Montreal Canadiens: Luke Tuch Faces Tough Test in First NCAA Playoff Game
Montreal Canadiens prospect Luke Tuch raised his stock considerably this season.
In an odd year where many players, especially prospects, either played very little or haven’t been able to play at all, Tuch impressed and really climbed the ladder of Habs top prospects this season.
Tuch was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft, so it’s not like he came out of nowhere. However, he wasn’t a high scoring player before this season so it was expected he would struggle to find offence as a freshman at the college level.
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That wasn’t exactly the case. After putting up 15 goals and 30 points in 47 games with the United States Development Program in 2019-20, Tuch stepped up at Boston University this season. He didn’t quite light the world on fire like Cole Caufield, but he scored six goals and ten points in 15 games while playing a punishing power forward style.
Tuch was second on the Boston University Terriers in goals and third in points behind a third year and a fourth year player.
Tuch has mostly played a second line left wing role and has seen plenty of power play time as well. He quickly carved out that role for himself with strong two-way play and using his 6’2″ and 203 pound frame to his advantage in winning puck battles and creating space on the forecheck.
BU finished the season with a 10-4-1 record in 15 games and enter this weekend as a #3 seed at the regional in Albany. They face a stiff test in round one as they will take on St. Cloud State today. St. Cloud have a 17-10-0 record and finished second in the deep NCHC. They are among the short list of teams that are favourites to go all the way in this tournament.
The winner of this game faces another great team in Boston College. They won the Hockey East regular season title with a 17-5-1 record on the strength of great goaltending from World Juniors star and first round draft pick Spencer Knight as well as first rounders Matt Boldy, and Alex Newhook.
Boston College received a bye today because Notre Dame, who they were supposed to play, withdrew from the tournament due to a positive Covid-19 test.
dark. Next. Habs moving up the standings while sitting idle
Tuch’s game against St. Cloud will be at 1:00 PM EST today and is going to be broadcast on ESPNews in the United States and will be streamed on TSN.ca in Canada.