Montreal Canadiens Futures: Joël Teasdale isn’t talked about enough
The CHL is gearing up for the playoffs, and out of all the Montreal Canadiens prospects, Joel Teasdale had one of the better regular seasons.
The Montreal Canadiens themselves have another two weeks to fight for a playoff spot; however, with a shorter regular season schedule, the Canadian Hockey League is on the verge of getting their post-season started. The last two drafts have given the organization, as well as the fan base, a number of prospects to pay attention to and a number of them had fantastic years. Trades and free agent signings have worked out in favour of the Habs in that department also, and it’ll be interesting to see how these young players progress down the line.
Montreal had nine prospects in the CHL spread across the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Nick Suzuki
The name that many always have circled is Nick Suzuki. The Montreal Canadiens acquired the 2017 first-round pick along with Tomas Tatar and a second, in the trade that sent Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights. That deal looks better and better each day given Suzuki’s production.
It started out with the Owen Sound Attack where Suzuki was captain. He put up 22 goals and 23 assists in 30 games where seven of those goals came on the powerplay. What stands out the most about Suzuki is his playmaking ability and the area of his production. His shots are spread out for the most part all over the offensive zone, but the greatest degree of them come from the right faceoff circle.
Then there’s the nature of his passing. It was put on display more at the World Juniors for Team Canada, but Suzuki is a very deceptive playmaker. His passes, for the most part, resemble legitimate shots keeping the opposing goaltender guessing as to whether he’ll actually shoot.
Suzuki’s skillset and intelligence made him one of the hottest targets on the trade market which saw him traded to the Guelph Storm. The 19-year-old continued the production with a new team and new linemates with 12 goals and 37 assists bumping his pace up from 1.5 points-per-game with the Attack to 1.69.
He finished the season with a total of 34 goals and 60 assists which had Suzuki at 11th in OHL scoring. To break it down further, 68 of those 94 were primary points speaking to how influential he was to his team offensively.
Cam Hillis
Cam Hillis and Suzuki briefly played together this season. Both were named to Team OHL and became teammates again once Suzuki was traded to Guelph. Unfortunately, a broken collarbone in February took Hillis out of the lineup, and that wasn’t his first injury of the year.
He still had a decent season for what it’s worth. Hillis was over half a point per game scoring ten goals and 12 assists in 33 games. Similar to Suzuki, Hillis has great vision on the ice and is prone to making a pretty play. It’ll be interesting to see how he strengthens the Storm lineup as he’s expected to return at the end of the first round.
Allan McShane
It was a career year for Allan McShane with the Oshawa Generals. He hit 30 goals for the first time in his WHL career putting up more goals than helpers straying from his established standard. A highlight of his season came towards the end where McShane scored two goals and added three helpers. It was the highest point total in a game that he had since his five-assist night against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
McShane was having a decent year before the Christmas break but really took off once he was promoted to the top line. What stood out the most were his two prominent ways of scoring. McShane can rip a shot with speed beating most goaltenders or drive the net to score in-tight fighting off swinging sticks and evading the opposition.
What will be interesting to see is how he far he steps his game up in the playoffs when the games become all the more intense.
Josh Brook
The 2018/19 season has been a good one for Josh Brook. It started with a strong showing for the Montreal Canadiens at training camp and the Rookie Tournament leading into a dominant regular season. Brook finished the season tied for first in points amongst defencemen in the WHL with Dawson Davidson scoring 16 goals and 59 assists for 75 points in 59 games. There were career-high milestones all around the board for Brook as his dynamic presence on the blueline was a large portion of Moose Jaw’s offence.
His best quality, which thankfully hasn’t taken a step in the wrong direction, is his ability to make plays at top speed. It’s Connor McDavid like in that Brook doesn’t have to slow down when breaking the puck out and making a pass or shot in stride. A bold comparable and I’m not saying Brook will be the McDavid of defencemen once he makes the NHL, which I truly believe will happen, but his decision making matches his pace, and it’s one of his strongest attributes.
Brook’s season was good enough to see him named to the First All-Star team in the WHL to no surprise. He’s proven that he’s ready for the next step and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him contend for a spot on the Laval Rocket next season.
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Scott Walford
One of the more quiet defenders of the 2017 bunch, Scott Walford had a career season himself with the Victoria Wolves. The third-round pick finished with nine goals and 38 assists putting up 15 more points in seven fewer games. What we saw from Walford last season in his crips first passes out of the defensive zone has been enhanced with his “just go for it” thought process.
Walford took charge more this year rushing with the puck out of the zone. That increased his offensive chances as well as overall shots. Additionally, his ability to move more this season helped defensively as well to close the gaps between himself and opposing players and disrupt oncoming plays in the neutral zone.
Of course, Walford is a defence-first defenceman and will at times stop to prevent when he notices something doesn’t look right in front of him. That’s a good quality to have but at the same time can stifle him offensively. If Walford continues to take those rushing opportunities while still being aware of the structure of plays around him, it’ll do nothing but good for his game.
Jarret Tyszka
A nasty concussion from a dangerous hit bit into a large portion of Jarret Tyszka’s season. The Thunderbirds defencemen played only 41 games this year but still managed to improve on his past level of production.
Tyszka finished with eight goals and 22 assists including a run of five points in eight games. The fifth-round pick also managed to earn his 100th career WHL point this season adding to his accomplishments.
He’s a good skater and sharp on his angles and uses both in combination to make some interesting passes and shots on goal. The fact that he was able to take his offence to another level despite starting halfway through the season speaks to his character and work ethic as a player. Eyes will be on him in the playoffs to see what else he can do, but I think he’s proved a lot thus far.
Cole Fonstad
Another mystery from the 2018 NHL Draft, Cole Fonstad matched his point total from last season but in a different way. He put up more goals at 29 and produced at a higher rate increasing his points-per-game from 0.98 to 1.09.
The goals have been one thing for Fonstad, but he also possesses a knack for some wicked feeds on the wing. He is also a puck hound and does a great job in putting pressure on the opposition forcing them to make a mistake or steal the puck altogether to find one of his linemates for a scoring opportunity eventually.
Samuel Houde
The Montreal Canadiens dipped into the QMJHL once last June which saw Samuel Houde join the organization. Houde matched his goal total from the season before score 16 but increased his overall point total with another 11 assists. He does have a wicked release which isn’t talked about much but can lead to more goals with an increased shot output.
Joël Teasdale
Now we’re at the bread and butter of this. Joël Teasdale went from being a tryout at rookie camp to earning a contract in training camp to having a phenomenal season. He isn’t talked about enough and hopefully, that ends heading into the playoffs.
Teasdale broke out offensively this season. It started with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada where he was a little over a point-per-game putting up 19 goals and 19 assists in 37 games. Then he was traded to Rouyn-Noranda where he scored 24 goals and 18 assists for 42 points in 29 games. In total, the 20-year-old finished with 43 goals and 37 assists for 80 points in 66 games, 70 of which were primary points!.
He does it in every faction. Teasdale has a good shot, can score in tight, and force plays as a result of pressure on the opposition. Additionally, his willingness to head to the front of the net and take away the eyes of netminders led to deflections into the net.
His skating is on point as well, especially with the puck as he effectively uses his body to keep defending players at a distance and charge down the wall.
Teasdale may not have the same draft pedigree as Suzuki, but he definitely took a giant leap into the upper rankings of the Montreal Canadiens prospect pool. He has the grit and grind factor and combines that with his skill to produce on both ends of the ice and he’ll likely get a shot to reunite with his former coach in the AHL next season.
Next. Patience With Jonathan Drouin Will Pay Off. dark
Every single Montreal Canadiens prospect in the CHL has made the playoffs so we’ll have more opportunities to see them play.