Nikita Scherbak was returned to the Laval Rocket relatively early during Canadiens training camp, and frankly, it wasn’t surprising. By his own admission, he had a poor showing at camp, but his morale remained high despite the rough start to the season.

“I realized that I expected more from myself. I’m just going to get my mindset straight and get to work,” he said.

Now, just six games into the AHL season, Scherbak is quickly becoming one of the biggest offensive threats on the team, and perhaps the entire league. He already has nine points, leading all Rocket players, and is tied for third in AHL scoring.

Truth be told, last year wasn’t a disappointment by any means. Scherbak finished third in team scoring behind Chris Terry and Charles Hudon. He had 16 all-situation primary assists, second on the team, as well as 29 all-situation primary points, good for third. When it came to even-strength play, his 11 goals and 20 points were each second among his teammates.

Scherbak also made strides defensively, showing more determination to improve his awareness, an area of his game that was noted as a clear weakness at the start of his professional career.

During Saturday’s game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, he threw himself to the ice with a few seconds left in the second period to block a shot, which is something that was basically unheard of from the skilled forward.

There’s no doubt about it, he’s looking to get noticed, and coaches love to see that type of selflessness from their star forwards.

Offensively, there’s no doubt that Scherbak has a lot of talent, as evidenced by the many highlight-reel plays throughout his 120 games in the AHL.

He joined the league as a 19-year-old, much younger than most of his counterparts, and has progressed gradually throughout his first two seasons, but he still one major flaw left in his game. It’s something he’ll need to overcome if he wants to make an impact in the NHL.

Room for improvement

The biggest issue last year was his low shot numbers. Scherbak loves to cut to the middle of the ice to unleash his speedy wrist shot. It’s something that he relied upon to score in the WHL and has continued to look for in the AHL. But it’s not the type of luxury he’ll have in the NHL. There simply isn’t that much space when you’re playing against the best players in the world.

Last season he had 1.74 shots per game played, which ranked 8th on the team.

This season he has increased his shot rate to 2.5 per game, which should lead to more goals than the 13 he scored in 2016-17. He will need to maintain that high shot rate if he expects to produce goals at the NHL level.

As you can see, his wrist shot is lethal. He needs to use it as much as possible rather than make a few extra plays to find the middle of the ice, his preferred shooting location. In the NHL that leads to lost pucks and frustrated coaches.

Setting up plays

Scherbak’s real strength is his playmaking, especially on the power play.

The Rocket have scored on 33 percent of their 27 man-advantage opportunities, in large part due to the synergy between Scherbak and Terry. Scherbak plays the point alongside Matt Taormina, hovering between the hash marks and the blue line. He’s tasked with finding Terry at the right circle for a one-timer, a strategy that has worked wonders for Montreal’s AHL affiliate. Scherbak’s passing ability is one of the main reasons Terry scored 30 goals last season, 17 of them on the power play.

Can he take the next step?

With the Canadiens struggling to create quality chances, many are looking to the farm team for a possible solution to the current goal drought.

Scherbak would be the logical choice for a call-up. He has the ability to drive the play, beat defenders one-on-one, and create high-danger scoring chances, which is exactly what the Canadiens sorely lack.

But despite his strong start in the AHL this year we have to remind ourselves Scherbak is only 21 years old. He’s not the saviour fans are desperately seeking. He could, however, help the team. This year Scherbak is showing he has the defensive game to go with his offensive creativity. That’s what coaches want, and frankly, demand.

It’s also worth noting that Scherbak’s entry-level contract expires this summer. The Canadiens are quickly running out of time to evaluate what he can do at the NHL level.

If the Canadiens do recall Scherbak, they’d be wise to give him a legitimate opportunity, rather than using him on the fourth line. He needs power play minutes as well as quality linemates. If the opportunity is not there, he’s better off staying in the AHL and playing heavy minutes.

One thing is certain, Scherbak is blossoming into an offensive threat.

That alone should put him at the top of the list of potential AHL reinforcements for the Canadiens.

The training camp woes have been long forgotten.

(statistics courtesy of prospect-stats.com. Video courtesy of AHLLive.com. Photo Credit: L’Aréna du Rocket Inc.)