(Boston) It’s a festive day on the Northeastern University campus on a beautiful Saturday morning.
Everywhere, neat pedestrians. Car traffic is “tough to play against,” a former head coach would say. Parking on the street? Forget that ! It is the graduation of the graduates of 2020, which had been postponed due to the pandemic, we are told, when we finally arrive in front of the Matthews Arena.
A ceremony that seemed to make Jordan Harris envious. “I will have one last class to do next session and I will have my diploma, I will be here for my graduation ceremony,” said the hope of the Canadian, pointing outwards.
Barring a disaster, Harris will also be able to get his hands on another piece of paper, next spring, that one much more lucrative: a contract with the National League.
Harris is playing his fourth and final year of college hockey. This defender, drafted at 3e tower (71e in total) by the Canadian in 2018, will then have a decision to make: the Habs or autonomy. He will in fact have until May 31 to come to an agreement with the CH, failing which Montreal will lose its rights over the young man.
The question is talking, because Harris had the opportunity to come to an agreement with the Canadian last March. He had finally decided to stay in school for one more year, in particular to achieve a goal he had set for himself as soon as he was drafted: to obtain his diploma.
But the idea of a player failing the team that drafted him, in order to choose his destination, still remains. “Teams are always nervous when they have a player playing his fourth year, especially when they’ve tried to get him out of college,” one hockey man argued on Saturday.
And Harris, while remaining highly appreciative of the Canadiens’ organization, hides his game when asked directly if he intends to join the team once his college season is over.
This is a discussion we will have at the end of the season. I will talk about it with my parents, my advisers and the Canadian. But there is nothing to make me say that I do not want to play in Montreal. It would be a dream to play there. The organization has been fantastic with me and my family. So there is no hesitation related to the organization.
Jordan harris
The risks of instability
It is normal for Harris to be a little embarrassed. By shouting loudly his desire to sign a contract with Montreal, he would deprive his agent of all negotiating power.
That said, the Canadian may not have the best case to present to him. Harris is left-handed; he therefore plays on the same side as Joel Edmundson, who has a contract valid until 2024. Ben Chiarot has passed his last year of contract. Even if he leaves, he will remain Alexander Romanov, as well as prospects Kaiden Guhle and Mattias Norlinder. Guhle is playing this season in the junior ranks, but he made a strong impression in the Canadiens’ camp.
An agent on the lookout will explain this hierarchy to his client. He could also look at the Canadiens’ record in terms of player development. We can guess here that the portrait will not be rosy.
Last element: who will make the decisions at the Canadiens? As the future of Marc Bergevin is uncertain, that of his men of confidence necessarily is. However, the player knows that the current administration holds him in high esteem; impossible to know what will be the vision of the next administration, if there is any change.
“It has no impact on me at the moment,” says Harris. It is more of a thing that Mr. Bergevin and the organization of the Canadian must regulate. For my part, I play hockey, I go to school, I want to graduate. We will have to talk about it at the end of the season. ”
We insist on Bergevin’s trusted men, because it is they who forge links with hopes. He talks to Rob Ramage most often.
“I saw him after our match against Harvard. It must have been two years since I last saw him in person, due to the pandemic! Harris recalls. Francis [Bouillon] and Scott Mellanby came to our game against New Hampshire. ”
This is a common strategy in player development. Jake Evans, who also played four years in college, was often visited by CH in his senior year.
In Harris’ case, these visits are all the more important as the young man frankly admits that he does not have a great relationship with other CH hopefuls, whom he only saw at the 2018 and 2019 development camps.
“I’m talking to Cayden [Primeau, ancien de Northeastern] every now and then, but not that often, honestly. Otherwise I played with Cole [Caufield] at the Junior World Championship. But I don’t have any close friends. You run into guys in camps like Jake Evans. I was happy to see Michael Pezzetta recalled. My roommate is friends with him because he comes from Toronto. ”
In other words, Ramage is his closest link with the organization.
Uncertain impact
Obviously, the plot around Harris’ future will also depend on his potential.
This season, he is the captain of the Huskies. He has 9 points in 12 games, having amassed 19 in 19 games last season. At first glance, however, he does not see himself as an offensive defender. “Defending, making good zone exits and killing games is my bread and butter,” he describes.
The statistics of minutes played are not published at university level, but our man says he gets a detailed report from his team after every game. He says he plays on average “between 25 and 31 minutes per game”.
That does not guarantee, however, that he will be ready to make an impact in the NHL as early as next year. Take the case of Jeremy Davies, another defenseman who played at Northeastern. From 2017 to 2019, this Montrealer amassed one point per game. More than two years after leaving school, he is still looking to settle in Nashville and has only 16 games on the clock, played last season.
Don’t forget Struble!
We spoke above and Guhle and Norlinder among the hopes of the CH on the left in defense. There’s also Jayden Struble, Harris’ teammate at Northeastern. His name is less circulating, first because he is in third year, then because he has been injured often since Montreal drafted him in the 2e tour in 2019, finally because it does not present such impressive offensive statistics. “I don’t have the offensive production that I would have liked, but it’s a matter of time,” he told us, on the phone (the interview had to be done in person, but he was sick). Like Harris, Struble refuses to come forward on his intentions at the end of the season. Only, he specifies that obtaining his diploma will not be one of the “decisive factors”. In short, if he believes he is ready to play for the pros, he will not stop himself to finish his schooling. “It is possible to do it at any time,” he recalls.