If there is one CH player who is extremely consistent and who has shown a good progression curve since his arrival in the NHL, it is Nick Suzuki.
In addition to his offensive contribution which is only increasing, he often neutralizes big opposing trios with his defensive awareness and his unparalleled intelligence.
Additionally, he leads by example with his own leadership as captain.
He makes others around him better and demonstrates more and more that he belongs to the elite of NHL centers.
Even if he’s not the most flamboyant, he’s definitely a 1st line center.
Monday evening, at 5 à 7, Benoît Brunet had an excellent headline on Suzuki:
That’s saying something.
In my opinion, there is no doubt that he is the best CH center since Vincent Damphousse.
As Brunet said, we will wait before putting him in front of the Quebecer, but I am quite confident that he could be as good as Damphousse.
The latter still has more than 1200 career points in less than 1400 games in addition to a Stanley Cup.
It’s difficult to compare two players with different profiles, in two different eras.
On the other hand, the numbers are there and the captain could become the first CH player since Alex Kovalev to cross the point per game milestone in a season.
Not only does he produce at a very good rate and can neutralize the best lines in the NHL, we must not forget that Suzuki has never missed a single game in his career (knock on wood when I write that sentence).
A nice total of 415 matches without having missed a single match to start his career, that has its weight in gold.
If CH can count on a versatile center who earns one point per game and doesn’t get injured, the club is on a roll, as they say so well.
In burst
– This action was very dangerous and the league MUST take action.
– Samuel Ersson did not intend to be silly.
– A shorthanded and power play goal for Reinhart this evening.
– Further proof that the Long Term Injured List (LTIR) is very complex.
– Boucher had quite the fourth quarter. The Quebecer finished the game with 18 points in 21 minutes.
