They say one man’s loss is another’s gain. Unfortunately, in the case of Montreal Canadiens forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard, it’s more so a case of one man’s injury being another another’s opportunity. That’s true in the best of times in a player’s career. However, now out four months with a broken leg, Harvey-Pinard will miss training camp and the start of a pivotal season in the 25-year-old’s career.
After a successful 14-goal 2022-23 rookie season, Harvey-Pinard earned a two-year, one-way deal. He started 2023-24 in a bottom-six role, but, upon getting another chance on the top line with Nick Suzuki, he failed to capitalize. A few injuries later, he found himself effectively stuck at the bottom of the lineup with just two goals (10 points) in 45 games.
So, now injured again, Harvey-Pinard finds himself in a horrible position where he needs to get healthy and then re-establish himself as just a top-12 forward in the organization. This time though, there are new players and prospects with more experience under their belts knocking at the door.
If Harvey-Pinard was already on his way down the organizational depth chart, the following are arguably on their way up. With his spot in the lineup now at least temporarily open, just like injuries played a part in him getting a break a few seasons ago, it conceivably marks the first stop in their NHL journeys (at his expense).
Here are the five likeliest to get a shot with the Canadiens out of training camp as a result:
5) Joshua Roy
Forward Joshua Roy is here as a formality, in the sense that, if he wasn’t going to make the roster before, he almost certainly will now. However, based on his seamless transition into a top-nine, arguably top-six role last season, failing to keep him up from the American Hockey League, would fly in the face of what general manager Kent Hughes has effectively established as a meritocracy up to now.
Barring an underwhelming training camp for Roy, you must believe he’s making the Canadiens. Harvey-Pinard’s spot isn’t necessarily his to lose, because he was probably going to make it anyway. However, it is extra insurance in the event Hughes fails to trade one of his excess veteran forwards (a la Christian Dvorak) this offseason (a hypothetical move that, with Jesse Ylonen’s departure, in and of itself would be insurance to that effect).
4) Owen Beck
A potential member of the Canadiens’ 2024-25 rookie class, Owen Beck has had a lot of things going for him since they selected him at No. 33 overall at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He won an Ontario Hockey League championship with the Peterborough Petes. The next season, he won the 2024 Memorial Cup with the Saginaw Spirit, also capturing most-outstanding-player honours, all of which has contributed to the general sentiment he is ready to make the jump right to the NHL (already having gotten in a Habs game in 2022-23).
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What Beck’s arguably got most going for him in this context though is how he projects as a third-line centre. So, it would make sense were the Canadiens to give him limited minutes in a bottom-six capacity to start him off. However, it would also make sense if they want him get some reps in the AHL first to see how he acclimates to a full season of professional hockey. For the sake of his overall development, that might be the correct course of action.
3) Sean Farrell
To mitigate expectations surrounding Beck somewhat, Sean Farrell is someone else who went on to enjoy an exceptionally successful post-draft amateur career. Taken at No. 124 overall (2020), Farrell went on to win the 2020-21 United States Hockey League Player of the Year award as only the second in league history to score more than 100 points.
As a result, suggestions mounted Farrell could defy the odds and not only make the NHL but become a top-six mainstay. Of course, the fact that the first player to accomplish the feat was Kevin Roy (2011-12), who went on to play just 28 NHL games, sometimes gets conveniently ignored.
Nevertheless, Farrell followed up his USHL MVP season with a few years at Harvard University. What added to the hype was a very good 53-point 2022-23 season, for which he won the ECAC Hockey Player of the Year award. He then joined the Canadiens to close out his season. Scoring his first NHL goal on his first shot didn’t exactly help. He then proceeded to go pointless the next four games he played to end the NHL campaign.
Following a 28-point season with the Laval Rocket, it’s only natural his stock would fall back to Earth (47 games). The funny thing is, the next player on the list, someone who is arguably best suited to earn the spot in question, scored a single additional point in only one more game played. So, Farrell still in principle has a lot to offer. To start, he just needs the chance.
2) Emil Heineman
Indeed, Emil Heineman scored 29 points in 48 AHL games last season (15 goals). He and Farrell are also just two weeks apart in age, both born in November 2021. The differences get more significant from there, though.
For starters, Heineman actually got in four games with the Canadiens last season (whereas Farrell didn’t any). Additionally, there was some speculation in the media he would actually make the team out of training camp last season. He’d actually have to wait until December for his first NHL taste. However, the fact his ice time went up each game is a positive sign.
Ultimately, like Beck, Heineman simply projects as a bottom-six forward, which a) would make it easier for him to ultimately make it and b) make it more logical for the Canadiens to give the winger a chance out of training camp to replace Harvey-Pinard. That makes him the better option than Farrell. That he’s 2.5 years older than Beck with more professional experience makes him the best option there too. Best doesn’t mean likeliest, though.
1) Alex Barre-Boulet
This is one instance where it’s probably likelier that the best option isn’t the one that comes to fruition, at least not to start. It’s entirely conceivable Alex Barre-Boulet, fresh off signing with the team as an unrestricted free agent, earns a roster spot. Framed that way, it would hardly be shocking, but the 27-year-old has failed to establish himself as an NHLer up to this point. So, there was a chance the Canadiens signed him purely for organizational depth.
Barre-Boulet would have possibly been able to secure a roster spot had Harvey-Pinard not gotten injured. However, seeing as it would have realistically come down to those two anyway, it makes sense that he would be the one to be given the chance to run with the ball (or skate with the puck).
The hypothetical decision to give Barre-Boulet the spot is less than ideal as his offensive skill set doesn’t exactly mesh with what should be expected for a bottom-six forward. Harvey-Pinard’s did to a greater extent… and even then there was general unrest at his inability to produce. Keep in mind, the Canadiens opted against qualifying Ylonen, a player who is similarly offensive-minded, after he scored eight points (59 games) last season. Barre-Boulet scored nine (36 games) on a deeper Tampa Bay Lightning team.
So, all due respect to Barre-Boulet, barring favourable deployment he’s unlikely to find another gear in his NHL career. As long as he doesn’t take this opportunity for granted in training camp, he is almost a shoo-in for unfavourable deployment to start 2024-25 at least, whatever that’s worth. For him, that’s probably a great deal.
