Montreal Canadiens: Predicting The Laval Rocket Top Powerplay Unit

The Montreal Canadiens are probably a year or two away from having their top prospects breaking into the lineup. Still, their American Hockey League affiliate Laval Rocket will have a nice cast of youth.

A testament to the new development team that has been implemented will be how the Rocket play this season. It will take a little time for the first-year pros to find their footing, but once they do, the Rocket will have a fast, skilled and exciting team.

An uptick in the offensive production throughout the roster is likely, and with that, the powerplay should reap the benefits of the youthful overhaul. There are some very talented young players, and once the chemistry develops there will be a lot for Habs management to see. An area that will see an uptick, is the quality of players that will earn call-ups, with the journeymen and career minor league players left in the past.

An area that I would like to hone in on with a fine-toothed comb is the number one powerplay because this is where the cream of the crop will be found. There will be reinforcements on the blue line, with a few guys that could emerge as number one power play quarterbacks. Offensively, at least throughout the forward core, there are some great playmakers, and some very good shooters as well.

Predicting the top power play won’t be a perfect science, there are injuries and there are always moving pieces to try and balance the talent between the top two units. But this will garner a ton of attention, and give the Canadiens faithful a glimpse of what is to come in the future. There will be battles for the first call-up, and it will be a big benefit for the on-ice product.

Let’s dive in, and try to predict what the top powerplay might look like.

There will be positional battles throughout each position, and that will be a huge benefit for every area on the team, from defence to offence. Penalty killing and the power play will be very telling and will prove important for the players’ confidence.

Sniper, One-Timer Option

In terms of talents that will beat goalies regularly, there are two players that stand out and give Laval the best chance to strike and grab the momentum. Both played in the CHL, one in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and the other in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Sherbrooke Phoenix. Joshua Roy and Jared Davidson are the two purest shooters on the roster, with Jesse Ylonen and Emil Heineman looking to make the jump to the NHL this season.

To me, Roy is a little ahead of Davidson, so I think he will wrestle the top powerplay spot away from Davidson, which shouldn’t take anything away from Davidson. Roy, at the moment, is the most deceptive and because his playmaking skills are so strong, he earns the respect of the opposition, as a dual-threat player.

He freezes the opposition regularly, and his ability to mask his intentions until the last second makes him a nightmare in the offensive zone, if the defender guesses wrong, the puck could end in the back of his net.

Davidson has been a late bloomer, and with that, he will take a little more time to sharpen his tools in the offensive zone, which I would bet on him to do. He lacks the deceptiveness that Roy has, but there are teachable things, and Davidson has the toolkit to become a great powerplay sniper, he will just need some coaching to refine his game.

For now, Roy, in my opinion, will be the best option as the number one shooter, throughout the entire lineup.

Bumper, Half-Wall & Top Playmaker

Assessing the options for the top three roles as complimentary pieces to the top quarterback and sniper is a very tough task. The reason is that there are a ton of different options, and it could boil down to whether JF Houle wants to keep the unit young, with the best options or have some veterans that can help the youth acclimate to the professional level. I am no couch general manager, but I do think letting the best players play the minutes they’ve earned, is the best option.

Riley Kidney stood out in his first preseason outing with the Rocket, earning three assists in a 3-1 win over the Toronto Marlies. For these reasons, and the fact that he projects as a very good playmaker, who skates well and has a sneaky good shot, I think he should find his way onto the top power play. He has brilliant vision, and his passing skills are very good, and while his shot isn’t dynamic, he could become a much better well-rounded threat, if he focused on shooting the puck more. I think he could be great in the bumper position.

Down the middle, is the hardest to predict, and if there isn’t a young guy that can be relied upon to win faceoffs and control the puck right away in the offensive zone, then one of the older guys might need to take the role. Hear me out here, but I think a guy like Xavier Simoneau could mix it up in front of the net and be a nice option to take faceoffs. He isn’t the most skilled guy, but he plays a rugged game for his size and could be the perfect player to distract opposing goaltenders.

I think it would be worthwhile to slot either Filip Mesar or Sean Farrell as the fifth player on the power play, both players add different things, but playmaking is something they both have a skill set to do. Mesar is a great skater, both fast and quick, which is a welcomed addition, especially if there’s a turnover at the blue line, he can keep up in foot races, and his shot is a threat as well. I think Farrell is more of a playmaker, who needs to shoot more, and because of that I feel that Mesar will start the season on the top unit, but Farrell could very realistically wrestle that role back or swap in ahead of Mesar.

This isn’t an exact science but as a Canadiens fan, I want to see the young guys gaining all the experience, and the best way to do that is to play big minutes, and on the man advantage, they can work on their offensive skills. With expectations held in check, and patience being an integral tool in progressing going forward, the young players will benefit from the reps.

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