The Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate had another tough loss, but Nikita Korostelev had the chance to display his skill for the Laval Rocket.
The auditions to get a spot in the Montreal Canadiens organization continued last night as the Laval Rocket took on the Hershey Bears. It was also another game for Nikita Korostelev on the top line with Chris Terry and Adam Cracknell. The 21-year-old got the promotion ahead of Friday’s match against the Binghamton Devils after Kerby Rychel was called up to the NHL.
Laval found themselves down 1-0 after Mathias Bau opened the scoring with his tenth of the season. It was already an underwhelming period for the Rocket who only mustered 3 shots to Hershey’s 13 at the 15-minute mark. The Bears were setting up for another scoring chance, but Charlie Lindgren came up with a big stop.
Jordan Boucher picked up the loose puck from in front of the net and found a streaking Nikita Korostelev all alone in the neutral zone. Korostelev managed to side step the sprawling stick of Connor Hobbs and beat Phoenix Copley over the glove for the goal.
Nikita Korostelev!!!! pic.twitter.com/QNsrDx3dVq
— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) March 31, 2018
Not a bad way to get your first professional goal, wouldn’t you say?
It comes as no surprise though. Korostelev is a very offensive-minded player and knows where to be to generate. Despite being an overager, there’s still some value in a 30 goal and 75 point season in the OHL.
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What will make Korostelev a better player is to fight for his spots opposed to waiting for the play to come to him. He’s displayed that relentlessness already with the Laval Rocket, but getting that more often could secure a spot on the team moving forward.
However, scoring that goal is a start as it was an example of what the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add for the future: youth, speed, and skill.
With five games left, Korostelev has plenty of time to further build a case of why he deserves at least an AHL contract for the 2018/19 season. Although other Montreal Canadiens prospects are coming in William Bitten, Michael Pezzetta, and most likely Jake Evans having other players at training camp will improve the overall product.
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There’s nothing wrong with a little internal competition, and Korostelev has what it takes to make it a little interesting.