Life in Laval is good for hockey fans these days. The amphitheater is full, Rocket has won and a top prospect of the Canadiens is shining again after crossing the desert in Montreal this year. In this context, surreptitiously, another team project has just reached the court of professionals.
He was not greeted by fanfare. Neither drum nor trumpet. He really just dipped his finger into the American League.
Riley Kidney doesn’t run people in Laval. If we rely on those who tell us about it, it may not happen. Everyone describes him as a cerebral gamer, brilliant, but certain games won’t make him a subscriber to TV news highlights.
However, after a season of 100 points in 66 games at QMJHL with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, CH’s second-round pick last year was able to get people talking about him.
It’s timesaid Sylvain Couturier, its general manager on Acadian soil.
Isolated in the heart of New Brunswick in an organization that doesn’t hit the headlines, Kidney has forgotten all about the discussion about the next generation. Between a loving fly about Kaiden Guhle and a whistle heard in front of Joshua Roy’s skill, Nova Scotian’s sober and effective game went (somewhat) unnoticed.
Until recently. Until the Canadian offered him his first professional contract at the end of the junior season. Until Rocket prompted him to join the team, holding a trial contract, if only to soak up the electric atmosphere that reigns in the club-school amidst an elimination course and the high level of this competition even if he doesn’t play.
Here he belongs to black ace the Rocket, reservists who train away from the group and don’t play, but still talk to the group, the veterans.
Couturier is also convinced that he will be good for his journey – as long as possible stay on the North Shore, widespread debate – to bathe in this environment.
Intelligence and consistency
Along with Joshua Roy, Kidney could be part of a legacy that is surprising because it’s intriguing from the latest vintage sign Trevor Timmins in Montreal. Often accused of avoiding QMJHL, Timmins drew there four times in 2021 which, so far, has had good results.
Although it has lost media attention, the 19-year-old’s development has impressed many.
I don’t know why he slipped under the radar, Sylvain Couturier wondered. Difficult to understand. But he continued his business. He didn’t let that make him angry. We’re talking him, the Canadian is signing him a contract, it’s to his credit.
Beyond geographical distance, Kidney’s style of play may have made him less noticeable.
This is not necessarily a person flashy so muchunderlined his teammate Hendrix Lapierre.
” He’s not faster than the others, he doesn’t have a laser like throw. He does everything. He achieved things this year that no one thought possible, but he was confident in himself. Maybe that’s why he’s underestimated: he doesn’t have a higher quality than everything else in his game. “
A recruiter agreed.
It lacks a bit in everything: speed, strength, etc. He pays for his intelligence and instinct. What is underestimated in repechage is its ultra-competitive side. In the playoffs in 2021, he was physically, surprisingly. He was a competitor, a man of character. We liked him a lot, and he got places on our final list.explanation of the man referred to.
Lapierre compared him to Dawson Mercer, a New Jersey Devils rookie this season, author of 42 points in 82 games. It’s not the strongest at 5’11 ”(1.80m) and 173lbs (78kg), but super solid in puck protection.
He barely loses a puck. This is wonderfulsaid Lapierre.
A Kidney sequence stands out in Quebecer’s mind. Lapierre was injured throughout January and two more weeks in early April. Other players fell in battle. In the absence of team leaders, senior veterans, Kidney carried the team on his shoulders. A team, moreover, with serious ambition this season.
It hit me. He played every game, he thought he needed to do more, and he did.recollection of Lapierre.
He will take care of it. He’s our best player, without a doubt. We continue to win thanks to himCouturier added.
Stability, a quality that is very hard to get, hasn’t left him all year. The stone has been shut out only 8 times in 66 games. In March and April, when the game thickened to the end of the season, the young center scored 47 points in 29 games.
A convincing outbreak that attracts the new Montreal administration that is completely foreign to its choice.
All stakeholders consulted were clearly apologetic, even if the project was exciting.
” The Canadian made a choice at the end of the second round with Riley. Physically, he needs to mature. He was still a nearly six foot man. He should play at 190 or 195 lbs long -term. Once he has reached physical maturity, he will be a hockey player. He will be a threat wherever he plays. “
You need to be patient, warns the recruiter to consult with it. This is typical of the kind that gets a good three years in the American League. Grow, grow strong. Get the little thing pro. What keeps him from reaching the NHL is his ability to isolate himself from the opponent, his first steps, his physical strength in the corners. Will he really be the center of the NHL?
All very big questions. There is no answer yet. Center or winger, however, he seems to be on the right path.
Meanwhile, during his stay in Laval, Kidney should take the opportunity to conduct some scouting. Apartments are rare and not cheap, as everyone knows. There is no cost to get ahead a bit. That’s what he does all season.
Source: Radio-Canada
