According to multiple reports, prospects Mikhail Sergachev and Artturi Lehkonen will be on the Montreal Canadiens opening night roster come October 13th when the NHL regular season finally gets underway.

Mikhail Sergachev amorcera la saison avec le #CH. selon des informations dignes de foi l'état-major lui accordera un minimum de 9 matchs.

— Francois Gagnon (@GagnonFrancois) October 7, 2016

2 rookies will start the season in MTL. No surprise: Arrturi Lehkonen and Mikhail Sergachev. Both had a great camp. #canadiens #tvasports

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) October 7, 2016

Sergachev will essentially get a nine game tryout to see if he is ready to play full-time in the NHL. Throughout the preseason he impressed with his poise, offensive acumen, skating and size. However, the level of competition and speed of the game increases dramatically in the regular season. The Canadiens are giving Sergachev the opportunity to prove that he can adapt and that they will be a better team with him. If not he will be sent back to the Windsor Spitfires where he will have the chance to compete in the Memorial Cup and World Junior Championships. If Sergachev plays 41 games this season, than it will burn the first year of his contract and he could become an unrestricted free agent by the time he is 25 years old. Apparently, the decision to give him the nine games was decided independently of Jeff Petry’s injury.

En passant, la décision favorisant l'entrée en scène immédiate de Sergachev n'est pas reliée à l'état de santé de Jeff Petry #CH

— Francois Gagnon (@GagnonFrancois) October 7, 2016

After his performance in the final preseason games, there was little doubt that the Canadiens would keep Lehkonen in Montreal. He had started training camp positively but never really stood out. He was doing the little things right but seemed to be playing it safe. His recent goals elevated his game to another level and proved that he has an NHL ready shot. Lehkonen has the ability to play and contribute in the Canadiens top six and seemed to develop some chemistry with Alexander Radulov. I fully expect Tomas Plekanec to step up his game once the regular season starts, as he always does. If Lehkonen falters at some point during the season, he would be sent back to Frolunda of the SHL in Sweden.

According to Francois Gagnon of RDS, the Canadiens are still unsure what to do with Michael McCarron and will likely take the weekend to decide.

Selon les informations que j'ai obtenues, le #CH n'a pas encore pris de décision finale à l'égard de McCarron. On veut qu'il joue beaucoup

— Francois Gagnon (@GagnonFrancois) October 7, 2016

McCarron has demonstrated that he is ready to play in the NHL and gives the Canadiens a more physical presence in the bottom six. In his final preseason game he proved that he can also play the right wing if the team prefers to keep David Desharnais and Torrey Mitchell as their bottom centers. McCarron can contribute on the penalty kill which adds to his value, not to mention his ability to screen the goaltender on a powerplay. If he plays at least ten minutes a night in the NHL then it is worth it to stay. However, if he is going to be the 13th forward, it would better for him to play significant minutes in the AHL with the St. John’s Ice Caps. He might very well start the season in the AHL but he almost certainly will not finish it there.

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