Canadiens sign Owen Protz to three-year, entry-level contract

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that they have signed prospect Owen Protz to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The deal will begin next season and run through the 2028-29 campaign.

Protz, a defenseman, was the Canadiens’ fourth-round pick at No. 102 overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.

The Ottawa native brings size and physicality in his game, as he stands at six-foot-two and weighs in at 207 pounds.

The left-shot defenseman is a product of the Ontario Hockey League, where he broke in with the Sudbury Wolves during the 2022-23 campaign. Protz was dealt to the Brantford Bulldogs in the middle of the following season, and he’s carved out a decorated major-junior career there.

Last year, Protz put up 32 points in 67 games for Brantford to go with 57 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating. He then was a plus-10 while producing 6 points in 11 games during the postseason.

It’s been more of the same for Protz and Brantford in 2025-27, as he’s skated to a plus-45 rating to go with 5 goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 64 games played. Protz also led the Bulldogs with 84 penalty minutes this season.

The 2024 draft class has already proven to be a transformative one for Montreal, as it netted them emerging star and rookie winger Ivan Demidov as well as another top prospect in Michael Hage both in the first round.

The Habs also selected Aatos Koivu and Logan Sawyer, both in the third round, before landing Protz in the fourth.

Prior to the season, Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis ranked Montreal’s system as the second-best in the NHL.

Protz, as well as the other young prospects in the fold, will be joining what is already a strong core full of proven young talent in the form of stars like Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky.