Montreal Canadiens: Expectations For Rafael Harvey-Pinard
In a year full of injuries, it was hard for the Montreal Canadiens to draw many positives from their 2022-23 season, but one area that was able to find a silver lining was the guys who earned chances in the lineup, because of the open roster spots.
Guys who otherwise would have played in the bottom six or even down in the American Hockey League with the Laval Rocket earned very important experience. One player stood out from the rest, and in a small sample size of games, he was able to establish himself as a guy who could have a much bigger role in 2024.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard could be referred to as a band-aid player for the roster last year, and that is meant as no insult. He emerged as a very important piece to help prevent the Canadiens offence from drying up. Harvey-Pinard was the model of consistency, down in Laval before his call-up to the Canadiens, where he scored 31 points (16 goals & 15 assists) in 40 games.
Upon his call-up to the big club with the Canadiens, he continued his productive way, while also playing his rugged style, which has garnered him the nickname Lavallagher. He played 34 games with the Habs, and he scored 20 points (14 goals & six assists). His speed and tenacity earned him a promotion to the top line, alongside Nick Suzuki and he didn’t look out of place.
What we should expect in his sophomore year, and likely, first full season in the National Hockey League, is the question. RHP is every bit as competitive as Brendan Gallagher, and he has the never-dying motor, and the smarts to be in the right place at the right time.
He isn’t an elite shooter, but he does everything that he can to rush the puck to the net or come in behind the first line of attack to jam pucks into the net. Skating, and finding open space for passes or to make plays stand out in his game and he competes so hard every shift, that he sometimes catches the opposition off guard.
There is no sign or confirmation to the point of where he will play in the lineup, and who his linemates will be, so it’s hard to make production predictions. However, the thing about Harvey-Pinard, is that he is a player whose style fits with everybody, and he always plays the same way.
He suited up along side Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the team’s top line to close out the preseason schedule last night, but there are no guarantees he stays there when the regular season opens.
Because of his skating and intelligence, paired with his dogged style, he could very well find himself on the penalty kill. He also loves to be in the goalie’s line of vision, and his smart stick is always free to tip and deflect pucks. I don’t expect him to be an elite top-line winger, but I do think that if he played on the top line, he wouldn’t look out of place and would be the perfect player to retrieve pucks and win battles along the boards and in the corners.
So, in closing, I would like to predict what a full 82-game season could look like for Harvey-Pinard. Let’s assume he plays in the top nine and gets some penalty-killing time, and maybe a bit of time on the second power-play unit.
With that, I fully expect him to score in the 20-25 goal range, and because he has a nose for the net, and is a solid passer, I think his assists total could match his goal total. A 50-point player, maybe a little less, who does everything right and can be a Swiss army knife-style player throughout the top nine, is fantastic production from a seventh-round pick.
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