The Montreal Canadiens' top Finnish and Swedish player, have the potential to be two monumental pieces for the rebuilding Habs.
Jesse Ylonen was drafted in 2018 by former general manager Marc Bergevin in the second round. He exhibited high-end skating and NHL translatable offensive skills. The defensive side of the puck was a little bit of a different story, and Ylonen has made a conscious effort to play a responsible two-way game on the wing. Sort of providing similar things as Artturri Lehkonen once did for the Habs, Ylonen looks to be a long-term piece.
Jesse Ylonen dans le «laboratoire Martin St-Louis»https://t.co/07ZV7rDUSR
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 8, 2023
Emil Heineman came from outside of the organization, via trade with the Calgary Flames. The Habs sent Tyler Toffoli over to the Flames, and Heineman came back to the Habs in a package that included Tyler Pitlick, Heineman, a 2022 first-round selection and a 2022 fourth-round selection. Heineman is a sniper, much like Ylonen and he loves to play the game fast, which could bring the two forwards together.
Defensively Heineman has a ways to go to even be mentioned in the same conversation as Ylonen away from the puck, but he is more of a pure sniper than Ylonen. I see Heineman as the player with higher offensive potential between the two, but I think the duo could make Owen Beck’s life quite easy on the third line. Regardless of where they play, if both players are in the lineup, the Canadiens will have an embarrassment of riches - in terms of their forward depth.
Interesting choice for the Canadiens, choosing to take the more mature and feisty forward in Emil Heineman.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) December 13, 2023
He's far better suited for a bottom-six role right now than Joshua Roy is, and it'll be interesting to see if they decide to give him a few games. https://t.co/cN1lW9XDZS
Because of how fast the line would be, and the offensive talents of Ylonen and Heineman, the Canadiens depth could find some solidity. Beck could grow his offensive game with two wingers that would be perfect to work the give-and-go and make perimeter plays in the attacking zone. There is a ton of potential for the two Finns to allow Beck to fly on the third line for the Canadiens.
This could be one of the quickest, smartest and most tenacious lines in all three zones, with three different players whose styles could grow together and form a very good line. They can all skate very fast, they have long reach and smart defensive sticks and they are nightmares for the opposition in the transition game. The three players could be neutral zone terrors, and they can all shoot the puck, Beck is a little lesser, but this line could score some goals and keep the puck out of their net.
Kent Hughes, the ball is in your court, but this could be a fun option to explore in the future.