I know, I know Teasdale is not destined to be an impact player at the NHL level but still, it was nice to see him not only win the President's cup while leading the scoring in the playoffs but also the Memorial Cup's one. Nicer still was the fact that he was hurt early in the final (as per his coach Mario Pouliot) and that he shook it off and managed to make a big impact on the game by tying up the score at 2. This goal allowed his team to take control and they never looked back. In the end, Teasdale had 5 points in 5 games in the tournament and was not the top scorer (his teammate Jakub Lauko was with 8 points) but his implication and leadership were recognized. Should Teasdale end up playing in the AHL with the Rocket, this kind of attitude and commitment will be much appreciated by Joel Bouchard and Co. The Rocket's head coach has already coached Teasdale with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada when he was just 16 and was rather demanding with him:
Teasdale and Bouchard may very well be back together next season, this time in the AHL: https://t.co/sBFaxCbdgo
— Karine Hains (@Pheebs888) 28 mai 2019
Meanwhile, Nick Suzuki finished the tournament with 7 points in 4 games and showed a nice array of skills. The presence of the 13th overall pick at the 2017 NHL entry draft will be highly anticipated in Montreal this upcoming fall and given the fact that the Canadiens kept Kotkaniemi up last season, they really seem keen on giving kids a chance. Of course, KK was a 3rd overall pick and more talented than Suzuki but it still bodes well that Julien and his crew are starting to put more trust in youngsters than they once did as demonstrated by Mete and Juulsen's presence on the blue line for much of the season.
While us Habs fans are left watching our prospects, two teams are still battling it out for the Stanley Cup and last night, the Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the series over the St-Louis Blues with 4-2 win. It definitely showed early on that the Bruins were rusty from their 10 day break but they were fully operational in the 2nd period. Surprisingly, it wasn't the "perfection line" (who chose that nickname by the way?) that did the heavy lifting but rather the likes of Connor Clifton and Sean Kuraly. Everyone's favourite player, Brad Marchand, did get an empty net goal with less than 2 minutes to go in the game but his performance will be remembered more for his usual antics... In the opening game of the series, he wasted no time trying to get in the Blues' rookie goalie's head:
Brad Marchand says hello to Jordan Binnington pic.twitter.com/1KkfdrJtkD
— Evan Marinofsky (@emarinofsky) 28 mai 2019
Surprisingly though, it's not a Marchand move that made the headlines but rather a Torey Krug hit which looked like a clear-cut charging penalty that wasn't called:
Torey Krug so awesome I have to keep watching it again and again, now this is that classic old school hockey...the bear has woken 😘👌#Bruins #Krughttps://t.co/gTSvFPL3Vh
— DJ Nucleus (@nucleus34) 28 mai 2019
To put the hit in context, perhaps Krug felt that a penalty should have been called on David Perron who had spent close to 30 seconds wrestling with him in front of the Bruins' net and he was frustrated but there's no doubt that he came in at full speed and steamrolled Robert Thomas. At that stage, the way Thomas fell like a rag doll felt like it was game over for the Blues and that they'd just have to try again on Wednesday night. Unless the Blues make some serious adjustments, this could be a painfully short series.
Finally, keep your eyes peeled for the HockeyBuzz mock draft, I'll be making the Montreal picks and fielding the trade offer received. If you fancy making some suggestions, feel free to hit me up in a private message or in the comments here. Right now, the guy picking for the Pens is trying to trade us Olli Maatta...I'm thinking pros: he's a left D cons: his first season was promising but he's had health issues since then...what say you?