Montreal Canadiens: Rafael Harvey-Pinard Has Earned Latest Promotion

The Montreal Canadiens were dealing with an incredible number of injuries and illnesses and absences around Christmas.

They didn’t even have enough players for a game they played during a southern road trip and had to put 16 skaters into the lineup. There were several players injured at the time and another dozen or more out with Covid.

One of the many players call up at that time was Rafael Harvey-Pinard. He was playing fine for the Laval Rocket at the time of his call up, but he was bought up more out of necessity rather than actually forcing his way onto the NHL lineup card.

At that point in the season, Harvey-Pinard had 14 points in 24 games, including six in his three games right before getting the call. That means he started the year with just eight points in 21 contests, a much slower pace than the 20 points in 36 games he scored as a rookie with the Rocket in 2020-21.

Lately, Harvey-Pinard has been on fire for the Rocket. While his first stint with the Canadiens was just the NHL team needing to ice a full roster, this time is different.

Harvey-Pinard was recalled by the Canadiens earlier today because he can’t be stopped in the AHL right now.

In his past 30 AHL games, the 22 year old left winger has scored 13 goals and 35 points. He now leads the Laval Rocket in scoring with 19 goals and 51 points in 64 games. He is now third in the AHL in plus-minus at a plus 28.

The 7th round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft plays a gritty, tenacious two-way game that has earned him plenty of comparisons to Brendan Gallagher. He is just 5’9″ and 182 pounds, but he plays like a giant with the way he battles for pucks in corners and earns space in front of the other team’s net.

Harvey-Pinard may not have been quite ready for NHL action when he was called up in December. He did score in his first game at the top level, but he has improved dramatically in the past four months, and has been almost unstoppable in the AHL for the past two months.

He will surely be sent back down for the AHL postseason which begins in early May, but Harvey-Pinard is likely not going to see much minor league action after that. Expect him to catapult himself into a regular spot next season with a short audition to close out this year.

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