Montreal Canadiens: Ty Smilanic Settles On ECHL
The Montreal Canadiens acquired Ty Smilanic at the trade deadline in the 2021-22 season.
Though it was only about a year and a half ago, Smilanic has been through more ups and downs than most players go through in their careers since he joined the Canadiens organization.
He was playing his second season at Quinnipiac, a perennial contender at the college hockey level. He had a strong Freshman season there in 2020-21 scoring 14 goals and 21 points in 29 games, making the Florida Panthers look wise for selecting him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Smilanic started his second college season strong as well, scoring 20 points in his first 26 games. Then, his production dried up. He wrapped up the season with just three points in his final 15 games and slid down the Quinnipiac lineup.
It was a pretty stark turnaround in his production, and it came around the time he was traded from the Panthers to the Canadiens as part of the Ben Chiarot trade. His career took another surprise twist in the following offseason when he chose to change schools, and transferred to Wisconsin.
After a slow start in his first season with Wisconsin, Smilanic took time away from hockey altogether to focus on his mental health as the weight of expectations, and lack of production took their toll on him. He returned late in the season, but had just one goal and one assist in 14 games in what would become his only season with the Badgers.
In yet another surprise move, Smilanic left college this summer and showed up at Canadiens rookie camp. Since he chose to leave college a year early, he was in an odd spot as he needed to earn a contract, but was going to be property of the Canadiens whether he got one or not. The Habs still own his rights until next summer.
Smilanic did not make the NHL team and was assigned to the Laval Rocket training camp where he was also released. This left him in limbo for a few days as he really had nowhere to play. It was too late to go back to college as he skated in an NHL training camp and he is not eligible to sign with another team since the Canadiens own his NHL rights.
So, yesterday, the 21 year old forward signed with the Trois-Rivieres Lions of the ECHL for the upcoming season. He didn’t really have another choice, but this could work out best for the young player. Playing in a quiet market like the ECHL could allow him to get back to what made him successful in the first year and a half of his college career.
Hopefully Smilanic can get back to focusing on hockey and start to look like the player that made a USA World Junior team not long ago. He will have to prove himself this season and then hope the Canadiens offer an entry-level contract for the 2024-25 campaign.
dark. Next. Final Preseason Game Gives Reason For Excitement
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!