With the 2016 NHL Rookie Tournament in action the weekend of September 16-18, Last Word on Hockey is the place to go for everything you need to know. Team-specific recaps will be posted from each game, and follow along live on Twitter for updates from @charliejclarke and @gSchroedes16
In the marquee matchup of the weekend, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens rookies took to the ice in the later game Saturday night with a house divided among them. Looking around the Budweiser Gardens, one could see plenty of duplicated blue leafs resting in the center of white sweaters along with the familiar “C” encasing the “H” on the crest of the red and dark blue jerseys. After a close, tight first period that saw the shot board read 6-6 after one with each team putting a dent in the scoreboard once, the Habs looked very overwhelmed and stifled in the second. Outshot 19-8 in the middle frame, the team trailed 3-1 after two periods before clawing their way back into it in the third period, tying the game at three with just over six minutes to go in the game. However, the Leafs made sure they were’t going to play another extra five minutes of hockey like they did the night before, scoring late to ultimately win the contest to move to 2-0 in the tournament.
Here are the standouts for the Canadiens:
Artturi Lehkonen
The Finnish import made his way into the standout list primarily for his third period of play where he picked up a goal on a deflection in front of the net to make it a 3-2 game with 13:34 left to play. Once again, the 21-year old winger showed his strength and determination to get to the net, fighting for position on the redirect. He also made a great cut with his strong stride to get around his man down the right wing and charge his way to the front of the crease pushing a puck just wide of the net earlier in the contest.
There are some impressive little things that Lehkonen did as well to further his strong play, including a couple slick takeaways at his own blueline to start offensive zone rushes the other way. Another sign of the Frolunda forward’s maturity is his ability to take a hit to make a play, chipping the puck up the boards before absorbing a check along the wall. As mentioned in the Day 1 recap, it is encouraging to see Lehkonen be more inclined to take the body and fight for his ice more at 5’11”, 176 pounds, especially in a year where he could make the Habs squad out of camp. There are some differences for him coming from the SHL where he scored 16 goals and 33 points in 49 games, something he touched on briefly after the contest.
“I mean, you gotta be smart at some points of the ice. When you play in Europe you’ve got more time especially when the puck is being rimmed, you’ve got time to look for a pass. Here, you gotta know where the guys are and where you’re gonna put it next. That’s the biggest difference for sure.”
Victor Mete
You talk about speed. After not dressing for the first game on Friday against Pittsburgh, the current London Knight was in for Mikhail Sergachev and was all over the ice in the first and third periods. Though his skating is impeccable and he can throw it into fourth gear when he needs to, there’s an element of calmness to Mete’s game. Under pressure in the first stanza, on one shift he stopped, composed himself and skated behind the net waiting for the breakout to develop. He then sent a bounce pass off the boards and Montreal was on the attack. The Toronto native also showed off that blistering speed that many have raved about, leading the rush a few times through the middle and up the wing making it seem so effortless.
“I felt good out there. I felt like I was really into the game, just jumping in, playing my old style like I play in London, it felt good and it was fun. I felt I played a good game overall. Offensively, defensively, I took care of my own zone and also tired to chip in offensively, so overall I felt like I played a good game.”
He picked up his first point of the contest on a breakout pass to Will Bitten up the left side, who then found Daniel Audette for the opening goal of the game 5:21 into the contest. Mete would pick up his second assist of the game in the third period on the power play, waiting for Lehkonen to get in position in front of the net. When the time was right, he released a wrister primed for a deflection to the right of the goal and Lehkonen made no mistake.
Defensively, the 18-year old blue liner was more of a work in progress, back-skating and not really challenging on some close in chances by the Leafs. He did show a few good signs of awareness, however, making a solid read intercepting the puck covering for his own turnover at center ice a few moments before. All in all, watching Mete for the first time, his overall skill set is genuinely evident.
Will Bitten
It didn’t take Bitten long to leave his mark on the scoresheet early on. Catching a pass from Mete in the neutral zone moving to his left, he pulled up right when he entered the Leafs zone, was patient in looking for an open man, and eventually hit Audette at the top of the left circle with a dish that he one-timed far side on goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Speaking of Bibeau, there was an interesting exchange between the two after Bitten made a great play pushing the puck ahead by his man giving him an extra jump to stride in behind the net. Spinning off of a check and making a defenseman miss, the 18-year old came out from the trapezoid and tried to jam the puck by Bibeau. Even though his shot went wide, he stayed at the net front fighting for position and got in the Leaf net minder’s business. Bibeau was having none of it, giving Bitten a forearm shiver with the glove sending him to the ice.
At just 5’10” and 168 pounds, it was encouraging to see him not be afraid to take abuse at the front of the goal, getting rewarded with a drawn penalty. His size was a disadvantage at points in this game however, as along the wall he was quite overmatched in puck battles a few times. When on the boards, his playmaking can be a little creative as seen with a signature pass tonight banked off the wall to his line mates up the right side for some offensive zone time. A 30-goal scorer on the Flint Firebirds last season, Bitten talked about his playmaking and physical abilities he put on display tonight to go along with the shot he’s got.
“I see the ice really well. That’s one of my biggest things. I’m a playmaker. I like to pass, and I see the ice really well and I use my speed. I like to finish my checks, I like hitting. It’s part of the game, and I think I play a complete game. I just want to prove people wrong, it’s what I do, and every shift I get I want to impress Montreal. They picked me for a reason and I’m out here to play well. We’ve got three games in three days, so it’s pretty hard, but we’ll bounce back.”
Zachary Fucale
Tonight was a mixed bag at best for the Canadiens goaltender. At times, he tracked the puck well and was very shifty with his legs, but on three of the four goals, it’s clear he’d want to have them back. His start to the contest was pretty promising and fueled the Canadiens first rushes of the game where they grabbed an early lead. Protecting the lead, he made an unreal stretch save moving to his right on a one-timer from in close that he stuck his blocker high on going into the splits. Moments after that, Keaton Middleton let go an innocent-looking wrist shot that found its way through Fucale’s glove to tie the game at one with 2:53 left in the period. He was blitzed in the second period needing to nab 17 of 19 shots that came his way with two goals in just over a minute. Tony Cameransi potted home the first marker after a leaky rebound off of Fucale’s right pad found its way back to his stick to make it 2-1. Tobias Lindberg did the honors of making it 3-1 letting a wrister go from the top of the slot on a shot that Fucale likely didn’t see until it was by him.
To open the third period and build his confidence back up, the 21-year old Laval native made an excellent save closing the legs quickly on a chance in tight from right in front of the crease on a wrap around. This save proved to be huge, as Montreal would come back to tie the game at three. However, the goal that really brought down Fucale’s night came with 1:36 left to go, as a simple wrist shot from Andrew Nielsen trickled through his five-hole like the new puck physics in NHL 17. Nielsen’s goal proved to be the game winner and an ugly marker to end the day for Fucale, who made 32 saves in the loss. There were some notes on how the former Quebec Rampart came out to play the puck in this game. Like his overall start, he made a good read with a man pressing him to clear the puck up the boards for an offensive chance out of his crease and another where he cleared it right to an Leaf who nearly made him pay for it as he scrambled to get back into position. Overall, it could have been a better showing for the 36th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, but it’s better to work out the kinks in mid-September versus have them persist for St. John’s come the start of the regular season.
The Canadiens will be in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. against the Senators to close out both teams’ trips to the 2016 NHL Rookie Tournament.
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