The Toronto Maple Leafs have had Mitch Marner as one of their core pieces, and perhaps Nick Suzuki may bring that to the Montreal Canadiens once he makes it.

Comparing a prospect to an NHL stare is always a sticky and tricky thing. Doing that sets up both intended and unintended expectations for the young player and strange things can still happen on a prospect’s path to making the NHL. Perhaps an injury impacts them along the way, or they’re disrupted by an organization’s poor development plan. However, when you find matching numbers, sometimes the comparisons write themselves.

Nick Suzuki has continued to increase his stock in the Montreal Canadiens organization ever since Marc Bergevin pulled the trigger on the Max Pacioretty trade. He was a highly skilled player despite being taken 17th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, and there could come a point where they regret moving him. However, he’s part of the Habs now, and his performance in the OHL playoffs with the Guelph Storm has been historically defining.

The 19-year-old split time between Owen Sound and Guelph this season putting up 34 goals and 60 assists for 94 points in 59 games. His trajectory didn’t stop once the playoffs started and Suzuki has been a star there as well. He led the Storm to a J. Robertson Cup and a ticket to the Memorial Cup finishing with 16 goals and 26 assists.

That stat line had Suzuki lead the league in playoff scoring, and his overall play earned him the Wayne Gretzky ’99’ Award which goes to the playoff MVP.

It truly looks as if this is his last year in junior making Montreal Canadiens fans look ahead to what he can be in the professional world of hockey. Is it possible for Suzuki to have his ceiling reach what Mitch Marner has been doing with the Toronto Maple Leafs?