Hockey

More points for rookies: the Habs top the NHL (with thanks to Kapanen and Demidov)
Marc-Olivier Cook
More points for rookies: the Habs top the NHL (with thanks to Kapanen and Demidov)
Credit: Getty Images

There's a lot to remember about the Montreal Canadiens' start to the season.

The (unrivalled) performance of the goaltenders, the dominance of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, the blossoming of Alex Newhook, the reliability of the blue line…

But we must also mention, in all this, the contribution of the rookie forwards. Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen are doing a hell of a job right now, and they deserve a lot of credit.

It's not complicated: Kapanen and Demidov are in the top-3 in rookie scoring so far. The Russian has four goals and nine assists, while the Swede has six goals and four assists.

Together, they have the highest number of points for rookies on the same team. They're a sight to behold right now.

Demidov was expected to find success quickly. We saw him be really good in his NHL debut last season, and that suggested he had the talent to be productive fairly quickly in Montreal.

But for Kapanen, it's surprising… and right now, it looks like he just can't slow down. The kid is on a 33-goal pace so far this season.

And no one could have predicted that before the start of the campaign:

It's often said that to win, every player on a team has to give some. And when two rookies like Demidov and Kapanen are able to do that, it helps a club reap victories.

That's what we're experiencing right now in Montreal. The Canadiens (at the time of writing) are sitting in 3rd place overall in the NHL standings, and Kapanen and Demidov are playing their part.

If they can keep up this pace between now and the end of the season, it's going to be special. And it'll probably allow the Habs to get even more W's…


Overtime

– Wow.

– Fair enough .

– It gets complicated…

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