The Montreal Canadiens have a great prospect in Mikhail Sergachev. However, he is better suited to play big minutes in Junior, rather than watching NHL games.
The Montreal Canadiens drafted Mikhail Sergachev ninth overall in last June’s NHL Draft. The big, Russian defender played well in training camp, and made the NHL club to begin the season. He wasn’t expected to play a huge role with the Canadiens, but he’s not playing a role at all.
If he is just going to sit in the press box and not play, he may as well be sent back to Junior. Eight games into the NHL season, Sergachev has played just three games. He has been a healthy scratch for the past four contests.
With the Montreal Canadiens off to a 7-0-1 start and their defensemen all playing well, it doesn’t appear that Sergachev will get a regular spot in the lineup any time soon.
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Sergachev’s Junior rights are owned by the Windsor Spitfires. They just so happen to be ranked as one of the top ten teams in Canada so far this season. The Spitfires will also be hosting the Memorial Cup in May. This provides Sergachev with an excellent opportunity with a great organization to really develop his skills.
Overripe prospects better than unprepared prospects
No player has been harmed by playing too long in the Canadian Hockey League. John Tavares scored 72 goals and 134 points as a sixteen year old in the Ontario Hockey League. He had to play two more seasons after than before he could be drafted into the NHL. I don’t think it stunted his develop to play in a league he completely dominated for three straight seasons. I would say he turned out okay.
However, plenty of players step into the NHL at 18, and it is just too early for them. They end up not developing their game properly and become a fraction of the player they could have been. Obviously this isn’t what we want to have happen to Sergachev.
The fact that Sergachev has only been in the lineup three times in eight games tells us he isn’t a key player on this team. He will be in the future, but he isn’t a good candidate to play as a seventh defenseman. If an 18 year old is spending more than half his team’s games in the press box, he is in the wrong league.
Even in his three games played, he was the least used defender on the team. He played 11:48 against the Buffalo Sabres on opening night. He then played just 8:30 against the PIttsburgh Penguins and 10:59 vs the Arizona Coyotes.
Sergachev could play huge role for one of CHL’s best teams
So, Sergachev has just over thirty minutes of ice time this season after eight Canadiens games were played. He could be playing close to that every game for the Spitfires. It’s good that he got a taste of the NHL this season, but it’s time to ship him back to Junior.
I get that he can learn how to be a pro, and gets used to practicing with NHLers, and should be receiving the best guidance and coaching possible. However, if he is not playing games, his development is being stunted.
Sergachev played 67 games with the Spitfires last season, so it’s not as if the Russian will leave the country if he isn’t in the NHL. He scored 57 points in those games which is impressive for a defender. However, if Tavares can play two additional seasons after scoring more than a goal per game, it won’t hurt Sergachev to play in Junior again this season.
Sergachev may stick around to get his nine game tryout in. If he stays longer than that, he uses up the first year of his entry-level contract. It makes little sense to use up a year of his cap-friendliest seasons when he is a seventh defenseman.
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Next season, Andrei Markov is likely to have moved on after his contract expires, and there will be a spot open for Sergachev. This season, however, the Russian defenseman is best suited to play for the Windsor Spitfires rather than watching NHL games.