Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Making Case For Starting Job Next Season

Despite never being close to making the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens are giving us quite a show. Led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, the NHL Rookie Of The Month for March, the youngsters are proving that they are hungry and belong in the NHL.

Rem Pitlick of course needs to be mentioned as he is proving to everyone that all he needed was ice time in order to display his talent. Michael Pezzetta will be hard to move as he is establishing himself as an effective fourth line spark plug, a line by the way which can see a battle between Jake Evans and Ryan Poehling if both can stay healthy.

Not to mention, we are also seeing some very positive things from Justin Barron at the blue line and Jordan Harris didn’t look out of place at all when he played his first NHL game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

One of the most surprising stories is the one of the Finnish-American right winger Jesse Ylönen.

The 22 year old has raised more than the fair share of eyebrows in the latter half of this season as he has a very respectable scoring sheet of 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in 11 games.

The 2018 second rounder has lived up to expectations when it comes to some of his skill. His agility and stickhandling were never in question but he has taken the both to a near elite level. Combined that with a decent amount of wheels, and Ylönen’s name might very well be mentioned more often as the team starts to figure out who will play with the big club next season.

Fans of the umlaut, particularly Mötorhead fans such as I, will of course be pleased.

His strong showing with the Laval Rocket this season and last have earned him a call up to the NHL level and he might very well stay there. In 74 games with the Rocket, Ylönen tallied 21 goals and 26 assists totalling 47 points.

Despite Cole Caufield’s flexibility to play left or right wing, Ylönen might force the hand of management to make a move given the traffic jam that’s evident on the right side of the offensive squad.

Josh Anderson is going nowhere and it’s doubtful the Canadiens will even attempt to shop Brendan Gallagher around in the offseason. Caufield has seen reps again on the right side when Rem Pitlick was promoted on the top line along with Nick Suzuki. Which leaves Joel Armia as the obvious choice to be moved in the offseason.

It’s no secret that the name of Joel Armia floated around in discussions at the trade deadline so it won’t come as a shock if he is moved this summer. All the head coaches who’ve paraded behind the bench with Armia penciled into the lineup have tried to use him in all possible situations, including stints on the left wing, but the frustrating inconsistency of the winger despite having a bag load of talent will inevitably be his demise with the Canadiens.

Barring an absolutely horrid training camp, it’s safe to say Ylönen will be penciled in on opening night next season as the right winger on the 4th line. His potential however can easily make him available to replace any other right winger if needed.

Pairing him with someone like Michael Pezzetta would also be a safe move as Ylönen is not known for his physical play at all, and Josh Anderson can’t protect everyone on the front end. Some weight up front is an obvious glaring need that the Canadiens will need to address. Someone like Nino Niederreiter, as mentioned in a previous article, would fit the bill perfectly.

Having this kind of production while playing on average less than 10 minutes a game is impressive on its own. If he continues this way through the rest of the season, he’s that much closer to earning a permanent spot in the NHL.

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