Jesse Ylönen made his preseason debut in Liiga but he’s not the only Montreal Canadiens in action as Jacob Olofsson and Alexander Romanov are playing too.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi is the big name to come out of the 2018 NHL Draft for the Montreal Canadiens. But Jesse Ylönen has been an interesting prospect as well.
The Habs selected the right-winger using the first of their three second-round picks at 35th overall. He spent the majority of the 2017-18 season playing for Espoo United of the Mestis Hockey League scoring 14 goals and 13 assists in 48 games. There was also some U20 play throughout the year putting up 8 points in 10 games for Team Finland.
What’s always stood out about Ylönen was his speed and his ability to stickhandle effectively at those top speeds. A lot of that came with using head fakes and slight moves with his hands to keep opposing players guessing. That was seen at development camp this past July and hopefully was going to be on display at the World Junior Summer Showcase. However, an injury kept Ylönen out of that event and also held him off from practicing with the Pelicans.
Ylönen finally made his debut in Liiga yesterday in a game against JYP. The 18-year-old started on the second line playing with Hannes Björninen and Severi Lahtinen. It was a high-scoring game, but the Pelicans ended up on the losing side after an 8-5 decision.
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He saw 14:30 of ice time, had five shots on net (two of which were right in front of the net) and managed to get a secondary assist on Hynek Zohorna’s goal.
The Pelicans are back at it on Friday against Kookoo, and hopefully, Ylönen gets in that game as well. He had a good number of shots for his first game in a new league, and if he continues firing at that rate, it’ll have a positive impact on what point totals he finishes with.
Jacob Olofsson was in preseason action as well for Timrå IK centring the third line against Almtuna IS. The 56th overall pick stood out at the Summer Showcase for his safe exits out of the defensive zone to create rushes into the other end. According to Patrik Bexell of Habs Eyes on the Prize, Olofsson picked up from where he left off.
#Habs prospect Jacob Olofsson played all situations (power play, boxplay and 4-on-4) for Timrå when the beat Almtuna 5-1 in todays preseason game. Looked good, strong zone entries and exits, no points but good first game. #EPR for @HabsEOTP
— Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) August 22, 2018
And last but not least, Samuel Houde. He was the only Habs pick from the QMJHL in Dallas, and he got his preseason started for Chicoutimi Saguenéens centring the first line.
The game didn’t start too well for Saguenèens as they were scored on in the opening minute of the period. By the end of the night, the score was 5-2. Houde didn’t have any shots on net and was 60% in the faceoff circle.
More Montreal Canadiens prospects are going to be playing as we get closer to September. There’s also the Rookie Showdown set to take place in the next few weeks. And although Ylönen and Olofsson won’t be there, both have the potential to have good seasons overseas for their respective teams.