2023-24 Season
Guhle on Slafkovsky’s Improvements
Kaiden Guhle was asked in today’s press conference what the biggest change has been in Juraj Slafkovsky’s game: “I think the biggest one is just how he uses his body. I know you guys saw last year there were a couple of times getting blown up and you said how is he getting hit like that…he’s like 240..he’s a big body…I think he just kind of understood that he can use that body to his advantage. I think a lot of guys even told him in practice: You’re skating at me with your back turned…I’m not going to be able to move you. So that’s a big thing I’ve noticed is that he’s just so good at protecting the puck at 19 years old, and you can just see that there’s guys on the other team that just don’t know what to do when he’s coming at them, so I just think that’s the biggest thing; just using his body, and he just looks so much more confident with the puck. He’s not really afraid to make mistakes and that’s something that’s fun to watch. I mean I’m happy for him. Obviously, it was a little bit of a tough year for him last year so it’s good to see him get some results and have a good one this year.”
Habs Poised to Have Cap Room
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Progress
Compared to last season’s edition of the team, the Montreal Canadiens have made some progress. While it may be less than what fans had hoped for, there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The Habs have accumulated four more points than at the same point last year while reducing their goals against by 17. It is not a bad result when you consider the man games missed by key players and the recent trades of a couple more. In the background, the Laval Rocket have stepped up their performance after early season struggles and more than one player on that team could challenge for a position on the Canadiens next year. Success can come slowly, then all at once. Will it happen with the Canadiens? -Trask
Importance of Team Culture
Culture. It’s almost seen as a joke to some fans, who believe that talent is far more important. Yet in a team sport like hockey, building the right environment (ie team culture) can have a massive impact. Look to the gutsy and emotional win by the Canadiens on the road in Colorado. It was an inspired victory over a Cup contender. It was Alex Newhook’s 1st game back in Denver, which is a bit of a boost for a team, but the bigger story was that it was also the return of head coach Martin St. Louis. Martin McGuire of 98.5 Montreal described an emotional reunion between St. Louis and his players in the hotel lobby where the coach greeted each one of them, the coaches and management, with handshakes and hugs. This kind of team culture helps lead to wins, but for a team in a rebuild, it also provides an ideal environment for individual player development. This is why it’s no fluke that Juraj Slafkovsky is starting to find his game and that St. Louis is a big reason for that. Bottom line: this demonstrates why Kent Hughes was trying to build this type of environment from his first day on the job and why St. Louis is the right man to be the coach of the Canadiens right now. -Potvin
The Injury Effect
It’s easy to accept the notion that the Canadiens are a long way from contending for a playoff spot. After all they have shown little progress over last year as far as points in the standings go. The idea that they only need to fill a hole or two is dismissed as overly optimistic by many. But I will point to Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook … again. It would not be unreasonable to expect 18 to 20 goals from Dach along with 28 to 30 assists. That was his pace in the 2022-23 season. It is also not unreasonable to expect 24 or 25 goals and an equal number of assists from Alex Newhook. That is his pace over 82 games this season but injuries have limited him to 60% of the schedule so far. Given that these two could complement each other better than their previous or existing linemates, those expectations could be conservative. And their replacements have not come close to those numbers. Injuries have robbed the Canadiens of two key players and their opportunity to develop some chemistry together. Additionally, when you factor in their return to the lineup, everyone below them gets bumped into a role they are more suited to. Now if Kent Hughes can add a winger to complement this duo, the entire dynamic of the team changes. – Trask
Suzuki On Team Canada?
Nick Suzuki has to be considered a strong bet to play for Canada in the next couple of international events. He is entering his NHL prime at 24 years of age and on the cusp of being a point-per-game center who is solid defensively. Great character, a solid work ethic, and a proven playoff performer in both the OHL and NHL. He is one of the 11 most productive Canadian forwards in the NHL this season, and he’s the youngest of the bunch. When you add in all of the above factors and consider his versatility and the fact that he is one of only two Canadians who is captain of a Canadian-based NHL team, I don’t see how he can be passed over. You can’t go wrong having him on your team. -McCagg
Under the Radar
Dmitri Kostenko is a RD prospect who was selected in the 3rd round of the 2021 entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He is a 6-1 190 lb. defenseman with some offensive skill and while still only 21 years old, he has already played over 200 games of pro hockey in Russia. The Canadiens have until June 1st of next year to sign him to a contract or lose his rights. He is only 3 months older than Bogdan Konyushkov, the Russian defenseman the Canadiens drafted last year. Despite scoring 30 points including 13 goals in 54 games this season, he remains a longshot to earn that contract. But it is impossible to definitively say what the Canadiens’ brain trust is thinking. With more than a year left before a decision needs to be made, he remains a prospect worth monitoring. – Trask
Eriksson Update
There is a bit of news regarding Canadiens prospect and 6th round draft pick, Filip Eriksson. According to eliteprospects.com, Eriksson led all junior players in Allsvenskan with 21 assists. The fact that he accomplished this feat despite playing in fewer than one-half of the team’s games makes the accomplishment that much more remarkable. In the last 17 years, 13 of these junior age players went on to play in the NHL with varying degrees of success. Eriksson was recently rewarded by being recalled by Vaxjo Lakers to play in the SHL. Eriksson’s skill rating in various categories can also be seen on eliteprospects.com. – Trask
Draft Longshots
Much has been made about the picks accumulated by the Montreal Canadiens for the 2023 entry draft – they have 12 in total. But 3 of those picks are in the 7th round. If you go back through the 20 drafts between 1999 and 2018 you can see what the success rate of those 7th round picks have been. In fact, using a minimum of 200 games played as a cutoff, only 49 players out of the approximately 600 drafted in the 7th round have seen significant NHL playing time. That represents about an 8% success rate. Looking at it another way, a team has chance of drafting a player in the 7th round who will eventually be successful about once in every 12 years. And an even smaller percentage of these selections become impact players. Using that as a measuring stick and with 3 picks in the 7th round there is about a 24% chance that one of the Canadiens’ picks from that round will eventually play more than a handful of games in the NHL. The cutoff at the 2018 draft was used because many players drafted after that are young and still have a shot a making the NHL. Good advice might be to temper our expectations regarding late round picks. – Trask
Power Forward Potential
As a 19 year old, 6’3 224 lb Josh Anderson scored 27 goals and added 24 assists for 51 points in 59 OHL games. He accumulated 76 penalty minutes for good measure. Another 19 year old has scored 34 goals and added 31 assists in 63 OHL games while racking up 79 minutes in penalties so far this season. That player is 6’4 190 lb Florian Xhekaj. Based on this, the Canadiens would seem to have a legitimate power forward in their prospect pipeline. He will be eligible to play in the AHL next season and Kent Hughes might want to give him that opportunity. – Trask