Justin Barron riding a wave of confidence

Justin Barron's time with the Montreal Canadiens has been slow, but the focus remains on his developing into a quality defender for the team.

The fact that he is a right shot makes him a valued player for the Canadiens. Behind only David Savard the Canadiens are thin on the right side. There right-shot surplus of defensemen are down in Laval and/or injured (David Reinbacher & Logan Mailloux.

This gives Barron a prime opportunity to take a spot and establish himself as one of the Canadiens defenders of the future. His decision making and positioning are sometimes questionable, but he seems to be playing with some more confidence. Physically he has been engaged, throwing his weight around and keeping the opposition's heads on a swivel.

Barron threw a huge hit on Tuesday night in an attempt to energize the Canadiens and it woke up the team. Barron was challenged for a fight but refused. The important part is that he gave his team some energy.

Justin Barron has taken some flack, but hopes to turn a new leaf

There have been question marks about Barron and I don't think that he will ever be the perfect defensive defenseman. But if he plays physically and learns to slow down the game, while playing with a less is more approach, I see plenty of potential. As I mentioned above, he has some competition coming through the line, but he has time to show what he can do before then.

He has all the tools to be a good top-four defender, and if he continues using his natural tools - skating and quick release, he should be just fine. If he can play alongside a defensive defenseman that would be ideal. You can see that he put in some heavy work in the offseason, and while there is work to be done, he has shown improvements.

The one thing that is certain, or seems like it is that Barron didn't take well to the comments about him being soft throughout social media. He is engaged in the corners, at the blue line and along the boards. There is still time for Barron to become a constant piece and if he remains dedicated to doing it, the Canadiens will have some nice offensive depth on the blue line.