Montreal Canadiens Roundtable: Laval Standouts, Weber’s debut, Shaw’s improvement

This week, we discuss who on the Laval Rocket has impressed the much, a prediction of Shea Weber’s season debut, and what has Andrew Shaw done to improve.

We’re back with another A Winning Habit Roundtable. Last week we discussed Max Domi‘s goal-scoring prowess and whether the Montreal Canadiens were more equipped to deal with injuries than they were last season. Keep in mind; the Laval Rocket took a massive hit with all the call-ups needed to replenish bodies lost in the NHL.

But the Habs have been able to make the most of their newest additions despite. It hasn’t been transitioning into winning lately, but perhaps recent recall Brett Kulak can help out there.

This week will tackle the most eye-opening player on Laval, Andrew Shaw and the improvements he’s made since his promotion and a prediction of when Shea Weber returns to the lineup.

1) Who on the Laval Rocket has stood out the most to you and why?

Mark Darling: The obvious answer is rookie forward Jake Evans, but since everyone else on the panel is probably thinking the same thing, I’ll take defenceman Brett Kulak, just to add some variety to the mix.

When the Flames drafted him back in 2012 out of the WHL, he was projected as a solid defensive defenceman with legitimate offensive upside. Kulak put up 60 points in his final year of junior, but the points have never come in the pros.

Last year, he totalled a mere eight points in 71 regular season games with the Flames and sported a weak  .37 PPG average in 117 career AHL games.

Frustrated by his lack of production, Calgary cut bait on Kulak and dealt him to the Habs just prior to the start of the season. Unable to land a job with the parent club on short notice, Kulak was sent down to Laval to start the year but is trying hard to convince Canadiens management to reconsider.

Through 18 games, Kulak has a very respectable 11 points, good for an impressive .61 PPG average to date, and putting him on pace to make a run at 50 for the season. Kulak is also the only defenceman to have dressed for every Laval game this year, he runs the first PP unit, and he’s a  +2 on a losing team.

At the ripe old age of 24,  Kulak may be re-discovering his long-lost scoring touch, and with Jordie Benn, Xavier Ouellet and Mike Reilly all in the final years of their respective deals,  Brett Kulak may very well be manning the blueline at the rink across town around this time next year.

FYI……Kulak played two seasons in junior with Brendan Gallagher on the Vancouver Giants.

Kamal Rehman: Jake Evans has been progressing well. He started a little slow and that probably had a lot to do with a bunch of things that were new to him as a first-year pro: new league, new team, new teammates, and new city. Also, it took him a little bit to adjust from the hit he took in the rookie tournament in September. Since then though he has slowly moved up the depth chart and has chipped in offensively. Although still a lot of developing to come his progression has stood out.