The Montreal Canadiens blueline has looked very steady over the past three days, and it has everything to do with Claude Julien trusting his younger players.
Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin spoke to reporters hours after the clock struck 3:00 PM Eastern Time. Besides detailing the team’s thought process going into the deadline, he also let listeners know what the plan will be moving forward. Youth, speed, and character are what the Habs are going to be looking for, and it’s already started with the call-up of Noah Juulsen.
If you’ve watched his three games, a single word describes how the 20-year-old has played: comfortable. It’s usually harder for defencemen to settle into an NHL lineup for the first time than forwards unless you’re a centre, but Juulsen has looked great. Claude Julien‘s decision to play him with Karl Alzner was a good one as his ability to move the puck continues to be brought to light.
With all due respect to Alzner, it’s not necessarily him that has brought out the best in Juulsen. In fact, having Alzner on the second pairing with the 2015 first-round-pick has stabilized his game. Juulsen doesn’t need to be carried as he’s just as good defensively as he is offensively and Julien’s trust in him has grown each game. He’s seen over 20 minutes in his last two games including time on the penalty kill and during critical situations.
The same thing goes for Victor Mete. The 19-year-old seemed to have Julien’s trust at the beginning of the season as he was on the top pairing with Shea Weber. That didn’t last long as Mete saw most of his playing time on the bottom pairing with the likes of Jordie Benn and David Schlemko.
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After Juulsen was called up, Juulsen chose to play him on the top pairing with Jeff Petry which has looked solid as well. Mete was being used a lot in the defensive zone which has been the opposite of his usage all season (56.9% of starts in the offensive zone, 43.1% of starts in the defensive zone) and given significant time in overtime.
The rest of the season should be about getting better for next year. The youth movement is continuing to rise in Montreal after Charlie Lindgren had another solid start for the Habs while Nikita Scherbak was called up yesterday ahead of the deadline. Bergevin also mentioned that one of Rinat Valiev and Kerby Rychel could also see time playing with the Habs at some point this season.
If the plan is to get younger and faster, then Julien has to continue to trust his younger players. Obviously said players have to give him a reason to have that trust but allowing them to spread their wings a little bit will bring out their best. Mete, and Juulsen are prime examples of that.
Next: Valiev Could Play Right Now
What have you thought of the younger players’ performances with the Habs this season? Who are you excited to see next? Let us know what you think in the comments.