A lot of ink bottles have been emptied this season when discussing the Montreal Canadiens’ defence. Lane Hutson is an obvious talking point. Arber Xhekaj as well, albeit not always for the right reasons. However, there is a regular roster member that has flown under the radar, at least so far in 2024-25: Jayden Struble. His role on the blue line is more prominent, and his efficiency is greater than what some might think, given that he’s not talked about much. So let’s discuss.
From Rhode Island to Massachusetts
Born in 2001, Struble is a Rhode Island native, more specifically the town of Cumberland. His love for hockey started early, as he was already hitting the ice in high school. As a matter of fact, much of his development as a player did not take place in his native state, but rather in Massachusetts.
His high school days were spent at St. Sebastien’s School in Needham, MA. As a defender, he tallied 30 points in 30 contests in 2017-18 and followed that up with 40 points in 28 games the following season. There was evidently a lot of talent to nurture. After that, he carved a name for himself with the Northeastern Huskies in the NCAA, Northeastern University being a Boston-based school.
His journey through the NCAA caught the eyes of NHL scouts and, in 2019, he was drafted 46th overall by the Canadiens. Sophomore-round draftees don’t receive the glitz and the glamour showered onto their first-round brethren. The Canadiens, guided by then-general manager (GM) Marc Bergevin, saw enough in Struble to prioritize him relatively early in the draft selection process. One could argue that Struble is another feather in Bergevin’s cap.
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The transition to the pros didn’t happen immediately. To that point, Struble remained in the NCAA for a few extra seasons and only received a two-year, entry-level deal from the Habs in 2023. Montreal’s patience before committing to having Struble in the organizational pipeline was warranted. As it turns out, statistically, the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with the Huskies were some of the blueliner’s best. After a pair of NCAA campaigns with ratings of minus-2 (2019-20, 2020-21), he greatly improved with a plus-15 and a plus-8.
Mercifully Brief AHL Career
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Given the collapse of the Canadiens’ post-2021 Stanley Cup Final run, the club needed all the help it could get, whether between the pipes, up front, or along the blue line.
The reality is that Struble has only played in a total of 23 contests in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Laval Rocket. His 2022-23 season was split between the NCAA and AHL, thus explaining his limited presence with the Rocket initially. That he only partook in 13 matches with the Rocket in 2023-24 had to do with the Canadiens in need of extra bodies. In November 2023, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was placed on injured reserve (IR), which meant it was Struble’s time to shine with the Habs.
Perhaps the long development in the NCAA paid off. Unlike so many other prospects, Struble has not bounced up and down between the NHL and AHL. He adorned Canadiens colours 56 times in 2023-24, starting with an away game to the Anaheim Ducks on Nov. 22, 2023. His average ice time of 16:06 wasn’t too shabby, either. He recorded his first NHL point courtesy of an assist versus the San Jose Sharks two games later (Nov. 24, 2023) and netted his first goal when the team visited the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 9, 2023.
Quietly Strong Play in Montreal
This season, he’s suited up for 22 of Montreal’s 28 games so far (the Dec. 14 game against the Winnipeg Jets has yet to be played at the time of writing). Granted, he’s been a healthy scratch a few times. But consider that he also hasn’t been sent to Laval either. Current GM Kent Hughes and head coach Martin St. Louis see more value in keeping him around than demoting him.
That means a lot, especially when so many analysts harp on the marvellous pool of defensive talent the team possesses, be it in Montreal or Laval. This isn’t a counterpoint to that assessment but praise for Struble’s consistent contributions to the club. If his play suggested he wasn’t ready for the NHL, he’d be with the Rocket. He’s not stepped onto the Place Bell ice once this season, only the Bell Centre.
The proof is in the pudding. He skates extremely hard, has no problem getting physical, and shows signs of being a solid two-way player. One example was against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 7. With the Canadiens leading 2-1 in the third period, Struble made an excellent play in Montreal’s zone to poke-check the puck and race out for a breakaway. He was stopped – and the Canadiens lost 4-2 – but it was a brilliant effort from a defensive and offensive perspective. He has that moxie about him that the team needs these days.
His most regular partner this season has been Xhekaj. Natural Stat Trick has some revealing statistics about the club’s defensive pairings. The Struble-Xhekaj duo has logged the fourth-most 5-on-5 minutes this season with 95:09. If that’s not dependability, what is? Even more interesting is that their Corsi is a decent 52.56%, and the Fenwick is right on the edge at 50.0%.
Shot attempts, blocked or otherwise, are one thing. Expected goals for (xGF) and against (xGA) are another, especially the ones against (this is the defence we’re talking about, after all). The Struble-Xhekaj pairing hasn’t been too bad in that respect. Sure, the 3.29 xGF doesn’t stand out compared to the 5.78 of Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle or the 6.25 of Matheson and Hutson. On the flip side, their 4.02 xGA is better than three other major pairings. Matheson-Hutson is a shocking 7.86, for that matter (no, this is not an invitation to open a debate about whether Hutson is good or not). Moreover, and among those other duos, Xhekaj is a lot more defensively efficient with Struble than he is with David Savard when looking at the latter pair’s 5.52 xGA.
Special teams data is more limited. Struble has played only eight seconds of power play hockey (as of Dec. 14, pre-Jets game). Regarding the penalty kill, he’s played with Guhle for 5:22, Xhekaj for 5:15, and Justin Barron for 4:31. Wouldn’t you know it, but none of those defensive pairings has coughed up a goal so far. Is that unfair, given that Savard and Matheson have seen 11 goals go in in 71:10 when down a player? Possibly, but in a season like this one for the Canadiens, one looks for all the positives, squinting eyes and all.
It would be disingenuous to argue that Struble is the solution to all of Montreal’s problems. Hutson is a better skater, Guhle seems to possess more offensive punch to his game, and Matheson and Savard are obviously more seasoned. On one hand, his statistics are quite respectable, and on the other, the Canadiens don’t seem in a hurry to ship him anywhere. Lastly, it feels safe to argue that he passes the eye test. Not necessarily with flying colours, but he passes it.
That tells us that Struble might be a key cog in the Montreal machinery as the club grows and finds its way this season and next. He’s not the most popular player. Struble jerseys are probably not selling out this holiday season. His name is not mentioned nearly as often as the other defencemen on the roster. The truth is he’s a solid player and has more than deserved his place in the rotation. “Solid” is a description the Canadiens want to be associated with a lot more than they currently are, so that has to count for something.
