The Montreal Canadiens’ 2022-23 season is set to come to a close on Thursday night as they host their Original Six rivals, the Boston Bruins, at the Bell Centre at 7 p.m. ET.
Going into this season, Habs fans didn’t expect much in terms of success on the ice, with the priority being the development of younger players such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach, among others. There were several good stories to watch this years including 31-year-old Alex Belzile scoring his first career goal, Rafael Harvey-Pinard’s stellar play and more recently, Joel Teasdale making his National Hockey League debut. With the campaign coming to a conclusion tonight, it’s time to turn our focus to the off-season, but before then, there’s a chance that some of those on the Canadiens roster might not be done on the ice.
The 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championship begins on May 12th in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. At the time of writing this, only one Canadiens player has been confirmed to be heading to the tournament. According to Steve Turcotte, a Quebec-based radio host, Samuel Montembeault will be on Canada’s roster. Montembeault has been one of a few bright spots on Montreal’s roster this season and has definitely earned the opportunity to represent his nation at the World Championship.
With Montembeault so far the only confirmed player on Montreal’s roster heading to the tournament, I thought I’d share who I think could join him in Finland and Latvia next month!
Jonathan Drouin (Canada) – I know you’re confused reading his name, but hear me through on this one. Drouin had an incredible stretch of play a couple months back where he was a point-per-game player, recording 12 assists in 12 games. It was a contract year for Drouin too and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. If he’s named to Canada’s roster, he’ll use the tournament as an opportunity to prove himself, and earn a contract for next season, likely with another team, not Montreal.
Mike Matheson (Canada) – Mike Matheson has played for Canada on a few occasions, including the 2016 and 2017 World Championships, winning gold and silver respectively. He was no doubt Montreal’s best defenceman this season (career-high 34 points) and has earned the opportunity to play for Canada again, if he wishes.
Joel Armia (Finland) – Finland won gold on home ice last year, thanks large in part to a great tournament from Joel Armia. Armia had ten points in eight games in his first senior men’s tournament for Finland, including a goal in the gold medal game against Canada. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association will be naming their roster in the coming weeks and it would be a bit of a shock if Armia is not on it.
Sean Farrell (United States) – This one is a bit of a long shot given his busy year, but if USA Hockey is looking for a speedy goal scorer, then Sean Farrell is their guy. Farrell turned pro at the end of March, signing his entry-level contract with the Canadiens after two years at Harvard University, where he had 30 goals in 58 games. Farrell is no stranger to playing at the men’s level of international hockey as he played for the United States at the 2022 Olympics, where he recorded a hat-trick against China, and then again three months later at the World Championship, putting up six points in ten games.