Top-3 Montreal Canadiens Players Ready To Take Make An Impact

Jordan Harris

Statistically speaking, few, if any defencemen enjoyed a better 2022-23 season with the Canadiens than Jordan Harris. And while we’ve banged the drum regarding his excellent results on several occasions, he’s yet to earn the praise he deserves from the majority of the fan base or the NHL in general.

And that’s perfectly fine. When opponents underrate a player like Harris, it usually leads to good things for the Canadiens, as evidenced by all his on-ice metrics. When paired with Johnathan Kovacevic, Harris managed to keep most of the important metrics above 50 percent, rather impressive given that the Canadiens had some of the worst numbers in the league last season.

He already has one very solid rookie season in the books and should arrive at camp with a significant uptick in confidence, which is a very encouraging scenario given that he already played with the confidence of a 10-year veteran.

Those that are in the know will tell you that Harris already made an impact, and they’re right, but there’s still a lot of untapped potential when evaluating the cerebral defenceman’s long-term outlook, including a strong foundation based on leadership, both on and off the ice.

Alex Newhook

We’ve come a long way when it comes to evaluating players via the various public statistics available in the NHL, and as you all know, I’m a strong supporter of using facts to judge a player’s value.

But when it comes to acclimatizing to the NHL, there’s one thing that many statistical models ignore: opportunities.

Or, in Alex Newhook’s case, a lack thereof.

Much like Kirby Dach before him, who also projected poorly following his tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks, Newhook is expected to be given several opportunities to prove his worth in a situation that is conducive to developing into an impact player.

There are no guarantees Newhook can follow Dach’s path to resurgence, but at the very least, he’ll be given a fresh start, and that’s often what leads to players finding their rhythm.

It remains to be seen whether he’ll be used as a centre or a winger, but given that the Montreal Canadiens have bolstered their depth down the middle, there’s a healthy chance Newhook will be used on the wing, where he can put his excellent skating and creativity to good use.