Brossard, QUEBEC — Hype is usually reserved for first-rounders, but you’ll have to excuse Canadiens prospect Charles Hudon–a fifth-round selection in 2012–for stealing away so much attention this week at development camp. He’s just trying to keep up with habits he established during the 2014-15 season.
The Canadiens’ brass knew he was talented. They knew he was determined. But they had no expectation he’d put himself in the running for rookie of the year honours in the American Hockey League, no foresight that he’d earn a ticket to All-Star Weekend, where he scored a hat-trick and was named most valuable player of the game. And it was certainly a bit of a shock to see him finish with 57 points in 75 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
“Charles was a complete surprise,” said AHL linemate Sven Andrighetto earlier this week. “I wouldn’t have thought he could make the transition from junior to the pros as easily as he did.”
Boasting superior anticipation and playmaking ability, a nifty set of hands, and a knack for shifting his way through traffic seamlessly, Hudon was a prolific scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He put up 273 points in 235 games–most of them with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens–and added another 45 points in 50 playoff games. But in order to excel with the Bulldogs, Hudon understood he’d have to focus on shoring up his defensive game.
That’s why his +5 rating last season is perhaps what he’s most proud of. While some in the hockey world don’t put much stock into that statistical category, Hudon knows it serves as evidence that he’s not a one-dimensional player, and he also knows it’s likely to bring him closer to his dream of playing in the NHL in the near future.
“In junior, he’d have a tendency to cheat [offensively] a little bit,” said Canadiens director of player development Martin Lapointe. “In Hamilton he learned to be more responsible, and playing at centre, you don’t have a choice but to be responsible.”
While Hudon was honing his craft in the minors, fans were clamouring for the Canadiens to give him a shot in Montreal. But management was more inclined to allow him to develop without the pressure of feeling like he had to impress everyone.
“Knowing that I wasn’t necessarily going to get called up and play in Montreal last season really helped me focus and concentrate on what I had to do in Hamilton and where I needed to go,” said Hudon. “Since playing in the ‘Q’, my mentality has changed a lot. My primary focus [in Hamilton] was on improving my defensive game.”
Being trustworthy in his own zone is a prerequisite at the NHL level, but being as offensively dynamic as Hudon can be makes him a very compelling option for a Canadiens team trying to improve their 20th-ranked offence from 2014-15.
“It’s flattering to hear your name in the same sentence as [first-rounders][Nikita] Scherbak and Michael McCarron,” said Hudon in response to being told that Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin recently mentioned that he considers him to be in the running for a job in Montreal next season.
“I’m going to come to camp and try to earn a spot as a top-six or top-nine forward. Whatever happens, I’ll be happy. But from this point on, I’m just really excited, and I’m going to be in incredible shape.”
It’s a promise you expect Hudon to deliver on, especially when he says he models himself after Brendan Gallagher—another diminutive fifth-rounder, known as well for his tenacity and edginess as he is for his skill.
“I like to talk on the ice like Gally does,” joked Hudon.
If the Canadiens give him a chance to show what he can do come October, he might just prove he can score like Gallagher at this level, too.
