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Montreal Canadiens Futures: Nick Suzuki and Joel Teasdale leading the way

By Omar L

LONDON, ON - FEBRUARY 13: Billy Moskal #76 of the London Knights skates around the net with the puck as Nick Suzuki #9 of the Guelph Storm defends in the second period during OHL game action at Budweiser Gardens on February 13, 2019 in London, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
LONDON, ON - FEBRUARY 13: Billy Moskal #76 of the London Knights skates around the net with the puck as Nick Suzuki #9 of the Guelph Storm defends in the second period during OHL game action at Budweiser Gardens on February 13, 2019 in London, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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There are four Montreal Canadiens prospects left in the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL playoffs and Nick Suzuki and Joël Teasdale are having the most significant impacts.

The OHL, WHL, and QMJHL are all in their third rounds, and Nick Suzuki, Joël Teasdale, Allan McShane, and Cole Fonstad are the only Montreal Canadiens prospects to still be on the hunt for a championship and a ticket to Halifax. It’s technically five with 2018 draft pick Cam Hillis on the Guelph roster, but he’s been shut down with an injury. The other Habs prospects didn’t have a positive fate.

Scott Walford and the Victoria Royals made it to the second round after beating the Kamloops Blazers. Unfortunately, the Vancouver Giants cut their playoff lives short. Jarret Tyszka and the Seattle Thunderbirds had a similar fate losing to the Giants in the first round.

The Moosejaw Warriors had it in tough having to go against the monster Saskatoon Blades seeing Josh Brook out early. On the bright side, it allowed Brook to make his professional debut with the Laval Rocket and earn his first AHL point.

The QMJHL playoffs weren’t too kind to Samuel Houde and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens either only lasting four games against Rimouski.

Despite being eliminated, each prospect had their time to shine:

  • Scott Walford – 7 assists in 10 games
  • Jarret Tyszka – 5 assists in 6 games
  • Josh Brook – 3 assists in 4 games
  • Samuel Houde – 3 assists in 4 games

It’s been a different story for the others. Suzuki and McShane are in the third round against the Saginaw Spirit and Ottawa 67’s but dropped Game One. Not too much of a concern as there is still a lot of hockey to play and the Guelph Storm are coming off a second-round series of reverse sweeping the London Knights.

McShane is carrying his production from the regular season over well with four goals and seven assists in 12 games.

Fonstad just returned to the Prince Albert lineup after missing games with an upper-body injury. The Raiders won the game 1-0 and are up in their series against the Edmonton Oil Kings 1-0.

The 2018 fifth-round pick isn’t scoring at his usual pace with only a goal and three assists in nine games. Perhaps that changes as the games get more and more crucial for Prince Albert.

Rouyn-Noranda beasted their way to the Conference Final after being pushed to six games in the first round. The team is off to a good start as well defeating Rimouski 5-1 including two goals from Teasdale.

He, as well as Suzuki, have had a phenomenal playoff so far. Suzuki is tied for first in OHL playoff scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists in 12 games while Teasdale is third in the QMJHL with 10 goals and nine assists in 11 games. The pace both Habs prospects are scoring at is pretty impressive.

Teasdale is producing at a 1.73 points-per-game pace while Suzuki is at a 1.75. What puts Suzuki’s numbers slightly above Teasdale, optics-wise, are the point distributions. Suzuki is leading the Storm in scoring, and the next person is Issac Ratcliffe with seven fewer points (six goals and eight assists). Teasdale is third on the Huskies, and the offence on the team is well distributed with Peter Abbandonato, Noah Dobson, and Fèlix Bibeau sharing the load.

That’s not to take away from what Teasdale is doing as he’s coming up big for Rouyn-Noranda. What it does do is highlight how effective Suzuki has been for his team and the Montreal Canadiens should be extremely excited for what he can do.

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Hopefully, each prospect stays alive in the playoffs as long as possible. Getting a league championship is special, but contending for a Memorial Cup is something not many get to experience.

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