A lot has been said about the youth movement and shift in leadership that has taken place with the Montreal Canadiens this season.

While the captaincy was the initial focus, Jiri Sekac stole headlines early this year establishing himself as not only a legitimate NHLer, but what appears to be core player moving forward for the Canadiens. Since then Sekac has had ups and downs, which is to be expected of any rookie. Much to the dismay of fans, he’s spent some time in the press box as well. At this point most would agree Marc Bergevin has acquired a player of first round value without giving up any assets.

I can’t recall a time in the past decade where the window of opportunity seemed so large for Montreal.

This core is young and is made up of superstars just beginning their prime: Subban (25 years old), Pacioretty (26 years old), Price (27 years old) this combined with emerging stars Galchenyuk (21 years old), Gallagher (22 years old), and Beaulieu (22 years old) trending in a strong direction.

Marc Bergevin made it clear his focus was to build through the draft. He carries a very simple philosophy when it comes to bringing young players along. He preaches patience with development and has always cited the AHL as a great league to develop players.

When asked if young players will be given a shot in training camp, right out of the draft, etc. He often drops a simple line:

“That’s up to them”

Implying that if a player is good enough and forces his hand he’ll find a way to make room in the lineup. This is by no means just a cliché, MB has shown he’s not afraid to bring a player on the roster if he shows the ability.

2012 – 2013 Season:

An 18 year old Alex Galchenyuk, first year pro Brendan Gallagher, a fifth round pick, each made the Canadiens out of training camp during the 2012-2013 season.

2013 – 2014 Season:

Brian Gionta was injured during training camp and every opportunity to start the season in his spot was given to RW Christian Thomas who seemed like a natural fit. Despite this, Michael Bournival found a way to send shockwaves through camp, and Marc Bergevin, true to his words awarded Bournival a roster spot.

Finally this year: 2014 – 2015 Season:

Bergevin mentioned three players as being in close competition for a roster spot coming into camp. Those three players were newly signed Jiri Sekac, mature teenager Jacob De La Rose and Sven Andrighetto who was the most productive forward on the Bulldogs during his rookie year in 2013-2014.

Sekac the front runner earned his spot, deservedly so, and the rest is history.

That brings us to the inspiration for this article. I can’t think of a time where I’ve watched more players (forwards specifically) called up and given long looks with the club than this season. What makes it even more surprising is that the Canadiens have been relatively healthy all season.

Semi-established players like Bournival and Sekac have been scratched on several occasions for up and comers such as: Eric Tangradi, Sven Andrighetto, Gabriel Dumont, Christian Thomas, Drayson Bowman, and Jacob De La Rose.

Marc Bergevin appears to be seriously evaluating who on the farm can contribute at the NHL level.

Here’s the strange thing though, as mentioned above six forwards have been called up this year.

Six players not named Charles Hudon

This is surprising because Hudon is absolutely tearing up the AHL. He’s currently the highest scoring rookie in the AHL with 44 points and is tied for 5th in points amongst all players in the league.

Another thing about Hudon’s game is that he’s a committed and effective 2-way player. You often hear of offensively skilled guys making the transition to pro and organizations emphasizing they need to round out their games…this has never been the case with Hudon. I preached him as a sleeper in this year’s training camp to make the team in a similar fashion in which we saw Michael Bournival and Gallagher surprise in the past.

Why I felt so strongly?

In 2012-2013 Hudon and former MTL prospect Sebastian Collberg were signed to PTOs (performance try-outs). I made sure to make it out to a few games to watch the two of them.

Hudon at 18 years old on a PTO was far and away the best player on the ice in each game I watched him. He oozes hockey IQ, and I don’t mean the lazy narrative given to any playmaking or pass-first player. Something as simple as a fore-check, he finds a way to take the most effective angles to cut off a pass or disrupt a defender, it was clear then that he had NHL upside.

Surely a player like Jacob De la Rose, or Eric Tangradi can bring attributes of grit that Hudon doesn’t. Maybe Andrighetto was more of a fit if they were looking for a RW specifically, although he did play LW for a small stint with MTL. Maybe Christian Thomas is being showcased to increase his trade value; I don’t see how else he’s managed to get in 14 games to Hudon’s zero.

An organization could have so many different reasons for calling-up a player, if we’re basing it on merit and play, I think it’s clear Hudon has been the most deserving based on this season alone. Dumont and Andrighetto have had very strong years although not quite to the same level. De la Rose stylistically differs, and his call-up was quickly validated as he looks like he could be a regular in MTL’s bottom-six moving forward.

One thing is certain, if Hudon can maintain his scoring pace we should see him in a Habs uniform sooner than later.

One thought to end this write-up: Is Hudon not the ideal guy to slot in at LW next to Eller–Sekac?

A playmaking highly skilled LW, with a large shoot-first C, and another big body with skill in Sekac. Seems like an perfect fit.

Looking forward to Hudon getting the call, whenever that is.