Montreal Canadiens: Two Prospects Going To The Memorial Cup
This year’s Memorial Cup Tournament will be an interesting one for fans of the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs will have two prospects that will be showcasing their talents in the 4-team tournament.
Zach Fucale was already going to be there, as this year’s hosts are the Quebec Ramparts.
After the Oshawa Generals beat the Erie Otters 6-2 to close out the OHL finals, Fucale isn’t the only Habs prospect playing for the Memorial Cup. Mike Mccarron will be going head-to-head with Fucale, and could face each other twice (depending where both teams place in the round robin.)
These two Habs prospects have had similar seasons; they were both traded to better teams to help them in a playoff run. They both had their high points.
For Fucale, it was winning the gold for Canada in World Juniors. For McCarron it was a rebound season where he scored 68 points in 56 games.
Sep 15, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Michael McCarron (25) misses a chance to score against Buffalo Sabres goalie Matt Hackett (31) during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
McCarron’s stats fell slightly after being traded from the London Knights to the Oshawa Generals but he did show head coach D.J. Smith that he can be a reliable centre, winning close to 70% of his draws in the face-off circle. In the OHL playoffs he had 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 21 games helping the Oshawa Generals win the OHL championship against Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters.
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
As for Zach Fucale: aside from winning gold at home for Canada at the World Juniors, he had a pretty rough season. He had a 3.21 GAA and a .884 save percentage in 41 games splitting the season between the Halifax Mooseheads and Quebec Remparts. His performance drop resulted in his not starting the first couple of games for Quebec in Round 1 against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
He improved immensely after that, and has posted a 2.51 GAA and .914 save percentage so far in 18 playoff games. The Ramparts are currently up 3-2 in the QMJHL finals against the Rimouski Oceanic (who are also going to be in the Memorial Cup tournament).
Both players have bright futures ahead in the NHL.
McCarron will be a good two-way power forward who will use his 6’6″, 230-pound frame to his advantage. He is still young and can pan out to be as good as Milan Lucic, or an effective big centre like Bryan Boyle. There is always the chance he could fall off the radar altogether; however one certainty is that he will play a big part for Oshawa in the Memorial Cup.
As for Zach Fucale, he has all it takes to become an NHL starter somewhere; however, I don’t believe that will be in Montreal, as Carey Price still has a lot of good years ahead of him. He will likely be a good trade chip for the Habs; there are always teams who are looking for a young goalie.
Right now, he will be looking to continue his stellar playoff performance to help the host team capture the Memorial Cup.
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This year’s Memorial Cup will probably be the best one for Habs fans since 2012, when 3 of the 4 teams in the tournament had a Habs prospect playing a big role in their team’s performance (Nathan Beaulieu playing for the Saint John Sea Dogs, Jarred Tinordi playing for the London Knights, and Michael Bournival with the Shawinigan Cataractes). As well, that year, both finalists (Knights vs. Cataractes) had Habs players as captains; Bournival’s team beat Tinordi’s to win it all.
Here’s hoping the Generals and Ramparts face each other in the final and we see a Habs Prospect lift the ultimate prize for a junior player.
The Memorial Cup tournament will start May 22nd, With the game featuring the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets against the host Quebec Ramparts.
Union and Blue