Montreal Canadiens Could Recall Another Top CHL Prospect

The Montreal Canadiens dipped into their prospect pool for help by recalling Owen Beck for one game, but they have the opportunity to do it again before the All-Star break.

The situation hasn’t changed for the Canadiens: they’re still in an emergency situation, with only 11 healthy forwards on the roster.

By virtue of having three players on emergency recall already in Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Alex Belzile and Rem Pitlick, the Canadiens were able to take advantage of an interesting clause in the NHL-CHL agreement that allows you to recall exceptionally recall a junior-level prospect to the NHL for a short period.

For more on the rules, see the link below.

MUST READ: Why Montreal Canadiens Finally Decided To Recall Owen Beck

The Canadiens recalled Owen Beck for Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, where the 18-year-old played just under 10 minutes on the third line next to Christan Dvorak and Jesse Ylönen.

It was the first time the Montreal Canadiens used an emergency recall since the spring of 2017, when they emergency recalled Mikhail Sergachev, who was playing junior in Windsor, to play out one of the Canadiens’ final games against the Detroit Red Wings.

But, with one game before the NHL All-Star break and an unchanged, long list of injuries, the Canadiens are eligible to make another emergency recall.

Eligible Montreal Canadiens Prospects

The Canadiens will still be running with 11 healthy forwards and only 22 healthy players, which means they have room to add another forward.

The Canadiens are set to play the Ottawa Senators again on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre before heading off for a 10-day vacation due to the All-Star break and the Canadiens’ bye week.

This gives the Canadiens a prime opportunity to recall another top prospect for a one-time thing, as the club will return to relatively healthy numbers, at least one can hope, after the return from the break.

With the Canadiens playing the game at the Bell Centre, it would be more logical to see them choose one of their Quebec-based prospects, should they decide to go the emergency recall route once again.

The top candidate right now would be the Canadiens’ 2021 5th-round pick, Joshua Roy. The Sherbrooke Phoenix play on Sunday and are then off until Thursday, February 2.

With Sherbrooke only about a 90-minute drive from Montreal, Roy could very well be the prime candidate for a quick recall, as it looks like the Canadiens’ three banged-up centres, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach and Christian Dvorak are good to go.

The Habs prospect currently has 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points in 33 games in the QMJHL and has been riding an incredible last few months, with back-to-back gold medals at the World Junior Championships.

In case the Canadiens need a centre, there’s also the red-hot Riley Kidney, who has been on a tear with the Gatineau Olympiques since being traded there earlier this month.

Kidney’s last game was on Friday against Val d’Or, where he enjoyed himself a four-point night in an 11-6 victory. Kidney is actually outpacing Roy offensively so far, with 20 goals and 47 assists for 67 points in 39 games.

He isn’t slated to play again until Wednesday February 1, and could thus be available for the Canadiens to recall him should the need arise.

With Owen Beck raving about how special the experience of his emergency recall was, we could very well see another prospect taste the same kind of excitement in a few day’s time.