Montreal Canadiens May Need To Make Room For Charles Hudon

The Montreal Canadiens training camp is underway and the battle of the bubble guys is going to go down to the wire. Charles Hudon is doing everything he can to ensure the Habs management team don’t forget about him.

The Montreal Canadiens did not add many big name players this offseason. They added some depth around the edges of the roster, but didn’t really change their top nine up front. The only forward they signed that is likely to make the roster is Nick Cousins. It was thought he would play left wing on the fourth line, but a Habs holdover is putting a halt to that thinking.

Charles Hudon was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He was a skilled two-way forward for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, but he was a bit undersized so he fell to the second half of the draft.

He had scored 25 goals and 66 points in 59 games before being drafted by the Habs, so there was certainly some offensive potential. He played two more seasons in the QMJHL and improved his point total by five each season.

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After a pair of successful American Hockey League seasons, Hudon was a rookie NHLer in 2017-18. He scored ten goals and 30 points in 72 games, which was solid production for a mostly fourth line winger who was new to the best league in the world.

It was hoped he would take another step last season, but the only direction he went was backwards. The Alma, Quebec native scored just five points in 32 games and was a healthy scratch for the final two months of the campaign.

Something needed to change for Hudon to come into camp and make a new impression on the Canadiens management team. So far, Hudon has done everything he possibly could to make sure he isn’t on the outside looking in when the rosters are posted for opening night.

First of all, the 25 year old left winger took it upon himself to drastically change his diet and workout routine this summer which resulted in him losing 17 pounds since he last wore a Habs jersey. He is noticeably quicker on his edges thanks to being so much smaller, but he hasn’t lost his nasty edge at all.

Several times against the New Jersey Devils in the Habs first preseason game, Hudon was getting into skirmishes, pushing and shoving bigger players, initiating contact during the play, battling for pucks and engaging physically at every turn.

With his increased quickness, Hudon also was creating chances offensively throughout the night. He was firing pucks from all over the offensive zone and made a few nifty passes to his linemates, Nick Suzuki and Jordan Weal.

Hudon’s strong play did not go unnoticed and he woke up to better linemates on Tuesday. Though Suzuki and especially Weal have a chance to make the Canadiens lineup on opening night, Hudon is now partnered with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia who were both top nine players last season.

It appears Hudon will be playing with the pair of Finns tonight when the Habs take on the Florida Panthers in Bathurst, New Brunswick for the Kraft Hockeyville game. If Hudon can continue to play a gritty, two-way game while creating scoring chances like he has early in training camp he could carve out a top nine role for himself to begin the season.