Montreal Canadiens: Ryan Poehling Proving To Be Too Valuable To Send Down

The Montreal Canadiens won again in preseason action. One of the standout players for the Habs was Ryan Poehling who is quietly making a push to take on an important role for the Canadiens this season.

The Montreal Canadiens headed to Bathurst, New Brunswick to take on the Florida Panthers in the annual Kraft Hockeyville game last night. It was their second game of the preseason after defeating the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Monday night.

The Habs continued their winning ways by outlasting the Panthers and coming away with a 4-3 victory. The final score is not significant in an exhibition game, but there were so many young players that are trying to crack the regular season lineup that it was an interesting game to keep an eye on.

One player that fans were watching closely was 2017 first round pick Ryan Poehling. He made his preseason debut with the Habs and though it wasn’t as impressive as his regular season debut in April, he played an exceptional game.

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We all remember his hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Habs final contest of the year last season. He added a shootout game winner and currently stands as the highest point per game scoring player in NHL history. I think there may be an asterisk attached to that one in the official record book.

Last night, Poehling did not score a hat trick, but he did hit the score sheet and had a huge impact on the outcome of the game. His impact was a bit more subtle than his regular season debut, but showed a steady effectiveness in his game that could be a huge help for the Canadiens as soon as this season.

Poehling was centering a line with Nick Cousins on left wing and Riley Barber on the right side. The 20 year old center was also a key component on the Habs penalty killing unit. It was while shorthanded that Poehling did his best work.

In the first period, there were two subtle plays that went mostly unnoticed, but cleared away any potential scoring threat by the Florida Panthers. Early in the first period the Habs were shorthanded due to Jesperi Kotkaniemi clearly forgetting how strong he got over the summer and chopping a Panthers stick into splinters like he was making kindling for the backyard fire pit.

There was a play in the slot in front of goaltender Charlie Lindgren where a Panthers player was trying to grab a loose puck. Poehling cut him off and with the poise of a ten-year veteran just rotated his hips to get between the Panthers player and the puck to make it impossible for his opponent to make a play. Poehling then took an extra second and used his strong frame to gain control of the puck and dump it the length of the ice, nullifying the Florida attack.

Later in the first period, this time with Jonathan Drouin sitting in the box, Poehling made another subtle play that took the pressure off the Canadiens. He raced to the corner for a loose puck, clearly moving quicker than he did last season, and barely beat a Panthers forward to the puck. When he got there, he again positioned himself so that he was between the opposing player and the puck.

Poehling was on his backhand so it would have been difficult for him to make a play with the puck immediately as he was deep in his own zone and shorthanded. So, he used his size again to buy an extra second, repositioned himself slightly so that he could make a direct pass to a teammate who was able to clear the zone.

Then came his biggest play of the night in the third period. Again, with the team shorthanded, Poehling made a huge play. He broke up a pass in the defensive zone and then quickly pounced on the loose puck and carried it the length of the ice. When he got to the attacking zone he toe dragged around a Panthers defenseman like he was a peewee player and fired a pinpoint pass to Alex Belzile who simply allowed the puck to bounce off his stick and go into the net for the game winner.

With this play, Poehling showed at the end of an exceptional defensive game that he has plenty of offensive tools in his toolbox as well. He is without a doubt a budding two-way star. The only question left is how soon can he make the NHL roster?

If Poehling continues to play like he did last night he will be wearing a Montreal Canadiens jersey this season. Chances are he will continue to play that well because it is how he played every night for the past two seasons with the St. Cloud State Huskies. He is an intelligent two-way force and showed last night that he could be the Canadiens best option on the penalty kill.

The Habs have been weak at center for years. Check that, they haven’t been weak at center for years, it has actually been decades. Unfortunately for Poehling, the team is actually building a pretty deep collection of centers right now.

It is going to be difficult for him to make the roster with Max Domi, Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi in front of him. It is possible he would start on the fourth line and play on the penalty kill, but he will be able to earn enough minutes in a defensive role to justify keeping him in the lineup.

Even if he is on the fourth line with, say, Nick Cousins and Paul Byron, they could be counted on to shut down the opposition’s top players. They could also chip in plenty of offence as well.

It is not going to take long for Poehling to prove that not only does he belong on the Canadiens roster, but he should be a fixture in their top six. He is going to quickly prove that he is as good defensively as Danault and even better offensively. Just pencil him into your projected lineup and trust me, he’s going to be there.