Canadiens Need To Be Patient With Sergachev

Mikhail Sergachev is impressing at Canadiens development camp but the early success should not tempt the team to use him in the NHL next season.

If you’ve been following the Montreal Canadiens Twitter feed, you’ll likely notice it has been providing coverage of the Canadiens development camp. The camp ends on July 7th and is featuring all of the teams top prospects. Some have been displaying their skills and putting themselves on the Canadiens radar.

One name that has been gaining steam is Mikhail Sergachev, the Canadiens 9th overall pick from just two weeks ago. Sergachev has shown aggressive play when on the ice while showing confidence when facing the Montreal media.

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The Canadiens signed Sergachev to his entry level contract on July 1st. When the deal was announced, it began fueling speculation that Sergachev would open the season in Montreal. Sergachev’s presence at development camp has continued fueling that speculation.

For those who have followed Marc Bergevin closely, he is well known for getting his 1st round picks signed within a month after drafting them. He’s done this with Alex Galchenyuk in 2012, Michael McCarron in 2013, Nikita Scherbak in 2014 and Noah Juulsen in 2015. He has continued this trend by getting Sergachev under contract early.

As far as Sergechev making the Canadiens opening night roster, I’m not entirely sure he should. He recently turned 18 and has just one North American season under his belt. Some scouts have mentioned that he may be NHL ready right now but it has not been a consensus thought. If it were, he very likely would have been top 5 pick and would not have been available to Montreal at 9th.

I believe the Canadiens should employ the same development path that they used with P.K. Subban. Subban was also a highly touted prospect out of junior but the Canadiens allowed him to grow his game for two years in Belleville which allowed him to play at two World Junior Championships, winning two Gold Medals. Playing those two extra years of Junior also allowed Subban to win an OHL Championship and compete at the Memorial Cup.

After his junior career was completed, the Canadiens did not give in to pressure and force Subban into the NHL. Instead, they allowed Subban to play a season in the AHL, where he thrived and became an AHL All Star and AHL All Rookie. This added experience allowed for a smooth transition into a pressure-packed playoff run in Montreal, where Subban was a key contributor despite having just 2 NHL games under his belt.

I don’t think Sergachev will need three full seasons to properly develop for a full-time spot but at least one more year in Windsor plus a possible season in the AHL could benefit him greatly. The Spitfires are set to host the Memorial Cup in 2016-17 and have a roster that could make a deep OHL playoff run.

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This added experience in high pressure situations coupled with a probable World Junior spot on Team Russia, could go a long way in Sergachev’s development. Sergachev does have NHL ready size but allowing him to conquer and dominate the OHL, similar to how Subban did nearly 10 years ago, would benefit him greatly.

If he’s in Montreal, in all likelihood he’ll be playing minimal minutes and the expected growing pains could cause impatience not only with fans but the coaching staff as well. Then you have the Montreal media factor, which can love a player one day but run him out of town the next.

With the Canadiens attempting to get back into the playoff picture, having a young player go through growing pains is not an ideal situation. Forcing Sergachev to the NHL to help fill the void left by the P.K. Subban trade is also a recipe for disaster for the Canadiens best prospect.

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