The Montreal Canadiens are set to explode with 3 emerging stars

Regardless of how the playoffs end for the Montreal Canadiens this year, fans can go to sleep knowing that their teams’ future is brighter than it has ever been in the past decade.  Unlike some teams that have 1 player who is emerging as a star; the Canadiens have 3 players that are destined to be great. They are P.K. Subban, Jaroslav Halak and Mike Cammalleri. That’s one solid player at each position; you don’t need to look any further than the Pittsburgh Penguins to understand how far that takes you. Yes there are other notable and hard working players on the team and this article isn’t about them, this article is about how the 3 of them will bring us to the promised land.

First let’s look at defenseman P.K. Subban and what he will deliver in the coming years. For everyone outside of Montreal P.K. appears to be someone who was called up in desperation out from obscurity, for Montrealers this was a move long overdue. With a resume that includes 2 gold medals at the World Junior championships in which he got 9 points in 13 games and another 53 points in 77 games playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs this year (which puts him in a tie for 47^th in league scoring at the AHL), it is difficult not to get excited about his potential. Oh yeah, did I mention he was only 20? Some of you may say that success at the AHL level doesn’t necessarily mean success at the NHL level and you are right but what makes P.K. different is his ability to perform at any level whether that be AHL, World Juniors or NHL level. His speed, creativity, leadership and ability to deliver under pressure makes this kid the real deal. Just the other week he scored the game winner in OT for the Hamilton bulldogs in the playoffs  (2^ndgoal of the game), in his first call up this year in the playoffs he registered 1 assists against the Caps, 2 games later he opened the scoring for the Habs against Sidney Crosby and the Pens. But numbers don’t tell the whole story, seeing is truly believing in this case, check out the YouTube link on the page, in it you see P.K. rushing from his end to the other end with lighting speed and creativity to put the puck in the back of the net, by the way it was at the World Juniors. All this to say that Subban will not falter at the NHL level like many others have, he will be a treat for Montreal fans that have waited for him to take his rightful place in the Habs locker room and on the ice.

Mike Cammalleri was brought in by GM Bob Gainey at a cost of $30 million over 5 years, some hated the signing others loved it; one thing is for sure no one doubts the signing anymore. Cammalleri brings a long awaited sniper to the Montreal Canadiens and a more consistent and threatening forward than Andrei Kostitsyn will ever be. What Mike does best is that he has the ability to find the smallest hole and put the puck in, he is also relentless and hard working which frustrates the opposition. These traits make Mike Cammalleri a winner and it is with his on ice leadership that the Canadiens will be able to make it all the way one of these years. He is already proven that he is an elite playoff performer, he currently sits 2^nd behind Sidney Crosby in points and 2^ndin goals, he also is averaging a point per game through his career in the playoffs (14 points in 14 games). Regular season points are nice but playoff points show what you really play for come April and Mike has definitely shown that he plays to sip from the cup. What I like most about Cammalleri is that he actually looks like he is having fun on the ice, during every interview you see him smiling and being optimistic he’s never one to gloat about a missed goal or a bad game. For those reasons I believe Mike will be the offensive weapon to inspire his teammates and his fans to believe that the quest for 25 will finally be achieved.

So there you have it, 3 Habs players who are set to explode in the coming years and deliver the greatest prize in sports the Stanley Cup.

 Please comment on what you think about the article and the future of the club, thanks

Peter Leventakis