(Montreal) From the outset, a warning, served by Martin St-Louis himself: it is probably too early to predict the kind of career Corey Schueneman will have in the NHL.
Updated yesterday at 11:58 p.m.
There are countless, after all, those players who were the flavor of the day and who today are the stars of quizzes on the most obscure hockey players.
But there’s definitely something going on with the 26-year-old defender, whose name most fans didn’t know before this season. Saturday, in the Canadian’s 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, Schueneman was the second most used back of his club (20 min 43 s), even getting his chance on the power play. He was also behind Joel Armia’s goal in these circumstances.
He finished the evening with seven blocked shots, a record for the Canadiens (tied with David Savard) for a single game this season. Across the league, just eight top performances have been achieved since October.
However, it is the confidence he displays, while he still has only 12 games of experience in the NHL, that commands admiration. His teammates, moreover, did not miss anything from his work.
Josh Anderson praised his “calmness with the puck”, his “readings” and his “consistency”.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Josh Anderson (17) and Nikita Zaitsev (22)
“He makes good passes, he doesn’t panic,” added Paul Byron.
His current partner, Chris Wideman, has “a lot of fun” playing with him. “I try to communicate with him as much as possible,” he said. He listens a lot, he takes in the information and plays the right games. It’s nice to see him go. »
Josh Anderson, again: “He seems to want to stay in the NHL! »
Hierarchy
Schueneman might not have been the Canadiens’ most anticipated player, but he wasn’t a total stranger either.
The organization’s professional scouts had him in their sights for quite some time when he played for the Stockton Heat of the American League. Without a contract after the 2019-2020 season, he agreed with the Laval Rocket. As early as training camp in January 2021, then-head coach Joël Bouchard warned that the defender, who had spent four full seasons in the NCAA, should be watched.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Corey Schueneman
In April, he signed his first NHL contract. We can safely say that at that time, we did not believe that a year later, he would exceed the 20-minute mark with the Canadian. But Shea Weber no longer plays hockey, Ben Chiarot is a member of the Florida Panthers and David Savard is still nursing an ankle injury.
The organization is not full of defenders under contract. But it wasn’t just by default that Corey Schueneman got that promotion. Since his first shots in the NHL at the end of December, he has already passed Sami Niku and Kale Clague in the hierarchy of the club. He is also ahead of Xavier Ouellet and Louie Belpedio, two veterans who line up with the Rocket. Savard’s recovery could force him to skip some laps, but at this point, it’s not dramatic.
Because obviously, he has a lot of people on his side. Starting with Martin St-Louis.
Thursday, after the game against the Dallas Stars, the coach spoke of a player with “lots of tools”, a “good skater”, skilled in possession of the puck, who is not afraid of daring games when the situation calls for it. We immediately remembered this remark, Saturday, when Schueneman made fun of Dylan Gambrell at the blue line of the Senators.
Opportunities to seize
After the win over the Ottawas, St. Louis said the defenseman’s work on the power play was a perfect example of the kind of chances Schueneman seizes. By employing him in the position formerly held by Ben Chiarot, we wanted to check whether he was up to the challenge that was being thrown at him. Conclusive test.
The confidence he displays, said the pilot, no doubt comes from the experience acquired in the university ranks and in the American League over the past seven years.
What does the future hold for him? asked a reporter.
Hard to say, replied St-Louis. “The sample is a little too small, but what I see is encouraging. At 26, he’s not young, but he’s a young pro. This year, he learns to be a pro with good influences around him. »
Then, this cautious opening: “If he keeps going, he’s a guy who can have a great career in the NHL. »
Schueneman is without a contract at the end of the season, but the Canadiens retain their rights to him given his restricted free agent status. Despite the good times he is living, he will not be in a position to ask for the moon. He could therefore prove to be a cheap option for a full-time position next year, especially if we decide to cut ties with Brett Kulak.
The love seems mutual between Kulak and the Canadian. But in a tight salary context and with a team to rebuild, decisions can sometimes be painful.
The pill is easier to swallow when you have a plan B. As such, Corey Schueneman could look like a nice risk.
In details
Rare event
Despite the loss of Brendan Gallagher, the Canadian posted a positive balance in the infirmary on Saturday, since Josh Anderson and Jonathan Drouin were back. We therefore witnessed a rare phenomenon: the Habs were counting on their first 10 counters in their ranks, something that had not happened since last October 30… We will not dwell on the return of Anderson, who only missed two games. But Drouin played a first since January 20. Result of the races: a rather quiet game, which resulted in three turnovers and no shot attempt. He was entitled to playing time in the first unit of the power play, but there too, it was not crowned with success. Martin St-Louis, however, said he was satisfied with number 92. “I liked the fact that he played the match that was in front of him. There are matches like this where there is not much space. Sometimes, a good presence is to take out the puck and change. I liked the maturity of his decisions. »
No miracle this time
Among the Senators, we deplored the excess numbers granted to the CH, particularly during the second period. This is indeed how the Montrealers scored twice in less than two minutes at the start of the second period. Is it the fatigue of a team playing a second match in 24 hours? “We had good legs tonight,” assured forward Adam Gaudette. There was a bit of confusion which led to overcrowding and sometimes overcrowding is fatal. That said, the Senators themselves enjoyed overplays, including one where poor Nick Suzuki was the one in a three-on-one. Gaudette got himself a breakaway, but Jake Allen didn’t want to hear it. To this end, the Senators may have missed Anton Forsberg, a surprise in their camp this season, even if Filip Gustavsson has sometimes been left to his own devices. Forsberg was given the night off after pulling off a few miracles against the Flyers the night before.
Better and better for Edmundson
Joel Edmundson was in his fourth game since his return. The big left-hander is slowly finding his ease, so much so that it’s more his partner – Jeff Petry – who looks rusty. Edmundson stood out for his effective defensive play, including a first-period presence where he held off Connor Brown, who was trying to buzz, and kept him from making a serious threat to Allen. Edmundson also earned his first point of the season with aggressive play, making Nick Holden look bad before reigniting the offense through Cole Caufield. Edmundson spent 18:49 on the ice and was his side’s most-used shorthanded player. Petry, he only played 16 min 57 s, so he was the least employed defender by St-Louis.
They said
All of our defensemen were phenomenal, they were calm with the puck, out of bounds. Schueneman, Romanov, Kulak, they were amazing and played with confidence.
Josh Anderson
He was good, he made big saves, including against Chuckie [Brady Tkachuk] in the third period. We would have had to find a way to score one and then it could have opened the floodgates.
Paul Byron
Our first period was a great period for a team on the road. We made two big mistakes at the start of the second, but we came back. The third was a typical period of a team trying to get back into the game.
Senators head coach DJ Smith
Rising
Jake Evans
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Jake Evans (71)
The old cliché is that every fourth line goal is a bonus for a team. The unit piloted by Evans produced two. Good evening for the center player who has been playing a more unobtrusive role for a few games.
Falling
Mike Hoffman
He was certainly not a drag on his club. Let’s just say that the complicity with Rem Pitlick and Jonathan Drouin was not instantaneous. One shot attempt, and she missed the target.
The number of the game
9
It was the ninth straight game that the Habs scored three or more goals, and the 13and times on 17 occasions since the appointment of Martin St-Louis.