Nick Suzuki given his flowers by Sportsnet

The Montreal Canadiens have long been a tweener team, even leading up to the Habs Stanley Cup berth, they weren't a powerhouse.

Many pieces needed to be added to the team, and with due time, the acquisition of Nick Suzuki, and his development has helped the Habs tremendously. He has established himself as the club's number-one centre and has done so with strong two-way play. Suzuki has kept calm and cool, despite the frustrations of a rebuild, not every night will go the way he wants it to, and that's okay.

Maturity and leadership are entrenched in his personality and the way he carries himself make him the perfect candidate for the Habs captaincy. Suzuki has shown that he is more than just a strong defensive forward, but a guy who is effective at both ends of the ice. His vision and positioning make him hard to play against, and he has proven that he is a great shooter.

This is why he has drawn the attention of Sportsnet, who ranked him 47th out of 50, on a list of some very talented players.

What's next for Suzy?

I'm not saying that a Frank J. Selke trophy is on the horizon. Still, the fact that he has continued playing an honest game while improving offensively gives merit to his immense potential. Growing up idolizing a player like Patrice Bergeron, is a good start, as he is one of the best two-way centres ever to play the game. Suzuki has the mould of Anze Kopitar, Aleksander Barkov and Bergeron and he is just reaching his prime.

There is some stiff competition across the league, so for Suzuki to reach that level, he would need to put in some work. But as the Bell Centre faithful know, Suzuki is one of the hardest workers on the team and he plays the game through all three zones. if the Canadiens centre has any hopes of winning a Selke, I'm quite confident that he could put himself into that conversation before season's end.

Ultimately the goal is to win games and clinch a playoff berth, but personally I don't imagine he would be upset to have a few Selke ballots.