Montreal Canadiens 2017 first-round pick Ryan Poehling has a plan that could see him up with the team sooner than many expected.
It’s been an overall year of growth for Ryan Poehling. After the Montreal Canadiens selected him in the first-round of the 2017 NHL Draft, there were obvious areas of the 19-year-old’s game that needed to improve. Poehling has done that and much more in his second season with the St. Cloud State, which also included a bronze medal finish at the World Junior Championships with Team USA.
Jumping from 7 goals and 6 assists to 14 goals and 17 assists is an obvious improvement, but Poehling’s foot speed and execution have hit higher levels as well. It started to make fans think of whether he could make the transition to the pros. If not his growth, perhaps the resignation of longtime Huskies coach Bob Motzko would trigger a desire to play in the NHL or AHL.
According to Le Journal de Montreal, Poehling confirmed (via phone call) that he would be returning to St. Cloud State next season.
"I’m still very young at 19. Next year, I’ll be the youngest player in the Huskies for a third year in a row! I will also have the pleasure of playing another season with my twin brothers, Nick and Jack (Translated)."
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In all honesty, that’s the best decision for him. Many players have rushed their debut in the NHL and have struggled because of it. At the same time, the Montreal Canadiens can wait to sign him to an entry-level contract seeing as how he was drafted out of college.
However, Poehling did include another piece of information that could point towards him not playing out all four years at St. Cloud State.
"I can not predict if the next season will be my last at St. Cloud, but that might be the case. I will make the jump to the pros when I feel physically and mentally ready. In the short term, I have a dream and it is to win the national championship with St. Cloud. We had a chance to do it this year. We will still have a very good team next season. The Huskies have never won the national championship. I would like to live this conquest. I have a great attachment to my university (Translated)."
Is the 2019/20 season when the Montreal Canadiens have Poehling in their lineup? It’s tough to tell at this point. It also fits well with what many have said in the past in that they don’t believe the young centre will remain in college for long. Management will just need to make sure that they have the appropriate system and core implemented to help him once he is with the team.
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Growing into a better player in college is one stretch of the race, the next is doing the right things to succeed at a much higher level. However, if what Poehling has done this season is any indication of what he will do in the future, the Montreal Canadiens should have nothing to worry about.