Montreal Canadiens: What Prospects Are Ready For NHL Callup?
The Montreal Canadiens may be without Alex Galchenyuk. If they are, what AHL players could be ready for a call up to the Habs roster?
The Montreal Canadiens could be without their superstar center Alex Galchenyuk for the foreseeable future. We don’t know the severity of his injury yet, but he will miss tomorrow night’s game against the St. Louis Blues.
Galchenyuk left the Canadiens win over the Los Angeles Kings after colliding with Anze Kopitar. He was checked by doctors today in St. Louis, and the only update was that he is out indefinitely, and there will be another update later in the week.
The Canadiens can ill afford to be without their best center. He is leading the team in goals with nine and points with 23 in 25 games. His near point per game pace shows he has developed into the first line center that the Canadiens have been searching for for many years.
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We don’t know how long Galchenyuk will be out, and no prospect can be expected to replace a team’s best player. However, if he is out for a period of time, the Canadiens may need to dip into their minor league system to fill out the lineup.
Let’s take a quick look at a few players that are banging on the door, waiting to be called up to the NHL squad.
Michael McCarron
The Canadiens first round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft is now plying his trade with the St. John’s Ice Caps. The 6’6″ center had a 20 game stint with the Canadiens last season, and is improving each game with his positioning and defensive game as a middle man.
McCarron has been put in more of a defensive role with the Ice Caps this season. However, his lack of offence has to be a bit disappointing. The Michigan native has 11 points in 20 games, but has just one goal and one assist in his last seven contests.
McCarron’s pedigree and taste of NHL experience could have him in line for a call up to the Canadiens. However, the hulking center has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and may have to wait a while before getting the call.
Sven Andrighetto
Andrighetto has already had two short stints with the Canadiens this season. He made the team out of training camp but was sent to the minors after being a healthy scratch for a few games. He was excellent with the Ice Caps after passing through waivers and earned another recall.
Andrighetto didn’t do very well with his limited opportunity in Montreal. He was held scoreless in four games, went back to the press box, then back to the Ice Caps.
Since being sent back down, Andrighetto has been on fire. He has nine points in his last eight games, including three straight two point nights. Assuming he hasn’t already worn out his welcome in Montreal, the Swiss winger will be back in a Habs sweater before season’s end.
Chris Terry
Terry also earned a call up earlier in the year. He played just five games and had one assist before being sent back to St. John’s. He has four points in two games since being sent back to the Ice Caps.
His 19 points in 16 games trails only Andrighetto on the Ice Caps scoring leaders. At 28, Terry is proving to be more of a career AHL scorer than an actual NHL point producer.
He will provide veteran leadership and a great power play presence for the Ice Caps. However, Terry won’t be making a major impact at the NHL level anytime soon.
Jacob De la Rose
Remember De la Rose? He played 33 games with the Canadiens two years ago and another 22 last season. His offensive impact is extremely limited, but he is a very solid two-way player. He can kill penalties and play a depth role at the NHL level.
The problem for the 21 year old forward is that the Canadiens have a plethora of players who can play a third or fourth line role. De la Rose lost out on a depth role in training camp, but could find himself back in the Habs lineup due to his strong defensive play.
He has scored just seven points in 55 career games with the Canadiens. This season, in 20 games with the Ice Caps, De la Rose has zero goals and five assists. He certainly won’t fix the Canadiens scoring issues, but he is a reliable defensive player who could earn a call up if a few Habs veteran depth players go down to injury.
Nikita Scherbak
Scherbak was the Canadiens first round pick in 2014. He had a bit of a tough rookie pro season last year, scoring 23 points in 48 games for the Ice Caps. This season, the Russian winger’s nine goals are more than he sniped last year.
If he keeps scoring at this pace, it will be hard for the Canadiens to ignore him all season. The only thing working against the 20 year old is he is a right winger. The Canadiens are already deep on the right side with Alexander Radulov, Brendan Gallagher and Andrew Shaw.
His nine goals are just two off the AHL lead. If the Canadiens need an infusion of offence, Scherbak makes the most sense. Maybe Shaw has to move to the left side to make room, but Scherbak will be in the NHL soon.
No Galchenyuk replacements, but promising players on the cusp
The Canadiens are not going to find a replacement for Galchenyuk on the Ice Caps roster. However, they do have a few prospects who could be ready for the NHL soon. McCarron, Scherbak and De la Rose could be regulars on the Habs roster very soon.
McCarron has not developed a great offensive game yet, but could be a third line center already. There is not much chance he would be worse than David Desharnais at the very least. His skating continues to improve, and we all know the Habs could use a little extra size down the middle.
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Scherbak is starting to look like a future top six winger once again. After being drafted out of the Everett Silvertips he looked like a sniper in the making. After a down year last season, he is back to being an offensive force again.