Photo Courtesy of Neutral Zone

Fantasy Summary

An undersized playmaking winger who possesses exceptional vision and skating abilities.


Observations

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May 2024 – Farrell finished off his rookie pro campaign with 28 points in 47 games. This isn’t fully representative of his season, however, as he took strides in becoming more comfortable against physical pressure against men. His skating needs work, although his straight-line top-speed is passable. Adapting his pivoting and back-skating to the NHL won’t be a short process, but with the loads of forward depth prospects in the Canadiens system, he will be able to take all the time he needs. Aaron Itovitch

January 2024 – Farrell’s first AHL season has gone well thus far, with 17 points in 24 games on a rollercoaster Laval Rocket team. He has stapled himself to the top-nine, but suffered an injury setback earlier in the year. His pacing still requires a lot of work, but at only 22, he has a lot of time to grow in the AHL before making the leap. In a Canadiens prospect cupboard that lacks offensive prowess, Farrell continues to be a bright spot. Aaron Itovitch

March 2023 – Farrell signed his ELC this morning, with an annual average value of $1.158-million. It is a show of good faith to the former fourth rounder to earn these bonuses. He is set to make his NHL debut this week against one of Buffalo or Philadelphia. Aaron Itovitch

February 2023 – All reports indicate that Sean Farrell will sign his ELC with the Canadiens at the end of his NCAA season. The intelligent, undersized forward has only improved his already above-average explosiveness during this university campaign, and looks poised to make a quick impact at the NHL level. The physical toll of the NHL will be a harsh transition, but on a team with no objective expectations to succeed, he will have the chance to show his skills. It is still unknown if he’ll be in the Hobey Baker conversation, but it is safe to say that Farrell has had an incredible university career. Aaron Itovitch

 

December 2022 – Sean Farrell is absolutely lighting up the NCAA. Now 21 years old, it is essentially a certainty that Farrell jumps to the pros for the 2023-24 season. While he is undersized, at 5-9, 175, in his time with Harvard, he has turned it into a strength of his game. Deceptive skating, combined with elite positioning has turned him into a true scoring threat. It is hard to imagine Farrell becoming less than a third line scoring forward, and he has genuine top-six upside. He is by no means a two-way player, with his defensive game generally coming as a secondary thought. He shines on Harvard’s power play and when put into an all-offense role, Farrell puts up consistent meaningful shifts. Likely in the AHL next season, there are absolutely question marks around the way he’ll manage a more physical league. Despite that, it is fair to expect a high-production, efficient, play-driving forward in Montreal’s repertoire sooner rather than later. Aaron Itovitch

 

May 2022 – Farrell represented his country in Men’s Worlds in Finland. He notched 2 goals and 4 assists in 10 games, showing his strong offensive toolkit, especially his great vision, fast feet and good puck skills. Farrell is still a pretty raw prospect but could become a top-9 forward, even 2nd liner for the Canadiens if reaches his potential. Eetu Siltanen

 

April 2022 – Farrell may have the highest upside of any Habs’ prospect yet to play an NHL game. He fell to the final pick in the fourth round in 2020 due to his lack of size and physicality, but the low-risk, high-reward bet on his pure skill and high motor is already paying dividends. The hallmark of the wingers’ game has always been his high-end playmaking ability. He can pass through multiple defenders onto the tape of his teammate for tap-in goals and he knows how to create and manipulate passing lanes to make the very most out of his passing skill. He has, however, added a dangerous shooting element to his game over the past two seasons, which has made him an elite powerplay creator. His one-time is a real threat, and he uses it not only to score but to create passing lanes as well. While his defensive ability needs more refining, he has continued his upward progression in his first collegiate season with Harvard, racking up 10 goals and 28 points in 24 games. While his three goals and six points in four Olympic contests looks very impressive, all three goals and two of the assists came in the US’s first game vs China, in which Farrell only logged 11:40 TOI. Still, in a limited role, he scored two more points than any other player on the team. Farrell has produced offence everywhere he has played and has the talent to become a dynamic top-six winger for the Canadiens within three or four seasons. The fantasy upside with this player is very high. Sebastian High

 

July 2021 – It was a jaw-dropping offensive season for Farrell in the USHL, where he scored 101 points in 53 games and followed it up with 10 more points in eight playoff games. The 101 points ranked 21st most in the USHL all-time most points in a single season list. There are caveats to his lofty point totals, the first being that he played on an absolutely stacked team. Farrell led the league in points while three of his teammates directly trailed him. The other caveat was that Farrell was clearly ready for NCAA action but was held up because Harvard canceled their season due to the pandemic. Next season will give us a better understanding of Farrell’s potential and we will see just how high his ceiling can be. Pablo Ruiz

 

January 2021 – Farrell is second in the league in points on a stacked Chicago Steel team. He has 40 points in 21 games and looks dominant using his speed, vision, and soft hands to consistently set up teammates. It is clear that Farrell is too good for the USHL, and ready for action in the NCAA, but he is committed to Harvard and they are not currently playing due to the pandemic. Pablo Ruiz

 

October 2020 – Farrell was drafted 124th overall by the Canadiens. Reports say, Farrell is expected to spend at least two years in college before turning pro. Pat Quinn

 

September 2020 – Coming into his first season with the Steel, Farrell has been a big name climbing up on NHL draft boards. Farrell dominated his first season in the USHL, scoring 56 points in 44 games. He also tore it up at the World Junior A Championships, scoring eight points in six games, playing alongside Steel teammate, Brendan Brisson. The Harvard University commit is a very good skater with strong edgework and quick first steps. While he is more of a playmaker, he has an exceptional array of shots. With his hands, he is skilled in close to the net, as well as in the dirty areas. Defensively, Farrell works hard away from the puck. He does a quality job of reading the play and forcing turnovers from the opposition. Even though Farrell stands small, he is not afraid to play the body.  Clare McManus

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 6.5
NHL Certainty 7.0
Country USA
Position LW
Roster Type Minors
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth November 2, 2001
Height 5‘9”
Weight 174 lbs
Drafted 2020 Round 4; Overall: 124

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2013-2014 Minuteman Flames QC Int PW2 1 12 0|        
 2015-2016 Boston Jr. Bruins 16U AAAUSPHL 16U30 17 1835 4|Playoffs2 2 02
  Boston Jr. Bruins 16U AAAMHSL U1612 1 78 4|        
 2016-2017 St. Mark's School USHS-Prep28 27 2855 -|        
  Team Columbia USA-S153 1 23 0|        
 2017-2018 USNTDP JuniorsUSHL34 5 1520 2|Playoffs8 0 55
  U.S. National U17 TeamNTDP61 9 3140 4|        
  USA U17WHC-176 2 13 0|        
 2018-2019 U.S. National U18 TeamNTDP64 11 2738 10|        
  USNTDP JuniorsUSHL28 8 1119 0|        
  USA U18WJC-187 0 22 0|        
 2019-2020 Chicago SteelUSHL44 15 4156 28|        
  USA U19WJAC-196 5 38 4|        
 2020-2021 Chicago SteelUSHL53 29 72101 54|Playoffs8 2 810
 2021-2022 Harvard Univ.NCAA24 10 1828 11|        
  USAOG4 3 36 0|        
  USAWC10 2 46 4|        
 2022-2023 Harvard Univ.NCAA34 20 3353 12|        
  Montréal CanadiensNHL6 1 01 0|        
  USAWC10 1 12 2|        
 2023-2024 Laval RocketAHL47 9 1928 10|        
 2024-2025 Laval RocketAHL19 0 22 0|        

Highlights