Montreal Canadiens: More growth at the World Juniors
The World Junior Championships are nearly two days old, and the future of the Montreal Canadiens are making early impacts on their teams.
The majority of the team’s taking part in the tournament have already hit the two-game mark. Canada is at the top of the standings with six points while the majority of the other countries are tied with three. What makes it better for Montreal Canadiens fans is that Victor Mete, Ryan Poehling, and Joni Ikonen are doing well for themselves.
Mete has been spectacular in these two games for Canada. His speed and decision making stands out among the rest of the defencemen on the team, and he’s been able to use his skating to create chances for the forwards. The 19-year-old has two assists so far, and based on the way he’s played, that total could hit double digits by the end of the tournament.
You can tell that he has the trust of his coaching staff as they’re playing Mete in key situations and saw 25 minutes against Slovakia after Dante Fabbro got banged up a bit.
It hasn’t been as flashy for Ikonen, but he’s finding his stride with Finland. Even though the 2017 2nd round pick has been held off the scoreboard, he’s still doing the right things to help his team.
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A strong net-front presence has been Ikonen’s M.O. so far, and it’s working for him. His play is a little reminiscent of Artturi Lehkonen who has a lot of skill but is still willing to get into the dirty areas.
Poehling seems to be the prospect at the World Juniors who we don’t talk about enough. He’s been given the task of centering the top line along with Joey Anderson and Kieffer Bellows. Poehling has been praised for his defence first mentality, but his offence has taken a step forward.
The Montreal Gazette had a good piece on what Poehling is doing differently, and his shot generation is at the top of the list. He had three in USA’s first game, and it’ll be a matter of time before the goals and assists come his way.
It’s been a fun World Juniors so far, and with another eight days of games to go, there’s plenty of time left for Mete, Ikonen, and Poehling to continue to give Habs fans more to look forward to.