Montreal Canadiens: Rookie excitement and a Nikita Scherbak surge

Omar White: You could clearly get the feeling that something like a trade was going to happen for one of Kerby Rychel or Michael McCarron with their contract negotiations entering the depths of the offseason. The first thing is to say it’s only a simple swap for struggling first-round picks who haven’t been able to make a name for themselves in any of the organizations they’ve been a part of. On the surface, Shinkaruk brings more speed when it comes to his skating technique, but offensively, they’re virtually the same.

Shinkaruk had 235 points in 211 WHL games and 149 points in 251 AHL games. Conversely, Rychel had 271 points in 256 OHL games and 154 points in 232 AHL games. There’s not much there to build a strong argument for or against either of them. What doesn’t work in Shinkaruk’s favour is that his point totals have been declining over the last two seasons.

Another thing to keep in mind is Rychel has a better chance to play on the Flames than Shinkaruk has to play on the Habs. The former plays that rough and heavy style Calgary likes to implement through their lineup. Shinkaruk will have a much harder time leapfrogging the wingers in the Montreal Canadiens system and is already at a disadvantage.

What he needs to do is easier said than done, but he needs to stand out as much as he can with the Laval Rock this season. Not just offensively, but in all aspects of his playing style. It will start with his speed which Joel Bouchard will be a fan of. Unfortunately, he only has a year to do it