Montreal Canadiens: Riley Kidney Scores Two More Points, Moves Into Top 5

Montreal Canadiens prospect Riley Kidney has a breakout season for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last season, and he is building upon that success with a tremendous 2022-23 campaign.

Kidney was the Canadiens second round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and he would lead the QMJHL in assists with 70 the following season. He added 30 goals to make it an even 100 points on a deep Titan squad.

The Enfield, Nova Scotia native is showing this season that it was no fluke that he piled up those numbers. Sometimes a player finds himself in the right spot on a great team and the points flow easily, but Kidney was a catalyst for the Titan last season and is helping ensure they don’t bottom out too hard this season.

After 24 games, Kidney has scored 13 goals and also has 26 assists for 39 points. That 1.63 points per game is even better than the 1.5 PPG he put up last season and he is once again among the top scorers in the league. After another two point effort yesterday against the Rimouski Oceanic, Kidney is tied for third in the QMJHL in points.

His team continues scuffling along at 10-11-4 now, and it leads one to wonder if Kidney could be a prime trade candidate later this season. He would be a great fit on any contender, perhaps his hometown Halifax Mooseheads will be interested.

Before that, Kidney will likely be playing some big games in Halifax as a member of Team Canada’s World Junior team. He was a depth piece on the 2022 team this past summer and should find himself playing a two-way role in the upcoming tournament that just so happens to be taking place in his own back yard.

He sure looks ready to play on the big stage, as no team in the QMJHL seems to be able to slow him down. Rimouski sure couldn’t on Sunday.

Kidney opened the scoring, while shorthanded, when he turned the puck up ice after his teammate forced a turnover at the blue line. Kidney broke into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 and wisely used the open ice to create some space between himself and his teammate.

As one of the best passers in the league, the defender smartly defended against a cross-seam pass, but Kidney fired off a perfect wrist shot just off the inside of the far post, showing off his improved release from this season.

In the second period, a similar play happened but Kidney was on the passing end this time. The Titan were shorthanded again, and Kidney broke up a play just inside his own zone and chopped the puck ahead to teammate Jacon Melanson who broke in and scored the team’s second shorthanded goal of the night.

The Titan would go on to blow a late 3-1 lead and lose in a shootout. But once again, Kidney had a great game, added two points while shorthanded, played in all situations, made many smart plays and continued on his pace for his second consecutive 100 point season.

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