Montreal Canadiens: Jesperi Kotkaniemi is leading charge for Game One

The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators are the first ones up to bat for the 2018 NHL Rookie Showdown Friday night at Place Bell.

After a while, there’s only so much you can get from practices and on-ice sessions. But the Montreal Canadiens are finally getting some mileage out of players within their organization thanks to the 2018 NHL Rookie Showdown.

The Habs released their roster for tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators highlighted by third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi. The 18-year-old has stood out in the majority of the games he’s been in since being drafted, and he’ll get the chance to extend that. Who he has on his wings will be interesting. Kotkaniemi likes to string together a lot of passing plays when the opportunity to present himself, so pairing him with players who can score would be an effective strategy to bring out the best in him.

Who are those wingers exactly? It’s going to depend on which centres are keeping their spots and who are being moved over. A first-glance hunch could have the Habs middle be Kotkaniemi, Jake Evans, Lukas Vejdemo, and one of Hayden Verbeek or Michael Pezzetta on the fourth line.

A very dangerous first line could see Allan McShane and Alexandre Alain with Kotkaniemi. Both have put up a lot of numbers and play at a high tempo that could gel very well together. The crop of wingers doesn’t stop there. Draft picks Will Bitten, who showed a lot of improvement at last year’s tournament, Cole Fonstad, and Cam Hillis are just as capable. Additionally invites Brandon Hagel, Alexander Katerinakis, and Joel Teasdale could have varying impacts as well.

Montreal will also have seven defencemen tonight including the two Czech Republic free agent signings Michal Moracvik and David Sklenicka. T.J. Melancon and Adam Plant are coming in on AHL contracts, while Josh Brook and Jarret Tyszka are half of the 2017 defenders.

More from A Winning Habit

• Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
• Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
• Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
• Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?

There’s been a lot of focus on Brook after the season he had with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He’s proven to be an offensive weapon along the blueline but struggled to bring that out every game. However, some of the things he’s able to do are incredible, and it wouldn’t be surprising to step up as one of the better defenders on the team.

Aleksi Anttalainen is the sole defensive tryout on the roster for tonight. He is short-statured but has a lot of strength and power behind his game which could give the Habs a bit more bite against the Senators.

Stephen Dhillon and Samuel Harvey will be the goaltenders. Harvey established himself as a top goalie in the QMJHL last season after posting a .930 save percentage which was amongst the league’s best. Both player very quickly within the crease so it will be interesting to see how they fair given their difference in size (6’4″ vs. 6’0″).

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM at Place Bell and the game can be streamed here. The Ottawa Senators have also released their rosters for the match which will feature three first-round picks in Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, and Logan Brown.

Seeing how all the Montreal Canadiens prospects play will be fun given how long it’s been since the majority of the fanbase has seen a game. However, one of the bigger things to track is the difference in skill between Kotkaniemi and everyone else. That is going to be a major factor in depicting where he plays this season.