Can Alexander Romanov Succeed Amidst the High Expectations?

The high expectations that have been placed upon him, while daunting for a 20-year-old rookie with little experience as a top-six defenseman at a professional level, aren’t surprising. The Canadiens have endured a rough past few seasons, with a hopeful 2016-17 campaign being washed away following the departure of top players like Alexander Radulov and Andrei Markov.  Similarly, these past two seasons have been up and down in terms of success, with these past playoffs given fans a glimpse into the team’s future, with former first-round picks Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi showcasing their immense potential.

In a similar sense, Romanov has showcased his potential in his performances at the 2019 and 2020 world juniors and two seasons with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. In the grand scheme of things, Moscow is one of, if not the KHL’s best, with an influx of high-level talent, making them a daunting opponent for most any team.

Heading into this current NHL season, former CSKA players like New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin and Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov should look to be key parts of their respective teams, having posted some very impressive numbers in their tenures’ in the KHL. In the 2018-19 season, Sorokin posted a 28-6-4 record with a 1.16 GAA and 11 shutouts, while Kaprizov finished second on the team in scoring with 51 points over 57 games.

In comparison, Romanov had 4 points over 43 games that season, following it up with 7 points over 43 games in 2019-20. Now, admittedly, Romanov had played a much lesser role on that CSKA team, that of a third-pairing defenseman, which possibly contributed to his impressive +16 and +21 ratings over those two seasons, along with his solid defensive abilities.

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Now heading into his first NHL season, can Romanov live up to the expectations and perform at a potential Calder Trophy level? Well, there’s a number of things to consider in regard to that, some that are less a critique of Romanov’s abilities and more an analysis of what kind of a player he is at the moment. Over these past few seasons, the Calder Trophy has been awarded to a number of truly game-breaking players, like Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, and New York Islanders center Matthew Barzal.

These are all examples of the exact kind of player the Canadiens have lacked in, outside of goaltender Carey Price. A truly game-breaking star, someone who can be relied on to produce either on or off the puck, night in and night out. Even prior to their selections in the draft, these players still played top-line roles for their respective junior and, in some cases, professional teams, like Petterson with Vaxjo HC of the SweHL. They were used to playing in a top-line role and were able to adjust accordingly in the NHL.

For Alexander Romanov, in spite of his promising showcases at the WJC and at times in the KHL, he’s yet to play anything beyond a bottom-pairing role professionally, in a league which, as I’ve stated previously, is of a much different skill level than the NHL. While the KHL is still an incredibly talented league, many of its top players are former NHLers who simply couldn’t stick around. Couple that with a larger ice surface and much different style of play, and it’s simply a different brand of hockey as compared to the NHL.