Since the 2024 NHL draft was held at the Vegas Sphere, we’ve heard plenty about prized prospect Ivan Demidov playing in the KHL this upcoming season, about Michael Hage’s tough year and Aatos Koivu’s pedigree, but the other picks have largely gone under the radar.

Koivu wasn’t the only Montreal Canadiens’ pick in the third round. After picking him 70th-overall, they used their second pick of the round, the 78th-overall one, to draft Logan Sawyer.

The Orangeville, Ontario native is the kind of two-way winger every coach likes to have. After spending the last season playing for the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL and BCHL, Sawyer has now decided to make the jump to the NCAA a year ahead of schedule as reported by Marco D’Amico on rg.org.

Sawyer avoided playing in the OHL to maintain his NCAA eligibility and he was eager to head south of the border, just as the Providence College Friars were eager to add him to their line-up.

The decision will have an impact on his development and on his relationship with the Canadiens’ organization. NCAA athletes can become free agents if the team that has drafted them hasn’t signed them to a contract by Aug 15 the year they graduate. Which in this case, should be in August 2028, leaving the Habs’ brass plenty of time to make a decision, although they would have had one more year if Sawyer didn’t jump right away in the American Collegiate circuit.

Sawyer will be vying for ice-time with fellow rookies John Mustard (drafted by Chicago) and Trevor Connelly (drafted by Vegas) at Providence College. He may not have top-six minutes right away, but going the NCAA way will give him plenty of time to hit the gym and put some muscle on the six-foot-one and 173 pounds frame.