Is Nick Suzuki becoming the Montreal Canadiens 1C an if or a when?

Sometimes players are made the number one centre by circumstance. We can throw Danault into this category because of the players he was lining up against. He was playing with the likes of Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov, while Tomas Plekanec wasn’t able to hold those difficult assignments. At the same time, the ‘Alex Galchenyuk at centre’ experiment was at a rollercoaster.

True number ones are elite at either end of the ice. They are primary producers in both goals and primary assists while maintaining the same level of generation in their own end. This entails things such as transitioning and retrieving the puck as well as consistently winning battles.

The key here is individual balance with the ability to make those around him better. It’s only been a year, but Suzuki has shown early signs of that.

He makes use of his vision offensively and defensively and tries to make plays more often then he shoots himself. His playmaking at the moment is Aleksander Barkov-like, given the kinds of passes he likes to make. One, in particular, is his ‘fake wrister,’ which is very effective on the rush.

It’s such a deceptive pass and makes goaltenders believe that Suzuki is taking a shot, and unfortunately for them, they commit to the save leaving the other side of the net open. And even if there is a defender back trying to cover the pass, Suzuki makes use of saucer passes to move the puck. It’s not perfect at the moment, but with time, it could be a lethal weapon in the league.

An area that will start to show more of that OHL domination is on the power play. The Montreal Canadiens thankfully started putting the 20-year-old on that top unit, and once the team either 1) finds more finishers or 2) have their forwards finish more, Suzuki will shine. His passes, be it long or short, are crisp and quick, especially those passes to the slot.