Dobson will feature on the second pairing, and Alexandre Carrier will be in the lineup as well. That means Struble and Arber Xhekaj are competing for the final place in the lineup, and David Reinbacher and Adam Engström will both show up at rookie camp aiming to prove that they deserve a look as well. As of now, I still believe Struble has a more well-rounded game than Xhekaj but he’ll need to prove that in the pre-season matches.

Both Struble and Xhekaj will likely make the 23-man roster, but Struble will have to show he can be consistently sound defensively while also playing composed in his limited minutes. Maybe we will see the pairing of Hutson and Struble again, which would help Struble’s case to make the opening-night lineup.