15 games into the AHL season, Engstrom has recorded two goals and five assists. He is on a similar offensive pace as 2024-25, even with Logan Mailloux being shipped off to St.Louis and Reinbacher missing a few games at the start of the season due to injury. Though he leads the Rocket in points by a defenseman, his offensive production will be limited in the professional ranks. That is not to say he will not be an NHLer one day; he will, because of his skating ability and generally sound defensive play. But he likely will not be a defenseman who produces fantasy relevance outside of blocked shots and plus-minus.

Engstrom had a solid season with the Laval Rocket in 2024-25, posting 27 points in 66 games. There was no difficulty in adjusting to the North American ice for the smooth-skating Swede. If it were not for the strong depth on defense in Montreal’s prospect pool, Engstrom most likely would have gotten a call-up to the NHL last season. But that Lane Hutson guy made it very unnecessary, so Engstrom got the benefit of staying in one system for the entire season, and it should help him down the road in becoming a minute munching bottom-four defencemen for the Habs in a few seasons. His offense will be limited while the likes of Dobson and Hutson are with Montreal, and Engstrom isn’t the type to hit regularly, so his fantasy relevance is mostly in blocked shots and plus-minus statistics.

Adam Engstrom had a phenomenal prospect tournament for the Montreal Canadiens, proving that his stellar SHL play has translatable elements into the NHL. Engstrom was poised and calm against pressure, showcased his pro-ready shot, as well as some flashes of physicality. While he will likely spend the season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, the Montreal Canadiens appear to have hit a slam dunk with their 2022 third-round pick.

Engstrom’s D+1 season went better than anybody could have possibly expected. Rocketing up to Rogle’s first-pairing, Engstrom was one of the better U20 players in the entire SHL. He has gone from a relatively unknown player to an NHL option very quickly, and he could quite possibly be a second-pairing guy. Habs fans should be very excited by Engstrom, and fantasy owners may still be able to buy low before everybody catches up to the hype.

The Canadiens selected Engström with the 92nd pick in the 2022 draft. Engström did not get the same attention this year as a handful of his Djurgårdens teammates did. He is a mobile defenseman who has a long way to go to fill out his frame and develop his physical game but who has a very interesting profile in transition. Engström senses pressure very well and can weave out of tricky situations with control. He likes to carry the puck up the ice but is also a capable breakout passer. Upon entering the offensive zone, he happily joins the rush as a trailer to give his teammate a passing or rebound option. His stride is mechanically sound and features a good knee bend, which makes him a fairly powerful straight-line skater. His defensive play has quite a long way to go to project to NHL-average. He is passive in defending transition and despite having an active stick and scanning frequently, passes get through him regularly and the man he covers is rarely fully neutralized as a threat. Offensively, he flashes deception and evasion along with his decent puck management as a passer, but frequent point shots that lack power lead to many turnovers and he lacks a high-end offensive mind as of right now. He will likely spend this upcoming season in the J20 once again but with Rögle this time around. He is a project pick but has some intriguing tools to build around and could develop into a decent #5 defenseman, and possibly even a #4.