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Montreal Canadiens: Developing Victor Mete

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 30: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Victor Mete (53) looks at the action in front of Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) and Ottawa Senators right wing Alex Burrows (14) during the Ottawa Senators versus the Montreal Canadiens preseason game on September 30, 2017, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 30: Montreal Canadiens defenseman Victor Mete (53) looks at the action in front of Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) and Ottawa Senators right wing Alex Burrows (14) during the Ottawa Senators versus the Montreal Canadiens preseason game on September 30, 2017, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Victor Mete pushed his way to a spot on the Montreal Canadiens but the coaching staff will have to ensure that he develops the right way in the NHL.

Who honestly had Victor Mete making the Montreal Canadiens this season? They drafted him last year in the fourth round, and now he has his own stall in the locker room. There’s no way around it, it’s incredible.

From the looks of it the Habs will stick to what they did in the preseason and play the 19-year-old with Shea Weber on the top pair. That’s going to be a pretty big test for him. He’ll be playing against the other team’s best players or their shutdown lines. It’s safe to say that all eyes will be on him for those first set of games, maybe even more than Jonathan Drouin.

Mete has been improving every step of the way since being drafted. He went from being a pure offensive defenceman with the London Knights to an all round player. We got to see the benefits of that work this preseason. Now we’ll have to see if he can play that well every night.

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Unfortunately, people still like to bring up Mete’s size. Sure he’s undersized compared to other defencemen in the league, but he can still perform. Claude Julien believes he can do it, and he used some interesting comparisons to add to his claim.

Julien coached Torey Krug in particular for four full seasons and he’s smaller than Mete. Despite that, he has 322 NHL games under his belt.

Mete is an unreal skater and can handle the puck very well. At the same time he understands what he needs to look out for on the ice. There were times in some of the preseason games where the Toronto-native would get back to challenge a play or be in the right position to disrupt one.

What’s going to benefit him is his confidence. He’s not afraid to join the rush or make the fancy move.

It’ll come with some growing pains, but Mete can be just as good or even better than Krug one day.

Next: Galchenyuk May Be on the Move

How well do you think Mete will develop in the NHL? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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