Canadiens loaning update

With the NHL currently in the off-season and pondering what a 2020-21 season may look like, many teams over the last few months have been loaning their players and prospects to European teams. Part of the reason they've been doing that is so they get consistent ice time and are playing games at the time of year they are used to. Talks are ongoing between the NHL and NHLPA on when the season may begin, with the NHL still pushing hard for a New Year's Day start. In the meantime, let's take a look at the Montreal Canadiens, and see how the players they've loaned are doing.

First up is Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Kotkaniemi has been playing with his old club, Assat Pori in Finland's top division, Liiga. He's been playing some great hockey of late, and in 10 games this season, Kotkaniemi has recorded 8 points (2 G, 6 A), 8 penalty minutes, and is a -3. He went pointless in his first four games, before putting up eight points in six games. In Friday's game against KalPa, Kotkaniemi attempted "The Michigan", but unfortunately didn't succeed.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi went for The Michigan! 😲

(🎥 @CMoreSportFi) pic.twitter.com/CIrVoJSj36— NHL (@NHL) November 21, 2020

Another player who's on loan in Finland is Jesse Ylonen. The Habs drafted Ylonen in the second round, 35th overall in the 2018 NHL entry draft. Back in the spring, Ylonen signed an AHL contract with the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, but ended up not playing due to the season ending early because of the coronavirus pandemic. A couple weeks after that, Ylonen signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Canadiens. He is currently on loan as mentioned in Finland's top division, Liiga where he is playing for the Pelicans. In 17 games, he's put up 4 points (3 G, 1 A), 8 penalty minutes, and is a -3.

A third players who's in Finland is defenceman Otto Leskinen. In May of 2019, the Canadiens signed Otto Leskinen to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.85 million ($925K AAV). He spent the majority of the 2019-20 season in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, while having a five-game stint with the big club in Montreal. Leskinen is currently on loan with KalPa in Liiga, where he has 8 points (3 G, 5 A), 10 penalty minutes, and is a +2 in 14 games so far this season.

Swedish forward Lukas Vejdemo was drafted by the Canadiens in the third round, 87th overall in the 2015 NHL entry draft. Since coming over to North America in 2018, he has spent the majority of his time in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, but played seven games for the Habs during the 2019-20 season. He scored his first NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on March 10th, which also happened to be the Canadiens last game before the NHL shutdown due to COVID-19. Vejdemo, 24, is currently on loan with Sodertalje SK in Sweden's second division, the HockeyAllsvenskan. In 15 games, he has 10 points (2 G, 8 A), 8 penalty minutes, and is a +5.

Hayden Verbeek was signed by the Canadiens as an undrafted free agent in March of 2018. Since joining the Habs organization, he has played primarily in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, as well as in the ECHL with Maine and Adirondack. Verbeek, 23, is currently on loan in Slovakia with Banska Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, where in four games he has 2 points (2 G), 0 penalty minutes, and is a +/-0.

The final player on loan from the Canadiens is defenceman Josh Brook. Brook was drafted by Montreal in the second round, 56th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft. He played four years of junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors, before making the jump to professional hockey ahead of the 2018-19 season. The last two seasons, Brook has played for the Laval Rocket in the AHL. He is currently on loan with the Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL, Germany's top division. The DEL was originally supposed to kick-off earlier this month, but has postponed its start date to December 17th. If the NHL decides on a January 1st or early January start, training camps would likely begin just before Christmas, which could mean Brook may never actually suit up for a DEL game with Krefeld.

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