Jesse Ylonen becomes the second player from the 2018 draft class to get signed as the Montreal Canadiens get him on an entry-level contract.
The rest of the season was meant to play out differently. News came from Finland that the Montreal Canadiens 2018 second-round pick planned to fly overseas to North America and join the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the year on loan. Unfortunately, Ylonen wasn’t able to play a game with the Rocket.
It was bittersweet news for the Pelicans as they’d lose the young player but were happy that he was taking the next step to play in the NHL one day. Now with his first contract signed and official, Ylonen is another step closer to reaching that goal.
The Montreal Canadiens announced they’ve signed the 20-year-old to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal begins next season and will last until the end of the 2022-23 campaign, where the Habs hope Ylonen will be in a team uniform by then.
Ylonen has spent the last two years playing in the Liiga league with the Pelicans. He put up 13 goals and 14 assists in his debut season of 52 games. Ylonen also turned heads at the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championships scoring 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 7 games for Team Finland on their way to a gold medal.
There is a lot of speed and shiftiness that comes to Ylonen’s game. Although his last season with the Pelicans saw a decrease in his point totals to 12 goals and 10 assists, there is a lot that he’ll be able to bring to the Montreal Canadiens organization.
The next question is whether the Habs send him to play in Laval immediately or allow him to compete for a spot on the NHL roster. Artturi Lehkonen was left overseas for three years before making his NHL debut for the 2016-17 campaign. Perhaps a similar path is in waiting for Ylonen as he’ll have fellow countrymen Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia to help bridge the gap to NHL hockey.
Ylonen is now the second prospect from the 2018 NHL Draft to be signed to an entry-level contract. Who knows who the next one will be, but it’s a win for the Montreal Canadiens who looked confident walking away from the draft table that day.