The Canadian | Jayden Struble, or the praise of rarity

Does marveling that a young defender is responsible defensively say more about the player himself or the tendencies of his team and the league?

The answer is probably halfway between the two. And it largely explains why Jayden Struble, who was not destined for a position in Montreal last fall, has not only played 31 games with the Canadian this season: he has made himself indispensable.

His rise, it is no longer a secret, has been spectacular. Inserted into training after Arber Xhekaj and Jordan Harris fell in combat, he never came out again. He overtook his two teammates in the hierarchy on the left flank, which had repercussions on the right flank: the solidity of his game allowed his coach to play Kaiden Guhle on the right, so that Johnathan Kovacevic and Justin Barron have lost feathers.

In his first 15 games, his average ice time was 13:10. Over the next 16: 18 min 4 sec. Here he is now well installed to the left of the second duo.

“He really understood how to be effective in the NHL,” said David Savard last Friday when asked about the man who is 11 years his junior.

“He keeps his game quite simple, he makes good passes, he has good skating and he is capable of making plays; he’s physical, he can hit and he’s excellent in his battles… But the most important thing is that we have confidence when he’s on the ice. »

The choice to ask Savard to talk about his teammate was not accidental. The 33-year-old Quebecer has built his career on his defensive game.

“It has always been a priority for me,” he confirms. In my last two junior years, my offensive side increased, and when I arrived in the pros, I was a little in between. But I went back to my classics of blocking shots. It was more natural for me. »

“Not very popular”

The NHL, it’s no secret either, has gone on the offensive over the last two decades. Each team scores on average half a goal per match more than 20 years ago. The efficiency rate of goalkeepers is steadily declining.

Consequently, defining yourself as a defensive defender “is not very popular,” notes Savard.

A man of his time, Struble did not escape this trend. “No one wants to be a defensive defender when you’re young! he adds. Everyone thinks about making points. »

In high school, in his last season on the American preparatory college circuit, he amassed 40 points in 28 games, which earned him to be drafted by the Habs in the second round in 2019. His conversion instead occurred at the Northeastern University, where his production declined as his NCAA career progressed: after scoring 22 points in 39 games in his first two seasons, he added only 26 in 65 over the next two campaigns. . His play in his zone, however, has improved significantly.

“At university, you have to find your role,” Struble emphasizes. Then the professional ranks come and you have to do it again. At my arrival [dans l’organisation du Canadien], I was told: you have to be good defensively, be difficult to face. And I couldn’t let [l’occasion] pass. »

At the head of a young team, Martin St-Louis often admits that “it’s not fun to play defense.” Struble, however, takes a lot of “pride” in frustrating his opponents.

This wisdom, for a 22-year-old defender, “is not the norm,” remarks St-Louis. Like many people, he considers that the American constitutes a “nice surprise” this season.

No need to look far to illustrate this rarity. Earlier this season, Arber Xhekaj was traded to the Rocket to learn how to defend his territory in professional hockey. Justin Barron is in Laval right now with the same objective. Still at the Rocket, Mattias Norlinder, William Trudeau and Logan Mailloux are waiting for their turn. And Nicolas Beaudin, unhappy with its use, has just had his contract terminated.

All the defenders in the previous paragraph have an offensive profile. And they all saw Struble walking past them. Let’s concede to Mailloux that, unlike the others, he is playing his first professional season.

If number 47 was able to hang on to his position in Montreal, it was not because of “just one thing,” St-Louis clarified.

“He is very combative and he has good touches [de rondelle] in space,” explained the coach. We could add to this short list his calm with the puck as well as his obvious ability, without necessarily accumulating a lot of points, to support the attack. “It’s his overall behavior,” summarized the Montreal driver.

Trust

The confidence that St-Louis has in its young defender is not limited to these words. She is incarnated on ice.

At five-on-five, 46.5% of faceoffs in which Struble is involved take place in offensive territory (this calculation excludes those in the neutral zone). Figures comparable to those of Savard (44.6%) and Mike Matheson (44.9%), far ahead of those of Harris (52.1%), Barron (52.5%) and, above all, Xhekaj (55.5%).

For the first time this season, last week Struble and Xhekaj spent two games in the lineup at the same time. Struble mainly faced the first two opposing trios and Xhekaj, trios 3 and 4. This despite the fact that the “Sheriff” has an entire professional year ahead of his contemporary.

Without referring to the misfortunes of some of his teammates, Struble notes that one of the things that has struck him the most since his recent accession to the NHL is “how fast it can go.”

“You see a lot of players passing by, you know the window is small,” he continues. Every day counts, every game counts. It’s not a shock, because we know it in advance. But I am even more aware of it. »

By training camp, he knew he was headed to the American League. “I rolled up my sleeves and tried to be the best I could be [à Laval]. It worked well, and I was called back quickly due to injuries. » Every day, says the defender, he looks for ways to stay one more day. And another. And another.

The speed of events, he admits, took him a little by surprise. The rush of a hockey season is not the place for all introspection; A few days ago, however, while he was alone in his car, reality hit him hard.

“I thought about how I felt as a child,” he says. To my parents, too. It was my dream, it was my whole life, and it’s what I’m living now. It made me emotional. I thought, wow, this is happening! It’s important to realize it, to seize your chance and not to let it go afterwards. »