The Montreal Canadiens are finally back in action tonight, though it will be with a depleted lineup when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning.
There are also some top prospects in action at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Kaiden Guhle and Canada will take on Austria tonight after winning their opener over Jan Mysak and Czechia on Sunday. Mysak’s team also lost yesterday to Germany, though it was in overtime so the have one point after two games.
There is a third Canadiens prospect in the tournament, as Oliver Kapanen and Team Finland are off to a 2-0 start with wins over Germany and Austria. Though Czechia is off to a disappointing start, Finland and Canada certainly have medal hopes in this tournament. Guhle is playing a top four role on the blue line and has shown to be a physical presence on the ice against Czechia.
We have seen some great performances over the years by current Habs players at this event. It doesn’t always translate to immediate NHL success or else Martin Reway would have become a start after his ten points in five game performance back in 2014.
Of course, Reway dealt with some serious health issues that derailed his career, and he is still playing pro in Czechia.
Last year, Cole Caufield helped the United States win a gold medal while Guhle was on the Canadian team that took home silver. Neither player completely dominated the event, but a handful of current Canadiens did dominate when they played at the World Juniors.
Let’s take a look at the top five performances by current Canadiens players at the World Juniors over the years.