Much was made of Bergevin signing Poehling to an entry-contract at the end of last season and burning the first year of said contract on just the one game but once he played that one game, all talks of contract and wasted year faded away. Of course, there's no chance whatsoever that Poehling produces a hat trick a game but there was no better way to introduce himself to the Montreal faithful than scoring 3 goals from the fourth line in just 11 minutes and 22 seconds of ice-time.
Then came development camp in June where he skated with the teams' prospects and showed just how far along in his development he was. The wait might have seemed never-ending but right about now, it's looking like it was worth it. Judging from Claude Julien's comments in the last week, he does believe that Poehling will make the team straight out of the NCAA.
Of course, as a centre, he will have to earn his ice-time and right now, Danault, Domi and Kotkaniemi look like they are locks down the middle on the first 3 lines. The question then becomes, can Poehling get enough ice-time to continue to develop properly? I guess if Kotkaniemi avoids the sophomore jinx and shows that he's ready to step into a top two role, Poehling could easily land on third line duty and receive the same treatment that was given to KK last season. This is probably what could be the best outcome for Poehling. Clearly, Jonathan Drouin worked hard this summer to get back into Claude Julien's good graces and he'll likely start the season with a clean slate. Can you imagine how interesting a line of Domi-Kotkaniemi-Drouin would be? Should chemestry develop between these 3, the Canadiens could have a very dangerous top 6 providing the Tatar-Danault-Gallagher line still works at full steam.
Where would that leave Poehling? Well, as the 3rd line centre he could find himself between Armia and Lehkonen or perhaps, Nick Suzuki could be ready and add an offensive side to that line that just wasn't there last season? I think the whole league knows that Kotkaniemi would have had more points if the Finnish could finish last season.... Suzuki on the other end, can finish....at the junior level at least. He might not yet be ready to be Poehling's linemate though as the step up from the OHL to the NHL might just be too high. I believe the most likely result is that Poehling will fall in between the Finns IF Kotkaniemi is ready to take on a bigger role.
Should Poehling not have a great training camp though, it's not impossible that he could go and spend some time in the AHL with Joà«l Bouchard and co. and that would not be the end of the world. Gone are the days where going to the farm team meant working with Sylvain Lefebvre and basically not developing. As we look ahead to this upcoming season, it sure is an exciting time to be a Habs fan and in just one week, we'll see what Poehling can do facing off against both the Sens and the Jets rookies. With any luck, RDS will be broadcasting those two games on Saturday and Sunday and we'll finally be able to not only see Poehling work but also to watch some hockey at long long last.
Ryan Poehling with the hattrick in his NHL debut...Bob Cole on the call makes it 10x better
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 7, 2019
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