Montreal Canadiens: Alexey Marchenko is an upgrade over Christian Folin

Marchenko had a strong start scoring in his first game with the team before falling out of the lineup playing 11 games in total.

Granted, that was a 25-year-old Marchenko, younger and less experienced, that couldn’t find a full-time role on two defensively poor teams. Some of those descriptions have changed. Marchenko is three years older and has gained more overall experience, but things are still the same as far as his NHL outlook.

Another bright spot to this story is Marchenko and transitioning prospect Alexander Romanov were on the same team. It came out in February that both could join the Montreal Canadiens, which would give Romanov a mentor-like figure to help him adjust to the NHL and North American lifestyle.

We already know Romanov is coming, and Marchenko is likely waiting for the same reassurances as far as what happens with the NHL before making a decision.

The question is whether Marchenko is an improvement over what the Montreal Canadiens already have?

With the right side being taken up by Shea Weber and Jeff Petry, Marchenko will be on the bottom pairing likely replacing Christian Folin. He and Marchenko are fairly comparable.

They both shoot right and are a similar height and weight (Folin is 6’3″ and 204 lbs while Marchenko is 6’3″ and 205 lbs). Marchenko was the better scorer in the minors, but both have minimal scoring in the NHL. Folin gets the edge over his career but also has 123 games over Marchenko.