Canadiens Defensive Prospect Ready for Bigger Role

This Montreal Canadiens defensive prospect is heading into his second season with the Halifax Mooseheads, and hoping to leverage a great start to earn a role on the German World Junior squad.

Apr 30, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Montreal Canadiens players wait to go through the handshake line after game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens put an onus on beefing up their right defense for the future, adding Carlos Handel, along with two other right-shot defenseman, using three of their nine selections to fill one of the coveted positions in hockey, at the 2025 NHL Draft.

Handel was coming off his first season of North American hockey, playing for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, where he adapted quite well. The Canadiens selected the Erlangen, Germany native in the sixth round (177 overall).

His home country Germany doesn't have the luxury of players like Tim Stutzle or JJ Peterka, much like they have in past years. So, the importance of smart, responsible players will go up a few notches, and the potential for Handel to play a big role for Germany at the World Juniors seems likely.

Montreal Canadiens prospect Carlos Handel is ready for a bigger role with the @HFXMooseheads and has his sights set on the World Juniors. Can he take the next big step this season?

via @BlainPotvin_THWhttps://t.co/TPGCNbo2so

— RG (@TheRGMedia) August 19, 2025

Handel's debut season with the Mooseheads saw him post three goals and 23 assists for 26 points in 52 games. The German rearguard also added 1-3-4 through 10 QMJHL playoff games.

During the Canadiens' development camp, Handel didn't stand out from the pack, but blended in well, something that you want from your defenseman. He didn't hurt the team by taking untimely risks, and his mobility, intelligence and great passing allowed him to create and blend in with some of the Canadiens' top talents from the past few drafts.

Habs prospect Carlos Handel 🇩🇪 on going to the MTL Canadiens dev. camp:

"Montreal is definitely great. The arena is huge, the fans are incredibly good and interact with the team. It's like a big family.”

👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/tY0GGZ9ZXG

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 28, 2025

Given that he was drafted in the sixth round, Handel could end up being a nice value selection, with expectations in-check, nobody is calling for him to pick apart defense's and produce troves of offense, however, if he can lean on his playmaking and be a bit more selfish with the puck this season, he could challenge for double-digit goal totals, and steady increase in his previous assist totals.

Adapting to having less time and space to operate, especially when retrieving pucks off the boards behind the net, and making a quick move to avoid getting hemmed in his own zone was something that Handel had to get used to, but his maturity and ability to learn on the fly and execute stood out.

Apr 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of a Montreal Canadiens logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team in the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images / David Kirouac-Imagn Images

In his interview with RG Media, Handel spoke about working on getting bigger and stronger, in hopes of earning some penalty killing minutes, and being able to throw hits and better handle himself physically, which will help him with the Mooseheads, but also in his bid to represent his country at the World Juniors.

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