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Montreal Canadiens: Rookie excitement and a Nikita Scherbak surge

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 13: Montreal Canadiens right wing Nikita Scherbak (38) celebrates after scoring during the third period of the NHL game between the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens on March 13, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 13: Montreal Canadiens right wing Nikita Scherbak (38) celebrates after scoring during the third period of the NHL game between the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens on March 13, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – Montreal Canadiens Nikita Scherbak (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

There’s going to be a lot to pay attention for with the Montreal Canadiens as prospects look to make a name for themselves including Nikita Scherbak.

The long wait of the offseason is almost behind us. After this week, we’ll be in September, and the Montreal Canadiens will be one of the first organizations to get things started for the 2018-19 season.

It starts with the NHL Rookie Showdown set to take place next weekend where Habs prospects will be taking on young players from the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators. Victor Mete made a name for himself at last year’s tournament, and the focus will and should be on 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

The 18-year-old recently took part in the U20 Four Nations Tournament in Sweden playing in two of Team Finland’s three games. Kotkaniemi had a single goal in his first game against the Czech Republic on the powerplay but has shown an impressive degree of vision and awareness with and without the puck. However, there are other Montreal Canadiens prospects that will be at Place Bell who can stand out amongst the rest as well.

And that’s just the rookie camp going into the main one. Once that starts, the narratives around the other younger players on the team are going to soar. There are go-to choices, but players such as Nikita Scherbak, Victor Mete, and Noah Juulsen should be on their way to have bigger roles on the team this year.

We tackle some of those issues on Mock V of the A Winning Habit Roundtable.

  • Mock I: Max Pacioretty trade situation, 2018 draft standouts, remaining RFAs
  • Mock II: Expectations for Max Domi, players set to have breakout seasons, cap space left to work with
  • Mock III: NHL debuts, a top-six role for Matthew Peca, and the number of performance bonuses Tomas Plekanec can hit
  • Movk IV: Addressing the rumours around the Habs, who of the four 2017 defencemen get contracts, and what Pacioretty’s goal totals will be by the deadline
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