Jonathan Drouin is getting a crack in the middle for Montreal this season, after the team traded away blue-chip prospect Mikhail Sergachev for him. Center isn’t a position that Drouin has spent much time at in the NHL, but he has obviously been taking notes on those he wants to emulate. Yesterday, he gave Eric Engels of Sportsnet some of his thoughts on the other top centermen around the Eastern Conference. On Patrice Bergeron in particular:
To me, he’s the best center in the league if you’re looking at the all-around 200-foot game. He’s tough to beat. He’s always competing for every loose puck, neutral zone, anywhere—he’s always on it. He’s somebody you hate to play against, and at the end of the day he still scores and produces points without cheating offensively.
The piece is a great read on how other players view some of the superstars in the league, including thoughts on lesser-known stars like Aleksander Barkov and Alexander Wennberg. Drouin will have a lot of pressure to perform in his first year in Montreal, after earning a big extension right away. The former Tampa Bay Lightning pick has all the talent to do it.
- The Montreal Canadiens have recalled goaltender Michael McNiven from the Laval Rocket to serve as an emergency goaltender tonight. Charlie Lindgren is expected to be dressed for the game, but is coming off a minor injury and the team wants to make sure it has another option. McNiven was one of the first camp cuts last week, and will be spending his year in the minor leagues. Last year for the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL, McNiven posted an incredible 41-9-2 record with a .915 save percentage. McNiven went undrafted but earned an entry-level contract back in 2015. This will be the first real season under that deal, as it slid for two years while he finished his junior hockey career.
- The new Portland ECHL team has chosen a name, and it will be familiar to those who were in Maine decades ago. The Maine Mariners are back for the third time, after first debuting in 1977. This new team will be the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, after the team purchased the defunct Alaska Aces this summer and will join the league next season.
There’s a lot of speculation that McNiven will actually start the year in the ECHL as opposed to the AHL. Charlie Lindgren is expected to get the starters load in Laval while Zach Fucale is expected to be his backup. The common theme amongst the Habs media is that Bergevin wants McNiven to see as much ice as possible and the only way to guarantee that is if McNiven starts for Brampton.
You’re right. I really just meant minor leagues. It’s changed. Thanks Doc.
Why wouldn’t they return him to junior? Owen Sound is going to be a powerhouse this year I’m pretty sure and he’d have a pretty good chance to win a memorial cup.