By the Numbers: Canadiens AHL Call-Ups Shining Bright

A closer look at some of the impressive numbers produced by Montreal Canadiens players who spent a significant portion of the season with their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

2.67 – Saint-Éloi native Alex Belzile leads all Canadiens players with an impressive 2.67 points per 60 minutes of ice time (5v5).

3 – Three Laval Rocket graduates feature among the next five players on the list: Anthony Richard (2nd, 2.41 P/60), Jesse Ylonen (4th, 2.16 P/60), and Rafael Harvey-Pinard (6th, 1.99 P/60).

1.44 – The Rocket alumni aren’t just padding their statistics, they’re driving the offence, as evidenced by their fantastic goal-scoring rates. Richard (1.41 G/60) trails only Cole Caufield (1.61 G/60) in goals per 60. Harvey-Pinard (1.23 G/60) and Alex Belzile (1.03 G/60) are fourth and fifth, respectively.

FIRST NHL GOAL FOR ANTHONY RICHARD pic.twitter.com/uA3cMv7rUR

— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) December 22, 2022

4.75 – Harvey-Pinard is generating high-quality chances. He’s second among all Habs players in individual high-danger chances per 60, this season. The only player ahead of him is, yup, you guessed it, Brendan Gallagher.

1.72 – Not to be outdone by his forward counterparts, Nova Scotian Justin Barron has emerged as an entertaining, point-producing blueliner. He leads all defencemen in points per 60 (1.72 P/60)

3.9 – The Canadiens control more shots when Barron is on the ice. Relative to his teammates, no other player has made a bigger impact in shot share (+3.9 rel.CF%) this season.

Justin Barron’s first goal of the season pic.twitter.com/pCH7zUPybP

— Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) February 11, 2023

12 – Harvey-Pinard has scored a dozen goals this season, which is nearly 34 goals in an 82-game pro-rated season. Sample size is a hell of a drug, but it’s only fair to say the 24-year-old has done everything within his control to ensure the Canadiens will offer him a contract this summer.

55 – Despite spending significant stretches of the season with the Canadiens, Richard still leads all Laval Rocket players in scoring, with 24 goals and 31 assists in 51 games.

0 – Despite outproducing the majority of their teammates, no Rocket call-up is among the team’s top-10 shot producers. Richard leads all his AHL peers with 6.2 shots per 60, which is only good for the 13th overall shooting rate on the team. A little more greed may be in order.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard has three goals… in one period… for his FIRST @Enterprise hat trick! 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/2V2nWYCLND

— NHL (@NHL) March 26, 2023

23.1 – As is often the case when players suddenly enjoy an offensive surge, many of the AHL grads have enjoyed unsustainable shooting efficiency. The top two shooting percentages belong to Richard (23.1%) and Harvey Pinartd (22.9%).

All statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via NaturalStatTrick.