Five Montreal Canadiens prospects who may be at the end of the road
By Omar L
Arvid Henrikson
The Montreal Canadiens only had six draft picks back in 2016. Of those six, Victor Mete has been the only one to see time in the NHL after being taken in the fourth-round 100th overall.
Defenceman seemed to be the focused that year as Mete was one of four blueliners selected. Another one of them was Arvid Henrikson. Henrikson was Montreal’s final draft pick of Day Two, going 187th overall out of AIK Jrs in Sweden.
The right-handed defenceman had a good frame going for him standing at 6’5 and 210 pounds. However, like all draft picks that late, expectations were low for what Henrikson could become.
Henrikson spent his draft year up and down the AIK organization. He played 21 games for the J18 team in the Elit league scoring 4 goals and 16 assists in 21 games and captained the J18 team in the Allsvenskan league putting up 10 points in 15 games. He also saw the occasional bump up to the J20 and the main club.
The rollercoaster placement and production followed Henrikson after the Montreal Canadiens called out his name. His days with the J18 teams were over moving from the same AIK team to Örebro HK in the 2017-18 season. Henrikson even got an opportunity to make his SHL debut, but that’s all it would be.
The offence was never there, and he was rarely consistent enough to get a full-time spot on the main professional clubs.
Henrikson made the transition to North America playing in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers but was bumped down to the American Junior Hockey League for a number of games. This past season saw him play for Lake Superior State University in the NCAA.
The four-year mark is approaching for Henrikson, but I don’t think this is a prospect the Montreal Canadiens plan to sign.