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Montreal Canadiens Call Up Nikita Scherbak and Sven Andrighetto

By Ken MacMillan

Oct 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Nikita Scherbak (38) skates with the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (29) puts pressure on him during a preseason hockey game at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Nikita Scherbak (38) skates with the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (29) puts pressure on him during a preseason hockey game at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Montreal Canadiens have called up Nikita Scherbak and Sven Andrighetto from the St. John’s Ice Caps in response to several more injuries.

The Montreal Canadiens announced via twitter this afternoon that the club has called up Nikita Scherbak and Sven Andrighetto. Both players had been with the American Hockey League’s St. John’s Ice Caps.

Andrighetto has been the team yo-yo this season. This is his fourth (fifth? I can’t keep track) stint with the team this season. He made the team out of training camp but was quickly put on waivers and sent to St. John’s. He is yet to cement a role with the Canadiens.

Scherbak on the other hand, has been called up to the National Hockey League for the first time. The 21 year old winger was the team’s first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft when he went 26th overall.

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Andrighetto has scored 22 points in 20 AHL contests this season. Though he is a great scorer at the minor league level, he is yet to translate that ability to the NHL. In eight games with the Habs this season, he has not scored and has just two assists. Both came in a 10-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

Scherbak was a scoring star for the Saskatoon Blades and Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. This is his second season with the Ice Caps. His rookie campaign didn’t go quite as well as expected. In 48 games, he scored just seven times and finished with 23 points.

This season however, things are off to a better start for the Russian winger. Scherbak has ten goals and ten helpers for 20 points in 27 games. He is currently tied for the team lead in goals and ranks third on the Ice Caps in points.

What does this mean for Gallagher and Byron?

Though this is great news for the young wingers, it sends a bad message about the injuries suffered to current Habs forwards. Both Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher left last night’s overtime victory against the Nashville Predators without returning.

Gallagher was hit with a Shea Weber slap shot on his hand, while Byron was run over by Patrick Sharp. Though no injury timeline was given, in fact no specifics have been released about the nature of either injury. However, the call ups of two forwards certainly suggest Byron and Gallagher will not be playing Saturday night.

Andrighetto and Scherbak will join the team for practice tomorrow. The Canadiens next game is Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Starting your NHL career on Hockey Night in Canada for the Canadiens against the Maple Leafs would be quite a way to kick off a career.

Next: Habs Should Re-Sign Radulov Right Now

Hopefully, the highly skilled Scherbak gets that opportunity this weekend. He deserves it after producing plenty of offence with the Ice Caps this season, but we will have to wait and see when the newest Habs get in the lineup.

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