Much like Ringo Starr, Ryan Poehling needed a little help from his friends on Wednesday.
The young man leaves the car downtown when he goes to Place Bell to play with the Laval Rocket. But after the game, Marc Bergevin was waiting for him in the office of the head coach of the Rocket, Jean-François Houle, to tell him that he was recalled with the Canadian.
“I wasn’t sure how I would get home with my gear! Fortunately, Brooksie [Josh Brook] got me back in his car, ”laughed Poehling.
It was a pleasant trading Poehling who showed up for the cameras on Thursday morning. He and defenseman Mattias Norlinder were called up late the day before, but unlike the Swede, Poehling will be in the Habs lineup on Thursday against the Calgary Flames. For the occasion, he will form a trio with Alex Belzile and Michael Pezzetta, two players he has known in Laval for two years.
“He knows the two players he will play with, so that’s an advantage. But the ball is in his court from there, and if he plays good hockey, different things could arise ”, indicated the head coach of the Canadian, Dominique Ducharme.
We understand here that Poehling will have every opportunity to show off. Behind Nick Suzuki, the center line of the Habs is tearing this season. Jake Evans is having a good time, but he has played his best games in supporting roles. Christian Dvorak is going through a very difficult adaptation with his new team; its differential of -14 gives it the 748e rank in the NHL, with his former teammate Jacob Chychrun (-20) bringing up the rear at 749e rank.
The ups and downs of Evans and Dvorak led Ducharme to give chances to Jonathan Drouin and Mathieu Perreault in the center, but both are currently injured, as is Cédric Paquette.
At camp, Poehling also had every opportunity to showcase himself, playing five of six CH preseason games. He had not obtained any points, showed a differential of -2 and stood out very little. “He is aware of the camp he had,” admitted Ducharme.
“The preparatory calendar did not go as I would have liked, admitted the American. I deserved to start the season at Laval. I had a good chat with Marc and the coaching staff and did exactly what they asked me to do. That’s why I was called back. Obviously there were injuries too. ”
In support of Caufield
Poehling has six points from seven points for Laval this season. On Wednesday, he scored his third goal of the season grabbing a Cole Caufield shooting return on a two-on-one descent. After the game, Poehling seemed practically happier for Caufield than for himself!
“We played the first two games together too, he had six or seven shots, but it didn’t fit, he didn’t have a point either. So I was just happy for him, and for me, ”said Poehling.
We also feel that Poehling wanted to take care of Caufield to avoid him the Stations of the Cross that Poehling himself took since his magical debut in Montreal in April 2019.
“He wasn’t happy to be fired, but he came with the right attitude. I called him when it happened, I went through the same thing. I haven’t had a run in the NHL like him, but I said, “look, when I got fired I didn’t have the best attitude and I regretted it.” So he has to take a good dose of humility, integrate into the team and learn from others. He is a good youngster, he will have a long career. ”
Caufield will also have an interest in being patient, since Ducharme recalled Thursday that his internship in Laval “was part of the course” and that he had to “find his bearings”. So many expressions that suggest that a recall is not imminent.
Speaking of patience, Norlinder will have to show him that. He won’t play on Thursday, and Ducharme recalled that he hasn’t had much practice time. “We’re going to wait a bit. ”
Drouin will miss the game, while Dvorak and Josh Anderson should be at their posts.
Jake Allen will defend the Montrealers’ net.