Three Canadiens Prospects Who Have An NHL Future After AHL Playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens season ended long ago but the news is just starting to heat up in the offseason rumour mill. Shea Weber was traded last night for Evgeni Dadonov, Kent Hughes mentioned trade calls are heating up and suddenly the NHL Draft is right around the corner.

While we haven’t seen Canadiens on-ice action in six weeks, their AHL affiliate has been busy. The Laval Rocket were just eliminated on Wednesday night from the Calder Cup playoffs in Game 7 of the conference final.

They were a bit of an underdog heading into the postseason, but were able to sneak past the Rochester Americans before quickly dispatching of the Syracuse Crunch in the second round. Their third round opponent, the Springfield Thunderbirds proved to be just a bit too much to handle.

In fact, it was a couple of former Habs who really helped carry the Thunderbirds past the Rocket. Charlie Lindgren was terrific in goal for Springfield and Matthew Peca scored some big goals in the series to propel the Thunderbirds into the Calder Cup Final where they will face the Chicago Wolves.

While he Rocket fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the Calder Cup, a few of their young players did stand out along the way. Often times with AHL teams it is the veteran players carrying the team and it doesn’t really mean the NHL team is about to get an infusion of talent from their great AHL affiliate.

This was partly the case with the Rocket’s playoff run. Veteran defenders Xavier Ouellet and Louis Belpedio played big minutes in all situations. Danick Martel led the team in scoring but he will be 28 by the end of the year and wouldn’t really be considered a prospect at this point in his career.

But these three players proven they will be playing in the NHL next season, and should see plenty of action with the Montreal Canadiens in the future.

Corey Schueneman

Corey Schueneman kind of came out of nowhere but he has developed into an interesting piece for the Canadiens blue line moving forward. He is going to turn 27 before next season’s training camp begins, but he is the definition of a late bloomer.

He proved during the Rocket’s playoff run that he could easily step into the NHL lineup on a regular basis next season.

Schueneman slotted in behind Ouellet on the team’s second defence pairing throughout the playoffs and was just a steady, reliable presence at both ends of the ice. He isn’t the flashiest player or the most physical defender, but he just subtly gets the job done with and without the puck so routinely that he becomes a coaches dream.

At 26, he isn’t the age of a normal prospect, but he didn’t turn pro until he was 24 after a solid college career at Western Michigan. He scored 11 points in 32 games for the Rocket in the regular season and added six points in his 24 game NHL audition.

He had just four points in 15 playoff games for Laval, but smoothly moved the puck up ice and was in the right spot every time on defence.

I don’t know if he will ever develop into a top four guy at the NHL level, but Schueneman definitely proved during the AHL playoffs that he is ready for regular action at the highest level.

Cayden Primeau

Cayden Primeau was also a 7th round pick of the Canadiens, and he proved that he will have an NHL future. The 22 year old goaltender has had his ups and downs in his three year pro career, but his first taste of playoff action at the pro level was a huge success.

Primeau was inconsistent in the regular season and Kevin Poulin stole the starting role away from him late in the season. In fact, Poulin started Game 1 of the playoffs for the Rocket. When he lost, Primeau stepped in for Game 2 and he never looked back.

The Rocket were often outplayed in games, but Primeau was the sole difference between victory and defeat on a number of occasions. He certainly played the best hockey of his pro career in this postseason and it stretched on for weeks.

The Thunderbirds were clearly the better team on the ice on a nightly basis in the conference final, but they were frustrated by Primeau in every game. He faced an average of 40 shots per game in the series, and posted a .935 save percentage. Over the course of the postseason, Primeau played 14 games and had a 2.17 GAA and a .936 SV%.

Primeau was pushed into duty at the NHL level this season and it didn’t go well. He was not quite ready for the role and playing behind a terrible and unorganized team. His numbers were unflattering, and many detractors appeared to question his ability at the highest level.

While questions were warranted in February, Primeau has shown each of his three pro seasons that when he plays a lot, he plays his best. Never was he better than in the playoffs and he was able to prove that he definitely has an NHL future for the Canadiens.

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