Montreal Canadiens Send Down Ryan Poehling
The Montreal Canadiens announced that Ryan Poehling will be sent back down to the Laval Rocket. He was called up when Jesperi Kotkaniemi was injured last week.
The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in a thrilling shootout victory last night. Shortly after the game, they announced that center Ryan Poehling has been sent back down to the Laval Rocket.
Poehling was the team’s first round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut in last season’s final game and scored a hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He had a strong start to training camp this year but was injured with a concussion against the Florida Panthers and started the year with the Rocket.
Poehling played 13 games with the Rocket to start the year and had three goals and five points. He was called up to the Habs last week when Jesperi Kotkaniemi was placed on injured reserve with an injured groin.
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The 20 year old center played the last four games with the Canadiens and averaged just under nine minutes per game. He started in a third line role with Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen but the lines were quickly shuffled and he found himself on the left wing of the fourth line with Nate Thompson and Nick Cousins.
He wast given any special teams time and was the team’s least used forward in each of his four games. With Kotkaniemi set to return very soon, it makes sense to send Poehling down, rather than have him continue to play less than nine minutes on most nights and not get any special teams usage.
It is one thing to have Poehling play on the fourth line if they are getting a regular rotation at five on five and he is getting some penalty killing minutes or is even being used in front of the net on the second power play. However, if they aren’t willing to have him on the ice for more than eight or nine minutes per night, there isn’t much point is having him on the roster.
It wasn’t long ago that the Habs had a desperate need for anyone who could play center. However, with Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nate Thompson currently on the roster, Poehling is not going to be handed a spot in the lineup.
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It is now up to him to go back to the Laval Rocket and show he can be trusted in all situations. Hopefully we see him dominate in the American Hockey League after getting another taste of NHL action. It won’t be long before we see Poehling back in a Habs sweater.