Montreal Canadiens fans have to be happy for a guy like Ryan Poehling. He is another feel good story in the making after his two goal night at home against Nashville on Saturday.
Poehling has had a difficult time establishing himself as a full time player in the NHL. The door was open for him to make the Canadiens opening night roster, but he seemed to be playing not to fail, rather than going out there to win a spot, and was sent back to the Laval Rocket again this year after a lacklustre pre season.
Recently having been recalled after injuries to Cedric Paquette and Mike Hoffman opened some space on the Canadiens roster, Poehling has seized the opportunity this time. He has now played 5 games with the Habs on this call up. He started centring the 4th line and has moved up in the lineup, seeing some time both at centre and on the wing, with some of Montreal’s more offensively gifted players, and he has not looked at all out of place.
Using a quick release he beat Juuse Saros with great shots, twice on one shift in the 2nd period Saturday. Suddenly Poehling is chasing the team lead in goals with 3. He’s playing confident, determined, disciplined, defensively responsible hockey, with a scoring upside, and looks to be ready to move Cedric Paquette down a spot on the Canadiens depth chart.
His 1st game in the NHL in the 2018-2019 season against the Toronto Maple Leafs Poehling showed that he can score in bunches. Since that story book start, it’s been a long journey for Ryan. He has steadily worked on his game, becoming a point per game player in Laval, and earned this recent call up to the Canadiens.
If the Habs really want to avoid another first round draft disaster, he should be given the opportunity to build on his new found confidence and not be sent back down now. He should be rewarded with a continued spot on the roster.
Ryan Poehling finally looks like he belongs in the NHL, and has nothing left to prove in Laval. At this point in this difficult season, the Habs need to keep an eye on the future and Ryan Poehling has passed his latest biggest test of his young career.