The NHL continued its celebration of young stars by polling nine of its writers to work out who the top under-23 players in the league were. Each writer had to make a list of their top 25 players under 23 years old in the league. First-place votes were worth 25 points, and the value decreased by one point for each subsequent rank. The league compiled the votes and issued its list of the 23 best players under 23 years old.
The Montreal Canadiens currently have four players under 23 on their roster, and all four made the list. The Habs are the only team with four players on their roster; the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks have three players each, yet further proof that the future is bright in Montreal.
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Without further ado, here are the four Canadiens that made the list:
Lane Hutson
The latest winner of the Calder Trophy came in third in voting and was the player who received the most first-place votes with five. This is hardly surprising considering the historic season he just had. Tying the assist record for a rookie defenseman that was set 45 years ago by Larry Murphy during the 1980-81 campaign. The shifty and slippery defenseman possesses incredible skating and creativity on the ice, and got the Bell Center rocking more than a few times this past season. The only question that remains now is what he will do for an encore in his sophomore season?
Juraj Slafkovsky
The big Slovak winger gets the 10th place on the list. Even though he’s only 21, Slafkovsky has already played 200 NHL games, putting up 111 points, and he’s starting to come into his own from a physicality standpoint. Under Martin St-Louis’ tutelage, the 6-foot-3 and 225-pound winger will soon make a significant impact in the games he plays. Last season, he was fourth on the team in points, posting a career-high in points with 51. This is a nice change of pace for the Canadiens, who haven’t been very big in the past and got somewhat roughed up in the playoffs by the Washington Capitals and Tom Wilson. If he can play consistently from the get-go, he will become a force for the Canadiens.
Ivan Demidov
The Canadiens' rookie has only played two regular-season games with the Habs, but that’s enough to earn him the 14th spot. Granted, we’ve only seen a small sample so far, but in those two duels, he showed impressive poise, surprising shiftiness, and fantastic hands. The Russian wonder is already the favourite in the Calder Trophy race, and if he were to win it, it would be the first time in history that Canadiens’ players have claimed twice in a row.
Zack Bolduc
Last but not least, Kent Hughes' latest trade acquisition, Zack Bolduc, gets the 23rd and final spot. It’s a true testament to Hughes’ skills as a negotiator that he was able to pry Bolduc from St. Louis Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong. Flipping Logan Mailloux, who had minimal experience in the NHL, for a young player who’s already played 97 games in the NHL and has shown to be promising was another coup de maitre. In 72 games last season, he posted 36 points, including 12 on the power play, and that was while only getting 12:49 minutes of ice time. It will be interesting to see where he slots into the lineup.
The Canadiens are stealing the show in the NHL’s young stars week, a sign that their ongoing rebuild is going just as planned.
Photo credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images
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