Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Who Took Advantage of Unlikely Opportunity

Corey Schueneman

Corey Schueneman was one of the most pleasant surprises on the Laval Rocket last season. He came as a fairly unheralded free agent signing to the Canadiens AHL affiliate, but he quickly became a key member of their strong team.

The Laval Rocket had a great season in 2020-21, finishing the shortened, Canada-only schedule with a 23-9-4 record. They finished first in the Canadian Division and were crowned champions of that division since there was no postseason for most of the AHL last year.

Schueneman scored three goals and 12 points in 36 games while moving up the lineup into a top four role. He showed to be a smooth skater and smart defensive player. He isn’t a flashy offensive defenceman, but he knows when to jump into the play offensively and can skate the puck into the zone and create offensive chances with his speed, skill and vision.

When the Canadiens lost a handful of defencemen to the Covid list, they called up Schueneman.

Schueneman played all three games on the team’s recent road trip and increased his ice time from 11:36 in game one to 18:25 in the third game of the trip. Some of that was made necessary by the lack of available defencemen, but Schueneman certainly earned it with his play.

The 26 year old left shooting defenceman had one assist in those three games, and looked more comfortable at both ends of the ice as each game went along. He showed he could fit in and play big minutes against some of the best teams in the NHL.