Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Who Will Stand Out At Rookie Tournament

Emil Heineman

Emil Heineman was acquired in the deal that saw Tyler Toffoli depart for the Calgary Flames, and while he might not have been the piece that the Canadiens requested originally, he could be just what they need.

He came over from Leksands IF in the SHL towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign after they were eliminated from the playoffs, and made an immediate impact with the Laval Rocket. His shot and offensive mind are two big parts of his game that stood out from the get-go, and he used those tools to post seven goals and two assists through 11 games with the Rocket before the season ended.

While he showed just a small sample size, it was more than enough for the Canadiens development staff to work with, and if he had a good summer in preparation for the upcoming season, he could be a real threat to crack the Canadiens roster. With that said, the rookie games will come first, and I fully expect him to be an impactful presence on the ice.

Whether that translates to the scoresheet or not, is yet to be determined, but I believe even if he isn’t scoring, his shot will keep goalies guessing, which will earn his linemates scoring opportunities.

The only pure goalscorer that the Canadiens have right now is Cole Caufield, and perhaps Jesse Ylonen, although it’s yet to truly take centre stage for the latter. So there is definitely a spot for Heineman and his great shot, which should burn goalies during the Canadiens rookie games. Losing Toffoli wasn’t fun, but watching Heineman, who is younger and fits better with the core rip pucks past goaltenders should ease the blow.

The Habs are young and hungry for success, and while the obvious core players will keep pushing the team towards better days, these three players will start their ascension to the NHL club in Buffalo.

They should ideally be standouts, and give Habs fans just what they’ve been wanting, a young, fast and exciting brand of hockey. Martin St Louis, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are all on board with achieving this style of hockey with the Canadiens, and they will be watching this trio of players closely during the rookie games.

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