Speculation: Could Alex Galchenyuk be the Habs leading scorer THIS year?

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Hi,

I know there's not a lot of chances to see that happening next season, but COULD he still make it with the right ice time and teammates?

We often talk about Chuckie being an elite player and future franchise cen... and blablabla... so that means he should be able to play more 17 minutes per game at 19/20 years old.

Assuming Desharnais sucks, Eller is injured and Pleckanec plays well with Bourque and Briere, I'm sure Galchenyuk would be the heart and soul of a line with Pacioretty & Gallagher.

I would easily see this:

Pacioretty: 35 goals, 30 assists, 65 pts
Galchenyuk: 25 goals, 45 assists, 70 pts
Gallagher: 25 goals, 25 assists, 50 pts

Galchenyuk played over 100 games in 2012-2013, but most of those games were as a 3rd line winger.
He will be able to play 90 ish games (with playoffs ) on a 2nd line in 2013-14.

Keep in mind, we are talking about a player potentialy drafted first overall and remember before the start of the 2013 season, most of us were believing Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole would still be our first line.

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[Habs 4 Life]

I doubt it, not that he wouldn't be capable but I have a feeling Therrien will be conservative with him and his ice time again next season

 

[Kenny Powders]

Why are we putting more pressure on the kid? He's 20 y/o and he's not Crosby.

Christ people...

 

[lillypad33]

I doubt it, not that he wouldn't be capable but I have a feeling Therrien will be conservative with him and his ice time again next season

I expect that both he and Gallagher will slump next year...
Hopefully I'm wrong....

Pacioretty will lead the Habs.... my best guess anyways.

 

[ThaDevilGirl]

He could since he's a member of the team, but I doubt it.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

I expect that both he and Gallagher will slump next year...
Hopefully I'm wrong....

Pacioretty will lead the Habs.... my best guess anyways.

I'm pretty sure Galchenyuk won't slump. He went through rough patches last season, and learned to get through them and face adversity/slumps like a champ. He's more used to it already, and is an exceptional talent. Losing a year because of an injury toughens your character.

Gallagher, meanwhile, still hasn't faced that much adversity. I expect him to slump. And I expect Galchenyuk to keep improving his pace.

 

[habs88]

I don't think next year but whenever therrien decides to put chuckie at center he will led the team in points. I personally found that he played his best hockey when he played center. I wouldn't be surprised if he did though but highly unlikely

 

[Kriss E]

Eventually yea, I think most people expect him to become that top line center, so I could see it happen. Maybe not next season, but at some point.
I believe the same of Eller.

 

[couris]

put him at center already

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Why are we putting more pressure on the kid? He's 20 y/o and he's not Crosby.

Christ people...

...And already the Habs most skilled foward.
He will have to deal with pressure all his career and he had a lor of pressure last season, coming back from an injury.

But it's not like most of Habs fans are expecting him to be succesful for his 2nd NHL year, I'm just asking the question considering guys like Toews, Kopitar, E. Staal had some 2nd line minutes for their second season.

 

[dreamingofdrouin*]

dont kow about leading us i scoring next year..but soon enough for sure..maybe the year after....this kid is gonna be something special....if people dont know it already his defensive game is going to be very very elite as well.

 

[Monctonscout]

Why are we putting more pressure on the kid? He's 20 y/o and he's not Crosby.

Christ people...

Actually he is 19.

The odds are against him leading the team in scoring...but it COULD happen.

 

[le_sean]

I usually expect sophomore slumps from all players. I would not be surprised to see both he and Gallagher struggle a bit. Hopefully we don't have a bunch of threads created to try and trade them.

 

[TA1 Sports]

If he gets the minutes his skill level deserves, then yes, I have no problem envisioning him leading the team in scoring.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Don't think he will but I really hope so. We need him to become a front line scorer for the future and if he can lead us at 19 that would be awesome.

I really hope that MT gives him the PP time.

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

It will really depends on how Therrien uses him. 16-18 min, including PP times, it's not impossible if he continues to progress. He ended last season almost at a PPG rate.

 

[Gally11]

I think it will be Pacioretty again, if he starts to crash the net more.. I expect a good season from chuckie though

 

[19VJ17]

I don't think next year but whenever therrien decides to put chuckie at center he will led the team in points. I personally found that he played his best hockey when he played center. I wouldn't be surprised if he did though but highly unlikely

I really think it depends on Galchenyuk and what he does. If Galchenyuk starts playing like a Thoroughbred I do not think Therrien would be stupid and hold him back.
I also think he needs to play centre for this to happen. Therrien did not hold back Galagger last season when he showed the team what a pitbull he was around the net

 

[NotProkofievian]

I know very little about how he has been preparing for the upcoming season. There hasn't been much news on that front. If he comes into camp bigger, stronger, and faster than he was last year, combined with the experience he gained over the previous season in which he played 97 games, I would expect huge amounts of progress from him.

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

I really think it depends on Galchenyuk and what he does. If Galchenyuk starts playing like a Thoroughbred I do not think Therrien would be stupid and hold him back.
I also think he needs to play centre for this to happen. Therrien did not hold back Galagger last season when he showed the team what a pitbull he was around the net

Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher

Yikes!

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I don't care how many points he ends up with, I just hope he gets regular powerplay time finally.

Doubt he ends up leading our team and points (going with Pleky or Pac for that) but I think he'll likely put up between 50-60 points.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher

Yikes!

I like it.

 

[Habster33]

I for one hope that he keeps on producing the way he did last season.

I'm sure MT will give him between 12-13mins on ES + some PP time on a regular basis next year.

 

[Myron Gaines*]

You never know. Who would've known he'd make the team last year and be as good as he was?

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

Its fairly unlikely that it could happen but the possibility that he ''breaks out'' next year exists. Other high profile prospects have followed similar paths and lead their teams in their second years. Look at Stamkos for instance.

Disclaimer - I doubt Galchenyuk will be as good as Stamkos. However he had much more competition trying to outscore Lecavalier and St. Louis instead of Plekanec and Pacioretty.