Canadian: the constant progression of hopeful Riley Kidney

He was not greeted with fanfare. Neither drum nor trumpet. He’s basically just dipping his toe in the American League.

Riley Kidney does not make Laval crowds run. If we rely on those who told us about it, this may never be the case. Everyone describes him as a cerebral gamer, highly intelligent, but whose precise games won’t make him a subscriber to TV news highlights.

Nevertheless, after a season of 100 points in 66 games in the QMJHL with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, this second round choice of the CH last year managed to make people talk about him.

It was timesaid Sylvain Couturier, its general manager on Acadian soil.

Isolated in the heart of New Brunswick in an organization that does not hit the headlines, Kidney has been forgotten in all discussions about the next generation. Between an enamored flight about Kaiden Guhle and a whistle heard in front of the prowess of Joshua Roy, the sober and effective game of the Nova Scotian went (a little) unnoticed.

Until recently. Until the Canadian offered him a first professional contract at the end of the junior season. Until the Rocket beckoned him to join the team, trial contract in hand, if only to soak up the electric atmosphere that reigns in the club-school in the heart of a elimination course and this high level of competition even if he does not play.

Here he is among the black aces the Rocket, reservists who train away from the group and don’t play, but still rub shoulders with the group, the veterans.

Couturier is also convinced that he will be good for his journey – as much as it can be to stay for a long time on the North Shore, vast debate – to bathe in this environment.

Intelligence and consistency

With Joshua Roy, Kidney could be part of a legacy as surprising as it is intriguing from the latest vintage signed Trevor Timmins in Montreal. Often accused of having shunned the QMJHL, Timmins has drawn there four times in 2021 with, so far, good results.

Although it was done away from the media attention, the progress of the young man of 19 years has amazed many.

I don’t know why he slipped under the radar, wondered Sylvain Couturier. It’s hard to understand. But he continued to do his business. He didn’t let that bother him. We talk about him, the Canadian made him sign a contract, it is to his credit.

Beyond the geographical remoteness, Kidney’s style of play may have made him a little less eye-catching.

It’s not necessarily someone flashy that muchunderlined his teammate Hendrix Lapierre.

” He’s not faster than everyone else, he doesn’t have a laser like throw. He does everything. He achieved things this year that no one thought possible, but he had confidence in himself. Maybe that’s why he’s underrated: he doesn’t have a higher attribute than everything else in his game. »

A recruiter agrees.

It lacks a bit of everything: speed, strength, etc. He compensates with his intelligence and instinct. What had been underestimated in the repechage was his ultra-competitive side. In the playoffs in 2021, he was physical, it was surprising. He’s a competitor, a guy with character. We liked him a lot, and he had earned places on our final list.explained the man in question.

Lapierre compares him to Dawson Mercer, a New Jersey Devils rookie this season, author of 42 points in 82 games. Not necessarily the beefiest at 5’11” (1.80m) and 173lbs (78kg), but extremely solid in puck protection.

He hardly ever loses the puck. It’s impressiveinsists Lapierre.

A sequence of Kidney stands out in the mind of the Quebecer. Lapierre was injured throughout January and two more weeks in early April. Other players had fallen in battle. In the absence of the team’s leaders, older veterans, Kidney carried the team on his shoulders. A team, moreover, which had serious ambitions this season.

This struck me. He played every game, he thought he had to do more, and he did.recalled Lapierre.

He took charge of that. He was our best player, without a doubt. We continued to win thanks to himCouturier added.

Constancy, a quality so difficult to acquire, has not left him throughout the year. Kidney has been shut out only 8 times in 66 games. In March and April, when the game thickens at the end of the season, the young center amassed 47 points in 29 games.

A convincing outbreak that charmed the new Montreal administration completely foreign to its selection.

All the stakeholders consulted are obviously asking for patience, even if the project is exciting.

” The Canadian made quite a choice at the end of the second round with Riley. Physically, he needs to mature. He’s an almost six-foot guy anyway. He should play at 190 or 195 lbs long term. When he will have taken physical maturity, it will make a hockey player. He’s going to be a threat no matter where he plays. »

You have to be patient, warned the recruiter consulted here. It’s typical of the kind that will get a good three years in the American League. Grow, grow stronger. Go get the little something in the pro. What would prevent him from reaching the NHL would be his ability to separate himself from the opponent, his first steps, his physical strength in the corners. Is he really going to be a center in the NHL?

All very big questions. No one has the answer yet. Center or winger, however, he seems on the right track.

In the meantime, during his stay in Laval, Kidney should take the opportunity to do some scouting. Apartments are scarce and not cheap, as everyone knows. It costs nothing to get a little ahead. That’s what he’s been doing all season.