Montreal Canadiens: Improve the partnership with the Brampton Beast
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens didn’t make too much use of their ECHL affiliate in the Brampton Beast which needs to change moving forward.
Unfortunately, the 2017/18 season wasn’t just disappointing as far as the NHL and AHL went in the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Brampton Beast, their ECHL affiliate, had a bad year after having made the playoffs the season before finishing last in the North Division. It was tough to see considering the optimism from a renewed affiliation, but that’s the way things played out.
The thing is though, the ECHL, in many ways, is a developmental league as well. The Montreal Canadiens can have players in Brampton which allows them to grow and at the same time strengthens the team. It would’ve been nice if more of that happened this season. Zachary Fucale was the only Habs prospect to see considerable time in a Beast uniform this season.
The 22-year-old played 11 Brampton games going 5-4-2 with a .913 save percentage. Having the Beast as an option for Fucale allowed him to get some reps in net while the goalie carousel in Laval with Charlie Lindgren and Michael McNiven was at its peak. Lindgren’s call-ups to the NHL paved the way for Fucale to slot into a 1A/1B situation with McNiven, but the ECHL was still an option.
That’s as far as it goes for the partnership between the Montreal Canadiens and Brampton Beast. McNiven, Jordan Boucher, Thomas Ebbing, Yannick Veilleux, Matt Petgrave, Luc-Olivier Blain, Willie Corrin, Jackson Leef, Tyson Wilson, and Chris Leveille were all called up to play for the Laval Rocket this year. Besides Fucale, the only player sent down to Brampton was amateur tryout, Bailey Webster.
The ECHL has to be more than a passing thought for the Habs. Although the hockey isn’t as skilled, relatively-speaking, the Montreal Canadiens could do themselves a favour by harbouring young talent there. For example, there were a handful of players who were given tryouts in the latter half of the season through the Laval Rocket. Everyone can’t be signed, but if a number of them are and there’s no room for them to play, the Brampton Beast can be their destination.
It’s a lot better than having them take turns sitting in the press box while Brampton could surely use the influx of talent. Additionally, there could be a significant level of internal competition organizationally if the Montreal Canadiens make Brampton a sort of ‘First Phase’ in the climbing up the ladder of professional hockey.
Hopefully, the Habs sort out this whole thing out which would have to start with a renewed affiliation agreement.