The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of young talent on their roster and one of those names is Charles Hudon. Hudon is a 23-year-old left winger that has shown that he has the ability to score in the AHL. He looks to continue his scoring at the NHL level.
So far this season Hudon has 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 71 games. He also added 40 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers are 51.9 percent Corsi with a relative Corsi of +2.0 percent.
In his 3-year NHL career, Hudon has played entirely for the Montreal Canadiens. He put up 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 career points in 77 career games. He was originally drafted in the fifth round, 122nd overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.
The Future for Charles Hudon
Before getting a crack at the Canadiens roster, Hudon was putting up big numbers in the AHL. In his last two years, he put up 55 goals and 47 assists for 102 points in 123 games.
During his young career, Hudon has put up at least 20 goals in seven of his eight seasons in Juniors and AHL. During the 2012-2013 season, Hudon was sent back to play in Juniors after playing nine games with the AHL club. That year he picked up 30 goals and 41 assists in 56 games with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL.
Now I believe that if given the right linemates, Hudon can be a 20 goal scorer in the NHL. Stats have shown that Hudon produces more often when he is put on the top two lines, nine of his 30 points have come when he plays with Brendan Gallagher.
Is There Room for Hudon on the Habs?
The Habs have a lot of talent on their roster which makes it hard for players like Hudon to get quality minutes. With guys like Alex Galchenyuk, Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron and Gallagher it’s difficult to find room for younger players. Besides Gallagher, all of these players, except Drouin, are left wings.
If given the right linemates and ice time, Hudon can be a 20 goal scorer in the NHL. Stats show that Hudon is able to produce more often when he is put on the top two lines. Nine of his 30 points have come when he plays with Gallagher. He also proves to be atop the leaderboard in even strength assists with 14, one more than Drouin who is second on the team with assists.
Ability to Score On the Powerplay
With the lack of scoring the Habs have this year, Hudon is currently tied for seventh in goals with 10 and is seventh in points this season. But for some reason, he is 17th among skaters in ice time. Hudon is currently fifth in shots this year with 177. More than Drouin (154) and Byron (110). He has the ability to get in front of the net and score. He is above average when it comes to shots in front of the net and shots from the point. He’s also averaging a little over four points per 60 min on the powerplay. He’s averaging a minute and a half on powerplays where he has three goals and five assists. Hudon also has the ability to play solid defense. He’s fourth among non-defencemen in blocked shots for the Habs.
How Does Hudon Compare
There better players than Hudon, obviously but he needs to be put in a position to score. You can’t stick him with players like Micheal McCarron, who is being used as a big body on the fourth line. In 15 games this year McCarron has yet to pick up a point. If Hudon plays with guys like Gallagher and Byron he can produce at a higher rate and make a bigger impact for the Canadiens. When playing with Gallagher his Goals For percentage is at 58.8 percent. It has been shown when Hudon is given the chance he will succeed and score.
Hudon can be the kind of player Drouin has been for the Habs this year. Hudon has shown that he is more likely to rack up the assists rather than be that 30 goal scorer. Like Drouin, he definitely has the ability to rack up goals as well. It will be interesting to see how Hudon plays out in the next few years for the Habs. Seven out of his 12 assists are primary assists compared to Drouin’s compared to Drouin’s five primary assists.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
