Montreal Canadiens fans are experiencing mixed emotions on Tuesday morning, as the club has announced that it has sent forward Ryan Poehling to the AHL Laval Rockets, but have also announced that centre Nick Suzuki and defenseman Cale Fleury have officially made the opening night roster for the Habs.
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Many were hoping and waiting with baited breath for the club to announce that the trio of 20-year-olds would all make the club, but unfortunately for Poehling, having only played 2 games due to a concussion, the numbers game caught up with the Lakeville, Minnesota native.
Per Sportsnet's Eric Engels, Poehling is not expected to remain in the AHL for an extended period of time. Poehling undoubtedly possesses NHL caliber skills and hockey IQ, but coming off of the concussion that kept him sidelined through most of the exhibition schedule, playing in the AHL to start the year could be of great benefit for both Poehling and the Habs. This will give Poehling the opportunity to gain some confidence and play some big minutes in all situations for Laval, which, in turn should allow him to hit the ground running when he is called up. Conversely, with Poehling starting out in the AHL, it will give the Canadiens' brass some time to evaluate the roster and see what they have to work with before a roster decision needs to be made to free up a spot for Poehling.
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The Habs will kick off their season on October 3rd in Raleigh, NC as they take on the Hurricanes. Suzuki is expected to start on a line with Domi and Lehkonen, while Fleury will slot in next to Kulak on the Habs 3rd pairing.
