Montreal Canadiens: Charles Hudon has the tools to play centre
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens may have a new top centre if Paul Byron misses tonight’s game but Charles Hudon has the skills and qualities to do it well.
There’s going to be a level of suspense going into tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Montreal Canadiens have assured the fans that whatever is ailing Paul Byon isn’t too serious, but if he’s not ready to go, Charles Hudon will take his spot. It’s tough not to have a ‘here we go again’ moment as another winger is shifted to the wing, but Hudon playing centre will be interesting to see.
He’s done it before, granted on the fourth line, but the 23-year-old has the tools to do it. Every night Hudon has a high-danger scoring chance for himself or one of his linemates. In fact, if you care to take a look at the Habs’ shots taken with, and without him, the difference is pretty telling.
The numbers don’t like, and neither does the eye test. When Hudon is on the ice, the Habs cause a lot of chaos especially in the front of the net. It’s still surprising that he only has seven goals this season, but as much as skill is a part of the game, so is some luck.
However, it doesn’t stop there. There isn’t a player on this roster who has suffered possession wise from playing with Hudon. For example, Max Pacioretty, who will most likely be his linemate in tonight’s game, has his stats drop from 60.7% to 53.5%.
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More shots are still taken on net than allowed when Pacioretty is on the ice, but the difference when he is with Hudon is incredible. The same goes for Daniel Carr who will be on his right if Byron misses the game.
He’s proven this season that he’s also defensively responsible enough to handle the grind of playing centre. So we’ll have to see if it happens or not. If so, let’s consider it something to look forward to.
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