A highlight reel often inflates the perception of a player’s ability. It makes sense, as a selection of highlights are the best players the player made that season, but lacking in nuance. The opposite has happened to 2017’s 25th overall pick Ryan Poehling. Nowhere will you find a smattering of gorgeous plays by Poehling. Instead, […]
While the raw production never took off, Noah Juulsen ends his junior career as a terrific player on both sides of the puck. The fourth-year blue liner took both his offensive and defensive games to new heights this season. Juulsen’s 0.31 5v5 P1/GP was among the WHL’s best blue liners, and he took home WHL […]
Few prospects have captivated me like Scherbak. He’s a dynamic force with endless creativity and size, but after “tantalizing” the next word that comes to mind is “frustrating.” These “two Scherbaks” are often visible in the same game. One shift, Scherbak will steal the puck and dominate the remainder of his shift in the offensive […]
If one prospect in the Canadiens organization who exemplifies multidimensionality in attack, it’s Joni Ikonen. Not only does the 5’11” forward have a reputation as a sniper, he’s a legitimately talented playmaker who creates lanes like few prospects can. In any given year, glancing over the NHL’s top scorers is generally filled with multidimensional offensive […]
Not only did Charles Hudon emerge as a top-notch AHL goalscorer, among U24 players he was firmly within the elite. Hudon’s ES G/GP ranked in the 99th percentile, while his G/PG and SOG/GP were in the 95th and 93rd percentiles, respectively. Not only was this his third consecutive season of highly impressive AHL play, it […]
Undoubtedly the IceCaps’ MVP this season, Lindgren solidified himself as a top prospect in the organization. The AHL All-Star was superhuman throughout his first 20 games, inconsistent through January and February, but superhuman once more to close out the season. In addition to grabbing two NHL wins, it was an interesting case study on the […]
This was a complex season for Michael McCarron. The 6’6″ forward got off to a slow start in the AHL, and was generally unimpressive in the NHL. Yet, there are still reasons to be optimistic about McCarron’s chances of carving out an NHL career. When he was on, he was able to dominate AHL games. […]
After a steady rise throughout the season, Josh Brook enters the prospect pool as one of the organization’s most promising rearguards. Brook has been on the radar for years. After being the fourth pick in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft, he was named the SMHL’s (Minor Midget) Top Defender. He had a quiet, but effective […]
Sometimes, it might not be immediately clear why a talented prospect went lower than expected in the draft class. It could be as simple as every team having one prospect higher, or as complex as off-ice issues. But if there has been one type of prospect consistently going lower than expected, but immediately outperforming their […]
At first glance of the statistics, William Bitten had a season of regression. A 30-goal scorer on a Flint Firebirds team that gained infamy for the side show entered the season with plenty of hype. This was only escalated after a trade to the Hamilton Bulldogs, a better team, reuniting Bitten with head coach John […]
Early this morning, the Canadiens announced that they signed Charles Hudon to a one-year, one-way contract ($800,000). Just like his fellow teammates Armia and Lehkonen, he avoided going to arbitration. His date set for August 2nd. This will be Hudon’s fourth season with the Montreal Canadiens having played his first professional season during the 2014-15 […]