Montreal Canadiens Season Preview: Otto Leskinen
During the month of August we are taking a deeper look at what we can expect from each player this season. Today, we take a look at Otto Leskinen, an interesting free agent signing who could eventually fill a position of need.
The Montreal Canadiens dipped their toes into the European free agency market this spring and signed Otto Leskinen. The 22-year-old defenceman played the past season in Finland, where he put up decent offensive numbers in the top Finnish league.
This is not the first time the Habs have tapped into the European leagues looking for talent. Not the first time they went searching for a left shooting defenceman across the Atlantic either. Two years ago the Habs signed Jakub Jerabek who had been playing in the KHL. A year ago they signed both Michal Moravcik and David Sklenicka who were playing in the Czech Republic.
In May, they signed yet another left-shooting defenceman in Leskinen. The Pieksamaki native was at the Canadiens development camp a year ago and they clearly identified him as a player worth keeping an eye on this season. He played well in Liiga for Kalpa, scoring eight goals and 31 points in 57 games.
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Those numbers are even better than they appear on paper as Liiga is not a very high scoring league. Only two players that played regularly were able to average over a point per game. There were five different goaltenders with a goals against average under two. Leskinen’s 31 points ranked seventh among all defenders in the top Finnish league.
His numbers in Liiga, where he has played most of the past four seasons, suggest he is an offensive defenceman, and he surely is that. He is a great skater as demonstrated at the past two Habs development camps, and he could definitely be labeled as a puck-moving defenceman. If he can’t skate it up ice himself, he has no problem passing it ahead to forwards leaving the defensive zone.
Where he can have problems is in the defensive zone. He is a bit undersized and just not an overly physical player in his own zone. He’s young, so there is time to develop on that side of the puck, and some coaching from Joel Bouchard and Luke Richardson will do wonders for him.
Leskinen has a lot of experience for a 22 year old defenceman. He has played each of the last three seasons in the top league in Finland and half of the season before that. That’s close to 200 games of professional experience, which should help him as he heads to his first NHL training camp in the fall.
Left defence is definitely not a strength for the Montreal Canadiens, so there is an opportunity to take advantage of a weak position. However, there are plenty of “okay” left defenders in the organization that Leskinen will have to battle for playing time next season.
I fully expect, as do most Habs fans, that the Canadiens will break camp with Victor Mete, Brett Kulak and Ben Chiarot on their roster. I would also expect Mike Reilly to be on the team due to his new two-year contract that carries a cap hit of $1.5 million, though he will likely be the seventh defenceman.
That means it will be nearly impossible for Leskinen to make the Canadiens roster. Even the Laval Rocket roster has a number of good left defencemen. Xavier Ouellet is the captain of the team and played well for them last season. David Sklenicka wasn’t a big point producer, but played a solid shutdown role in his first year with Laval. Karl Alzner‘s best days are behind him but he is being paid like a top four NHL defenceman, will Joel Bouchard really be willing to scratch him?
Then there is Gustav Olofsson who had a few great years with the Iowa Wild of the AHL before landing in the Canadiens organization. He only played two hockey games last season so it will be interesting to see what kind of season he has in store.
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I would expect Leskinen to open some eyes at Canadiens training camp with his skating, passing and overall offensive game. He jumped out at the most recent development camp, but is a couple years older and has much more pro experience than most of the players he was on the ice with during that week.
It will be fun to watch Leskinen in preseason games with the Habs. His speed is a strength but how will be fare defensively? He’s not ready to play regular minutes against NHL competition yet, but what we need to find out is can he develop into a reliable defender, or will that continue to hold him back like it has for Mike Reilly?
There just isn’t room for him on the Canadiens roster now, even if he has an excellent camp. He will be fighting for minutes on a crowded Rocket blue line this year. His ability to run a power play will come in handy in Laval, as only Ouellet and Josh Brook can rival his skills with the man advantage.
It might take a little time, but I think Leskinen has the skills to be a top four defenceman for the Rocket this season. If the young players develop as they should, I think we will see Ouellet on the top pairing with Cale Fleury and then Leskinen on an offensive pairing with Brook. Leskinen and Brook would also make a great partnership with the man advantage as well.
That means Leskinen will be beating out veterans like Alzner, Sklenicka and Olofsson for ice time. He already has the skills to do just that, and has the potential to eventually become an NHL defender. How well his defensive game evolves in the next few years will decide if he is a second pairing guy or a depth piece for an NHL team in the future.