David Schlemko
It took some time for David Schlemko to play a game for the Montreal Canadiens and even longer to score. His eventual goal against the Anaheim Ducks was his first January 21st of 2017 (51 games). Galchenyuk hit a trailing Schlemko with a pass which he quickly turned into a wrist shot goal past John Gibson to give Montreal the 3-0 lead in the first period.
Kerby Rychel
The Habs received some players to work with through the Plekanec trade. Kerby Rychel was a first-round pick, but similar to McCarron, struggled to make a name for himself in the NHL. However, his production in the AHL was good enough to create a level of curiosity around him.
Rychel received the call at the end of last season when injuries continued to hit the team’s locker room. It would be his first run in the NHL since 2016, and the 23-year-old would score in his second game deflecting a Petry shot in front.
Noah Juulsen
After missing the first set of months of the 2017-18 season, it was great to see Noah Juulsen make his NHL debut. The 20-year-old looked steady playing at the highest level and in many ways, helping Alzner stabilize his game a bit. Juulsen was quickly being relied on with key minutes for the Montreal Canadiens including time on the penalty kill and in the final portions of a game.
His first goal came against the New York Islanders off a slap shot in the right corner cleanly over Jaroslav Halak.
With some new faces in the organization in Matthew Peca, Joel Armia, and Max Domi, there could possibly be more firsts next season and it’ll be interesting to see when and how they happen.