World Junior Championships: Habs Notes & Prospect Grades

The Montreal Canadiens had four prospects competing for their respective countries at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships this year. They are notable names for anyone who follows the Canadiens at the NHL Draft. Throughout the tournament, the Canadiens got to monitor the development of their future young players in Zachary Fucale (Canada); Martin Reway (Slovakia); Jacob de la Rose (Sweden); and Arttturi Lehkonen (Finland). Here are some quick notes on the World Juniors from a Canadiens perspective:

Golden Goalies

Sep 15, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens goalie Zachary Fucale (70) during the warm-up session before the first period against Buffalo Sabres at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Between Carey Price, Dustin Tokarski, and Zachary Fucale, the Habs now have three goaltenders in their organization that have won gold at the WJC for Canada. It wasn’t that long ago that we were worried about the Canadiens’ goaltending depth (after Price, of course). With Ticker now doing a good job as the number two, and Fucale developing nicely, the netminder position looks well-stocked for years to come.

Team USA Could Have Selected Better

The only thing I truly missed from the World Junior tournament was the opportunity to watch Canadiens prospect Michael McCarron. I was sure he was going to be selected for the American squad, but he was cut from their selection camp. That proved to be a bad move, as USA was knocked out in the quarter final round by Russia. McCarron has been playing some inspired hockey this season, as documented by my colleague Nick Lariviere here.

Habs Prospects Demonstrate Leadership Qualities

The most notable thing about these prospects going into the tournament is how they reflect the Canadiens’ commitment to drafting “character” players. Since Marc Bergevin took over as General Manager, the organization has focused on bringing in character players with strong work ethics and leadership qualities. This crop of Canadiens prospects at the WJC embodied that commitment. All three of the Canadiens’ forward prospects at the tournament were team captains for their respective countries. Fucale was given the quasi-leadership role of starting netminder for Team Canada. It shows that the Habs have been trying to draft not just quality hockey players, but leaders on the ice.

Prospect Report Cards

After paying special attention to the four Canadiens prospects throughout the tournament, here are my completely arbitrary grades and observations.

Martin Reway: A+

Sep 15, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Martin Reway (89) during the warm-up session before the first period against Buffalo Sabres at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY SportsFor those who thought Reway’s 5 game, 10 point performance last year was a fluke, it wasn’t. He followed up his 2014 performance with a 9 point campaign as he captained his team to its first medal since 1999. Reway came up big for the Slovaks whenever they needed it and earned himself the award for best player on the team with hard minutes and clutch scoring.

For those who thought Reway’s 5 game, 10 point performance last year was a fluke, it wasn’t. He followed up his 2014 performance with a 9 point campaign as he captained his team to its first medal since 1999. Reway came up big for the Slovaks whenever they needed it and earned himself the award for best player on the team with hard minutes and clutch scoring.

Zachary Fucale: A

Fucale played very well for Canada throughout the tournament as starting goalie for Canada and maintained some pretty good stats. He was solid when they needed him to be, although he was not really tested in every game. Ultimately, leading the team to gold should be enough to silence all critics, but he had a shaky second period in the championship game where he allowed 3 goals on 10 shots. He gets an A for having a close to 94% save percentage despite having the best defense in front of him.

Jacob de la Rose: B

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De la Rose got off to a strong start in the tournament with his 4 points in the first two games. After that, his production halted and his tournament culminated in disappointment as the heavily favoured Swedes didn’t even medal. Still, after producing minimal offensive numbers with the Hamilton Bulldogs this year, it is good to see de la Rose at least hit the scoresheet. He still played a very strong defensive game, as he was a pain to opposing players whenever he was on the defensive side of the puck. He was voted as one of Sweden’s top 3 players of the tournament.

Artturi Lehkonen: B-

This was not the best showing for Lehkonen, but it was a poor tournament from the Finns overall. He was played in a more defensive role, making it difficult for him to contribute offense, yet he did create the occasional opportunity in the offensive zone. Finland just wasn’t able to finish well in games, or in the tournament. Habs fans can find the silver lining for Lehkonen in that only one Finnish player, Mikko Rantanen, scored more than 1 goal in 5 games (4). Only three other players on the roster scored a goal in addition to Lehkonen.

Should the Canadiens Have Drafted Duclair?

Nov 15, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Rangers left wing Anthony Duclair (63) skates on the ice before playing the Pittsburgh Penguins at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Though not the most prolific scorer for Canada at the World Junior tournament, Anthony Duclair really stood out to me. That’s probably because I was hoping the Canadiens would draft him back in the 2013 draft. He fell to the late third round and I thought the Canadiens would take a chance on a local guy (he’s from Pointe-Claire). The Habs used their early third rounder to draft Connor Crisp instead – who has 2 points in 19 games with the Bulldogs this season. Ugh. Meanwhile, Duclair played 18 games with the NY Rangers this season, and scored 7 points. He scored 8 points in the WJC in 7 games, and looks to be a solid pick-up for the Rangers in the third round. I think the Canadiens missed out on this one.

I hope you all enjoyed the World Juniors as much as I did. Canada finally struck gold after a five year drought and the Canadiens prospects are looking good overall. Happy New Year to all and Go Habs, Go!