Canadiens Prospect Joel Teasdale On Fire For Laval Rocket

Canadiens prospect Joel Teasdale did not enjoy a very strong start to the season.

In addition to earning just two assists in his first 13 games, Teasdale was made a healthy scratch on more than one occasion, a rather difficult situation to accept for a player entering his third campaign with the Laval Rocket.

He finally found the back of the net against the Utica Comets on Dec.14, adding an assist for his first multi-point game of the year.

But more importantly, the two-point game marked a dramatic shift in his overall production, as Teasdale would go on to scoré 13 goals and seven assists in just 18 games, an impressive, if not necessary scoring run for a player that is at risk of being leapfrogged by younger competition in the Canadiens’ prospect pool.

Now that he’s earning points, not only have the Rocket enjoyed a significant uptick in wins, but Teasdale has also entered the conversation as the best call-up option should the Canadiens require more reinforcements.

With six goals in the last five games, you could even argue that he’s one of the few players throughout the entire organization that is scoring with some semblance of regularity, as illustrated by his second AHL hat trick against the Hershey Bears on Jan.20.

Joël Teasdale scored all three goals for @RocketLaval tonight in #HERvsLAV and capped off his hat trick in OT 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/9OQg1rRTSW

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) January 21, 2023

The Canadiens don’t necessarily have to look to Laval for a call-up, they could turn to the CHL as they did when they recalled prospect Owen Beck on an emergency basis.

However, seeing as the 23-year-old only signed a one-year contract extension this summer, there’s a stronger sense of urgency to see what he can do in the NHL. Seeing as he’ll be a restricted free agent, the Canadiens will maintain ownership of his rights once the contract expires, but he’s also quickly approaching the age where many hockey prospects get stuck between regular AHL usage and a lack of opportunities in the AHL.

Simply put, it may be time to figure out whether Teasdale’s recent uptick in scoring is a sign of things to come.

We’ve already seen impressive results from Laval Rocket call-ups this month, and in a season where playoffs are out of reach and the victories are few and far between, there’s no better time to dole out an opportunity.

Joël Teasdale has scored first for the @RocketLaval in back-to-back games. pic.twitter.com/4nEteYzkmr

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) January 28, 2023