The Montreal Canadiens have signed Slovakian skater Martin Reway to a three year, two-way contract.

Reway is the second Habs prospect from Europe to be recently signed along with Arturri Lehkonen, who was also given a two-way deal. Reway’s rights with the Canadiens expired in June of this year. Last year Reway had an issue with his coach in Sparta Praha in the Czech League due to his ice-time and despite leading the team in scoring, was sent down to their secondary club. With his decision to skip the Canadiens rookie camp and once posting an Instagram photo suggesting the Canadiens trade him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Jonathan Drouin, many felt that Reway had no desire to be on the Habs.

On the ice, Reway has a very high offensive ceiling. As discussed by Ben Kerr in Top Shelf Prospects as the Habs sleeper pick:

“Reway has absolutely outstanding stickhandling, with quick, soft hands that can dangle in a phone booth. Reway has a hard, accurate shot and a quick release which makes him extremely dangerous as a goal scorer. He also has good vision and passing abilities.

He also is a very quick and agile skater. He has good top end speed and acceleration and he is shifty and slippery making him extremely hard to contain off the rush, or even off the cycle game in the offensive zone. He has good balance and is strong on the puck for his size.

While Reway is an offensive dynamo, he does need some work on his defensive game. He has a tendency to fly the zone early, looking for a long breakaway pass. His lack of size also means that he can get beat by bigger players in his own end.”

Martin Reway was one of Last Word on Sport’s Top Shelf Prospects to watch in 2012-13 for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for his play with the Gatineau Olympiques.