The promising Montreal Canadiens: Top 5 players under 22 years-old

2-Jesperi Kotkaniemi

At the 2018 NHL draft, Montreal selected center Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the 3rd overall  Kotkaniemi had a good rookie season, and many fans were excited. However, after the holiday he seemed exhausted and wasn’t producing much, which led him to miss the first half of the next season to go play with the Laval Rockets.

When the pandemic forced the NHL to cancel the season and continue with a playoff bubble, Kotkaniemi was given the chance to prove what he could do and he gave us a great impression. In 10 games, ”KK” scored 4 goals and was +4.

At the beginning of the 2021 season, Kotkaniemi is playing on the 3rd line with Tyler Toffoli, Joel Armia, and Correy Perry. Kotkaniemi is known for his great shot, not only powerful but precise. ‘’KK’’ was often compared to Jean Béliveau or Anze Kopitar and if he develops to become that kind of player, he could be a solid member of the organization for the years to come.

1-Nick Suzuki

Nick Suzuki was acquired in the Max Pacioretty trade in 2018. In his rookie season, Suzuki proved to be an impressive young player with a great hockey IQ, with 13 goals and 28 assists in 71 games. Many Canadiens fans were excited to see the future with Suzuki because he was becoming a dominant player for the Habs.

Suzuki plays as if he had been in the NHL for years, with a lot of confidence. Suzuki had a good playoff run with 7 points in 10 games last year and since then, many analysts and amateur have projected Suzuki to become the number one center for years to come. This player is extremely smart and he always makes the right decision offensively and defensively.

With the 2021 season, Suzuki has already produced well. He is playing with Josh Anderson and Jonathan Drouin. Every time this line is on the ice, something is happening, especially because of Suzuki. With talent, intelligence, great shot, and good hands, Suzuki is an overall excellent young player at 21 years-old.