What is Otto Leskinen’s ceiling with the Montreal Canadiens?

Montreal Canadiens prospect Otto Leskinen quietly became one of the Laval Rocket’s key players last years. With proper development, he could join the Habs sooner than later.

In many ways, Otto Leskinen is one of the more underrated prospects in the Canadiens organization. A native of the small town of Pieksämäki, Finland, Leskinen honed his skills as an offensive defenseman in the SM Liiga, seeing top line minutes on an inexperienced KalPa Kuopio team, alongside former second round picks Alexandre Texier and Eetu Luostarinen.

After the 2018-19 season, where he recorded eight goals and 23 assists in 57 games, the Canadiens signed Leskinen to a two-year entry-level deal towards the beginning of the off-season.

At the time, the deal was seen as more of an interesting discussion piece than anything, as Leskinen’s numbers, while solid, didn’t exactly jump off the page. His offensive abilities were impressive, and he had shown ability to quarterback a powerplay at a lower level, but he was short at 5’11, and had the third worst +/- rating on the team at -17.

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I got my first good look at Leskinen at last year’s development camp, and he impressed me early on despite not seeing consistent minutes. He set up the games first goal, demonstrated some impressive skating abilities, and got pucks to the net well. While this was just a rookie scrimmage, I was hopeful Leskinen could at least bring some offensive help to the Laval’s back end.

So, how did he perform? Well, in a season where the Rocket were without team captain Xavier Ouellet for most of the year and lost most of their key offensive players to trades and call ups, Leskinen quietly stood out as one of the team’s top players. With Joel Bouchard implementing a team first approach after having morale issues with players like Riley Barber and Phil Varone, Leskinen developed solid chemistry with defenseman like Gustav Olofsson, Josh Brook, and Ouellet when he was healthy. With 22 points in 52 games, Leskinen finished sixth on the Rocket in scoring, and utilized his powerplay proficiency very well.

As the Rocket continued their fight for a playoff spot, the Canadiens opted to give Leskinen a chance, calling him up in December of 2019, playing five games, averaging 10 minutes of ice time per game. In what has mostly been a lost season for the Canadiens, their tendency to give younger players a shot was encouraging, and Leskinen held his own very well playing alongside players like Brett Kulak.

With the AHL season now cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Rocket fans can only look forward to next year, and Leskinen should become a key part of the team moving forward. After many instances where rookies struggled to adapt to the AHL game, the Canadiens prospects seem to be finally turning a corner, as players like Leskinen, Alexandre Alain, and Cayden Primeau took on much more significant roles as the season went on. Look for Leskinen to reprise this role next year, and possibly hit 30, maybe even 40 points next season, should the AHL resume play.

At 23 years old, Leskinen still has his best years ahead of him, and if things go well with Laval next year, or he has a solid training camp next September, he could become a solid fill in option on the Canadiens bottom pairings. While his defensive game still needs work, giving him 10 minutes a night in a primarily offensive role certainly wouldn’t hurt, and could be a nice compliment to players like Kulak.

In the past, players like Marc Andre Bergeron and even call ups like Darren Dietz have provided the Canadiens with solid offense despite lesser ice time, and with proper development and seasoning I think Leskinen could join that category. Of course, this all remains to be seen, but he’s definitely proving himself as more than just a discussion piece, becoming a key contributor for the Laval Rocket and a legitimately interesting prospect for the Montreal Canadiens.

If the NHL season does resume next year, their’s a good chance Otto Leskinen, could see his name called more than once.