The Montreal Canadiens are not having a great season but a few of their players are having fantastic campaigns.
Their first line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky have been their three best players and look to be a dominant line heading into the future. Mike Matheson is also putting up an incredible number of points from the blue line and some young defenders are taking strides in the right direction as well.
The one player that is once again separating himself from the pack is Suzuki. He had 66 points last season and 61 the year before. Those numbers are all the more impressive when you consider how poorly those teams played and that there was very little help for him in the lineup.
This season, Suzuki has taken another leap forward in his development. Not only are his offensive numbers better, as he has 22 goals and 55 points in 58 games to put him on pace for 78 this season which would be a new career high by a wide margin.
He is also one of the team's best defensive forwards this season, taking a regular shift on the penalty kill and often being matched up against the other teams best players in a shutdown role. He has blossomed this season as a terrific two-way player and the hockey world is taking notice.
With a couple of best on best international tournaments on the horizon, Suzuki has put himself on the radar to make Team Canada. The NHL is hosting a 4 Nations Face Off with Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland involved in 2025. The following year, NHL players will return to the Olympic Games for the first time since 2014.
This has everyone penciling together lineups and most recently, Craig Button of TSN released his projected roster for the 2026 Olympic team and he had Suzuki among the depth players on the team.
With his two way game, ability to score nearly a point per game, and defensive responsibilities, he could be a perfect fit for a versatile bottom six role. We will have to wait and see how things play out over the next two years, but don't be surprised to see Suzuki representing his country when the best players in the world gather for the Olympics.