Iced Up Youngsters: PK Subban

With the playoffs now over, I feel a bit more free to talk about anyone in the league. This week, PK Subban, of the Montreal Canadiens is the topic of conversation this week. If you just look at his stats, I’m sure you’ll be confused as to why I picked this guy.  He played in two regular season games, but was mostly a regular in the playoffs.

Career Stats:

2009-2010: 2 Games, 2 Assists

2010 Playoffs: 14 Games, 8 Points

That’s not too bad for a rookie defenseman that had pretty much zero professional experience.

Profile: Drafted in 2007, he was the 43rd overall pick. His first NHL game came in Philadelphia, where he showed a few flashes of skill when he had the chance. He was called in to fill in for an injured Andrei Markov, and logged 18 minutes of playing time. He showed enough that by the time the teams met again the next night in Montreal, the fans were already chanting his name. He’s been an all-star in the AHL, has won a pair of Gold Medals at the Junior World Championships, and was part of that tournament’s all-star team as well. Throughout Junior’s, his numbers have improved as he’s gotten older, and once he hit the AHL, he was already a scoring machine. He scored 53 points in 77 regular season games, not too shabby. Once making the big leagues, he hasn’t logged enough games to rid himself of his rookie status for next season. Don’t be shocked if he’s in the running for the Calder by the end of next year.

What makes him special?: Speed and confidence. The old saying goes, “speed kills”.  You can cover up for a lot of things when you can skate, and that’s the first thing you notice about this guy. He can flat out fly with the best of them. And then you’ll see his confidence when he’s got the puck. I saw his first two NHL games, which happened to be a home-and-home against the Flyers right before the Olympic break. He was not afraid to take the puck and create the rush. 21 years old, first NHL game, defenseman, and he’s leading the rush? Believe it! And the coaching staff wasn’t afraid to test him out a bit, using him on the powerplay and penalty kill. After those two games in the regular season, he didn’t make an appearance again until the final 2 playoff games against Washington, in the first round. Not only did he get the call, he was a top guy, filling in Markov’s role. Markov was hurt in the first game in Round 2, and Subban became a top-2 defenseman.  Once the playoffs start, there’s not much room to experiment. So once again, the coaching staff turned to him in all situations. He made some mistakes, learned a few hard lessons, but in the end, it will make him a better player. With him probably earning a steady spot on the roster next season, watch out for Montreal’s offensive numbers to start trending upwards a bit more.

 Jersey worthy?: Maybe. The skating ability is there, the confidence to join the rush is there, and his numbers in juniors were pretty good. He can become a breakout star, given enough playing time and support from his teammates. Right now he’s still on his entry-level contract, but I wouldn’t rule out an extension for him coming next summer, if not sooner.

Hate factor: So far, mid-range.  He looks like a skill guy that doesn’t like to get pushed around too much. He gets riled up a bit easily and will end up giving out a few face-washes. During the Eastern Conference Finals, against the Flyers, there were a few scrums where he was an instigator.

Thanks for reading!

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