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Montreal Canadiens Prospect Tracker: Pezzetta’s Return + Donuts Galore

By Omar L |
LONDON, ON - JANUARY 6: Michael Pezzetta
LONDON, ON - JANUARY 6: Michael Pezzetta

The Montreal Canadiens prospects found it difficult to produce offence this week except for Michael Pezzetta who had an impactful return to the game.

The first week of the CHL regular season has come and gone. All the rust is off, and the players are ready to see what the rest of the year holds for them. The same goes for some of the leagues in Europe. Wins and losses were spread out among the teams that prospects of the Montreal Canadiens played for. What was interesting is how their individual game has looked.

Speaking of prospects, it’s still weird to think that Victor Mete is not playing for the London Knights at the moment. Sure they could use him, but there’s a very good chance that he makes the Canadiens team out of camp. Hopefully he stays up with the Habs as long as possible.

The other prospects should see what Mete is doing  and have spark set underneath them. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a handful play as deep into the Canadiens’ training camp as Mete has and impress the coaching staff.

Related Story: How Many Games Does Mete Play In?

For now, it’ll be on them to improve this year and be the best players that they can be. Let’s look at how well the prospects who’ve played have been. There were a lot of donuts going around (donuts = 0’s).

Week of September 22nd – 28th

William Bitten

The Hamilton Bulldogs only played in a single game this week. Unfortunately it was a 4-1 loss. Bitten didn’t have as great as a performance in this game than in the previous ones with no points and finishing as a -1. There was a point in the match though where he made a nifty move to score and get his team back in the game, but it was stopped by the Ice Dog’s net-minder.

Michael Pezzetta

Even though the Sudbury Wolves have played a couple of games already, the Sunday game on the 24th was Pezzetta’s first. He received a two-game suspension in the playoffs last season for cross checking, and it carried over to this year. Pezzetta’s debut couldn’t have gone better. The Wolves lost the game 6-5, but the Habs 2016 pick finished with two goals and an assist.

Their next game had the same result, but not as a strong performance from Pezzetta as he went pointless. However, if his start to the season is any indication of what’s to come, Canadiens fans should keep an eye on him.

Jarret Tyzska

Tyzska’s performance in the Thunderbird’s 4-3 win is an example of how points aren’t all that matter, especially for a defenceman. He finished the game with a +2 and made a lot of simple plays to help the team.

Cale Fleury

Kootenay split results between their two games against the Vancouver Giants. Fleury was pointless on both and was a combined -3. He hasn’t looked bad and has removed himself from making the dangerous kind of play.

Scott Walford

Another Montreal Canadiens prospect who didn’t get a point this week. Considering his team took both games, I’m sure Scott Walford will be happy regardless. Again, it’s the little things that stand out in his game. In particular, his ability to make a first pass.

That’s a very valuable asset to have as a defenceman, so hopefully Walford makes more use of it as the season progresses.

Lukas Vejdemo

Djurgårdens has continued to play some high-paced hockey. Vejdemo has been a huge part of that energy with his young line. His time on ice has slowly increased to the point where the played 18:24 in their most recent game against Brynas. Hopefully by next week, he’ll be able to put some points together as well.

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Arvid Henrikson

Örebro is not having a great start to the season at all. They’ve yet to win a game and are being outplayed by every opponent. The head coach has been trying out different things these past two games. Henrikson went from being taken off the top pair, to be returned to it in their most recent game.

Joni Ikonen

It probably helps that there’s so much attention surrounding the main NHL club. Ikonen is continuing to play the right way and decrease the amount of defensive issues made, but he’s yet to put up any points at all. His ice time as continued to take a hit as he played a season low of about six minutes against Lock.

Additionally, he’s been switched by the head coach between the third and fourth lines. For Ikonen to improve he’ll have to put in the effort to play better. However, there’s no doubt that he’ll breakout very soon.

Next: Additions and Subtractions to the Camp Roster

Which Habs prospect stood out to you this week? Let us know what you think down below.

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