Finding the Next Offensive Star: Canadian's Search for Calder-Worthy Talent

2023-09-13 17:37:39

During the last draft, the Montreal Canadiens drafted David Reinbacher in a “forward draft” and that upset a lot of people.

For my part, because I believe that defenses win championships, because I love what the CH does and (above all) because I love the profile of the youngster, it was my choice if the club did not manage to climb into the top-4. I never hid it.

With all the young people pushing the blue line, CH has the means to have an indestructible defense in a few years.

But does that mean I don’t want to see the Canadian get offensive talent? Of course not since to win, scoring goals is also important.

And when we see that my colleague Tony Patoine ranked Owen Beck as the second best prospect among Flannel forwards, we see that he lacks a little punch. I really like Beck, but he’s not an offensive dynamo, let’s say.

Basically, it is a shame to see that the Canadian does not have this big offensive player who can, for example, win the Calder. So I would like to see the CH get their hands on a guy who can bring the rookie of the year trophy back to Quebec.

For a sixth straight year, The Athletic has looked into the NHL’s incoming rookie class — which looks like it has the potential to be excellent.@harmandayal2 and @scottcwheeler have settled on a list of the top 20 players eligible for the Calder Trophy.

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 5, 2023

At this point, the Canadian’s prospect bank is overflowing and that’s a good thing. That said, there will come a time when quantity must give way to quality among top prospects.

And the CH management knows that.

Please note: I’m not saying that CH’s hopes are not of quality. But what I’m saying is that the CH doesn’t have Connor Bedard, Logan Cooley, Adam Fantilli or Leo Carlsson.

And don’t tell me about Matvei Michkov. I don’t want talent at all costs and I’m not a fan of the Russian.

But what’s good is that the Canadian has the time to find a guy who will allow CH to add talent who will be able to play in the top-6 with guys (in particular) like Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki and hopefully Juraj Slafkovsky.

We can add names like Alex Newhook or Joshua Roy, if we want. We can also add Lias Andersson… oh no.

Who is Lias Andersson?

— Mathias Brunet (@mathiasbrunet) September 13, 2023

We know that the Canadian can move young people from his bank to look for talent. And since Kent Hughes has never been afraid to trade away first-round picks, fireworks may arise.

It could also happen, if CH has a bad season, to go through the draft.

And as I said, the CH (who does not necessarily want to overpay a free agent) knows that it takes talent on offense. This is possibly why Kent Hughes did not want to move for Yaroslav Askarov: when he does, it will be for a striker.

Remember that the CH tried on Pierre-Luc Dubois and on choices #2 and #4 from the last auction, as the guys from the Tellement Hockey podcast, from Radio-Canada, remind us.

So I’m talking about a guy who can win the Calder, but you understand I mean a young striker. It doesn’t bother me if it’s a guy who already has a hundred games under his belt in the Bettman circuit: as long as he’s young and he can energize the top-6 up front.

If Kent Hughes finds another young person “who will like the coach » to add yourself to the group, that will help. And since he has the resources to move, all he has to do is find his target and have good timing.

A lot of

– I like to see that.

Adam Nicholas, the Canadiens’ director of hockey development, having a lengthy chat with defenceman Justin Barron after large group of #Habs players held an informal workout this morning in Brossard #HasIO pic.twitter.com/cXURI4gWxY

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) September 13, 2023

– We need to talk about William Trudeau. [BPM Sports]

– If the Hawks hadn’t won the lottery in 2023, he might have already been named captain.