The Montreal Canadiens have returned 18-year-old defenceman Mikhail Sergachev to his junior club, the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, the team announced today. The team selected Sergachev in the first round, ninth overall, at the 2016 NHL Draft. Sergachev, who appeared in three regular season games with the team was the youngest player to play in the NHL this season.
Canadiens today assigned defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League. pic.twitter.com/mWlXIiKIep
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 31, 2016
Montreal Canadiens Return Mikhail Sergachev to Juniors
Sergachev did not pick up any points in his three game NHL stint. He also had some struggles at the defensive end of the ice. While Sergachev is clearly a talented prospect and a huge part of the Montreal Canadiens future, he just wasn’t ready for an NHL role at his current age.
The team indicated that they wanted to keep Sergachev up for a month to learn in practice and work with the veteran players, but the plan was always to return him to junior.
Sergachev was the OHL defenceman of the year last year. He re-joins a stacked Windsor Spitfires club that is gearing up for a run at the Memorial Cup. The team is hosting the tournament and thus has an automatic entry in. Sergachev will also play for Team Russia in two games against the OHL at the CIBC Canada-Russia Series this month, and is a favorite to play on the Russian entry at the World Junior Championships.
The move leaves the Canadiens with exactly 20 players (and just active defencemen) on their active roster. Look for the team to call-up a forward and a defenceman in the next 24 hours.
Main Photo: BUFFALO, NY – JUNE 24: during round one of the 2016 NHL Draft on June 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
