Balanced attack takes the pressure off Habs’ youngsters
Coach Claude Julien likes to use four balanced lines and that is good news for the Montreal Canadiens’ young players.
Nineteen-year-old defenceman Victor Mete, 22-year-old centre Jacob De La Rose and 23-year-old left winger Charles Hudon were on the team’s 23-man roster at the deadline Tuesday and will at least start the season in the Canadiens lineup.
Mete spent nearly all of training camp paired with top defenceman Shea Weber and was a standout, even if he may still be sent back to the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights.
There is also the fear that while the he looked good in the preseason, he may not be ready for regular season NHL action and may be better served spending an extra season in junior and almost certainly playing for Canada at the world junior championship.
But with the departure of veteran Andrei Markov, there is a need for a quick, puck-moving defenceman and Mete may fill that hole, at least until newcomer David Schlemko returns from a bruised hand.
“We put Victor with a guy with whom he’ll feel confident and it’s really paid off for him,” Julien said. “And if he’s going to stay here, you want to continue to do those things.”
Hudon paid his dues for three years in the American Hockey League and was another camp standout. He also put up four assists in the six NHL games he has played.
The 5-foot-10, 188-pound winger, a 2012 fifth-round pick, is expected to start the season on a line with another youngster, second-year winger Artturi Lehkonen and veteran centre Tomas Plekanec. Youthful linemates with skill may be just what is needed to put a spark back in Plekanec’s offensive game after skating mainly in a defensive role with grinders in recent seasons.
“They’re young guys and I’ve been in their shoes, so I know how they feel and I’ll try to help them out,” said the 34-year-old Plekanec, who also spent three seasons in the AHL before making the Canadiens for good in 200506. “And they’ll help me out with their energy.”
Lehkonen, 22, had an impressive 18-goal campaign as a rookie last season. The Finn, a second-round pick in 2013, hopes having experienced the rigours of an 82-game NHL regular season will harden him for an even better sophomore campaign.
De La Rose, another 2013 second-rounder, has played 64 NHL games over three seasons. While his defensive game looked solid, the 22-year-old Swede scored only four times. The Canadiens want him to shoot more and have him on a line with 22-goal scorer Paul Byron and veteran Ales Hemsky, although veteran Torrey Mitchell may also take De La Rose’s spot.
But the 2013 draft pick getting most of the attention is Jonathan Drouin, who went third overall that year to the Tampa Bay Lightning because of his speed, skill and vision. The Canadiens sent top defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev to the Bolts for Drouin and signed him to a long-term contract.
Now they hope he can become the high-scoring first-line centre they have been seeking for years. He will start the season between captain Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher.
Another line that can score has Phillip Danault between gifted left-winger Alex Galchenyuk and the gritty Andrew Shaw.
The defence is likely to be a puzzle all season after the departures of Markov, Nathan Beaulieu and Alexei Emelin, but they signed Karl Alzner from Washington to pair with Jeff Petry, while Mark Streit should start with Jordie Benn.