Montreal Canadiens: Let’s Not Ruin Shane Wright Please

To go out on a limb, if Shane Wright plays a whole year in the NHL, I don’t think he will put up stellar offensive numbers. There is a genuine question on whether Wright should or should not play a whole season in the NHL next year.

On the latest episode of a podcast I am a part of, Puck And Roll, I got to talk with fellow writer here on A Winning Habit and resident prospect expert Sebastian, who has seen I don’t know how many games of Shane Wright, and he suggested that Wright should probably be held back another year.

To him, it’s a question of domination. You want a first overall pick to dominate the NHL, but it is hard to dominate the best league in the world, especially when you haven’t dominated a lower league before. If Wright has a fantastic year in the AHL or OHL, he will enter the Montreal Canadiens and the NHL as confident as possible.

But if a 1st overall pick is not in the NHL right away, he will be seen as a bust in the eyes of many. It doesn’t matter if it is the best course for Wright. Especially when you look at the team that is going to draft him.

 The Montreal Canadiens Fanbase

I am a Montreal Canadiens fan. Odds are that whoever is reading this is a Habs fan too. And for the most part, the fans are okay. Generally, with any fanbase, the majority of the fans are normal, healthy fans, but then there are the ones that are not.

The fans that got angry at Jonathan Drouin for taking a break for his mental health and demanding answers and transparency when what he needed was time away from all of this. He needed time away because the pressure from the fans for being a forward and a Quebecois player was immense.

The Canadiens have one of, if not the, biggest fanbase in the NHL. They also have one of the most grueling media gauntlets in sports. And the Montreal Canadiens have the most storied history in hockey. The pressure is immense for just a 4th line player. It is almost unfathomable for a 1st overall pick.

It depends on the temperament of the player, maturity and such to determine whether he will succeed and fail. But no question it will be tough on an 18 year old.

Shane Wright will be a good NHL player, if we all just leave him alone and develop on his own time. There will be growing pains. There will be times where he will not play great, but those times will start to be fewer and farther between.

I just thank God that Wright wasn’t born in Quebec, or the pressure might physically crush him flat. Please, just go easy on him. It will be better for everyone.

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