Montreal Canadiens Prospect Nick Suzuki At Best When Season On The Line
The Montreal Canadiens made a great addition when they acquired Nick Suzuki. He is proving to be one of the team’s top prospects as he continues to avoid defeat in the OHL Playoffs.
The Montreal Canadiens list of top prospects does not go on for very long before the name Nick Suzuki appears. Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, along with Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick in the Max Pacioretty deal, Suzuki has exceeded expectations all season.
The season has been a long season already for Suzuki. The 13th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft is doing all he can to ensure it extends as long as possible.
When he was acquired by the Habs, Suzuki was a member of the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League. He was coming off a 42 goal, 100 point season, so expectations were high for the London, Ontario native.
More from Prospects
- Montreal Canadiens: What Does Nathan Legare Bring To The Habs?
- Montreal Canadiens: What To Expect From Luke Mittelstadt Next Season?
- Montreal Canadiens: Looking ahead to Juraj Slafkovsky’s sophomore season
- Montreal Canadiens – Kaiden Guhle Rookie Report Card
- Montreal Canadiens: Jordan Harris Rookie Report Card
Suzuki did not disappoint this season. He was dealt at the OHL trade deadline to the Guelph Storm. Between the Attack and Storm, he combined for 94 points in 59 games. He also chipped in three assists in five games with Canada at the World Juniors.
As impressive as Suzuki’s entire OHL career has been, he has been at his very best this postseason. Especially when the Storm had their backs against the wall.
Guelph quickly dispatched the Kitchener Rangers in four straight opening round games. However, they fell behind the London Knights 3-0 in the second round. Suzuki took the team on his back and led them to a historic comeback to win the series in seven.
In game four, Suzuki scored once and added a pair of helpers to lead the Storm to a 4-3 victory. Game five headed to the third period with the two teams tied at one. Suzuki scored a pair of goals to ensure a 3-1 win. Suzuki picked up another goal and two assists in game six and then went into Budweiser Gardens in London for the seventh game and matched his three points from game six.
In case you didn’t have a calculator handy as you read that last paragraph, that was five goals and six assists for 11 points. All of this offence came while his team was facing elimination against the London Knights who had the second most points in the regular season.
The Storm are now facing the Saginaw Spirit in round three. Saginaw won the first two games at home, before falling in game three. The Spirit bounced back in game four, forcing the Storm to the brink of elimination once again.
Storm fans had little to worry about in game five. The first period was scoreless, but Guelph jumped out to a 3-0 lead after forty minutes before icing it with a 4-0 final. Suzuki had an assist on all four Storm goals.
That’s 15 points in five elimination games. So far. Suzuki will have a chance to add to those impressive totals on Sunday afternoon. The Storm will look to stave off elimination for the sixth time in just over two weeks.
Suzuki has been pretty good in games where the season is not on the line as well. He currently leads the OHL in scoring with 29 points in 16 games. The next highest scorer is Owen Tippett with 22 points. That gives Suzuki a seven-point cushion over the second highest scorer.
Poehling Not Being Given Roster Spot. dark. Next
It’s possible that Suzuki could lead the postseason in scoring, even if the Storm doesn’t make the OHL final. Of course, if he keeps putting up three points per elimination game, his competition is going to have a hard time finishing off the Nick Suzuki and the Guelph Storm.