BROSSARD, Que.— On Friday, after pushing his players through an intense, one-hour practice in preparation for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said what anyone who’s been watching Nick Suzuki play since the beginning of the season has been thinking.
“I think he’s very mature,” St. Louis said to describe the 23-year-old, “and the way he plays has, even more, confirmed that he was ready to be the captain of this team.”
It was a big question coming into the season. Not only were the Canadiens naming Suzuki the youngest captain in team history, but they were also doing so in the first of his eight years under a contract worth $63 million, and you had to wonder if it was too much, too soon.
The possibility he might not be ready for that kind of pressure was naturally considered by St. Louis and Canadiens management, but their decision to go ahead with putting the ‘C’ on Suzuki’s jersey on Sept. 12 said everything about how they felt about that possibility being realized.
And what Suzuki’s done since—producing nine goals and 17 points in 14 games despite missing almost all of training camp with lower- and upper-body injuries—has only reinforced their confidence in that decision.
The London, Ont., native is on one of the biggest heaters in the NHL, with only eight players in the league producing more than his six goals and 10 points since Oct. 29.
That would be an ego-swelling run for anyone, but Suzuki’s teammates say nothing has changed about the way he’s been carrying himself.
“I really think, and kudos to him, he already had that leadership presence even last year, and the respect, and he’s done a great job of just being himself,” said Canadiens defenceman Jordan Harris. “At the end of the day, that’s why he was chosen captain. It’s because of the person he is and the player he is and the respect he gets, and he hasn’t changed his demeanor at all wearing the ‘C.’ If anything, it’s like he had the captaincy before with the way he held himself and commanded respect in the room.”
Suzuki’s commanding it on the ice more than he ever has before, facing top competition every night and coming out on top.
Not only is he producing at 100-point pace, but the consistency of his production has also fueled Montreal’s 7-6-1 start to the season. Suzuki has only been held off the scoresheet on three occasions thus far and, on one of them, he still managed to contribute a goal in the shootout to help the Canadiens win.
Sean Monahan, who came to the Canadiens over the summer after playing several seasons in Calgary next to one of the game’s biggest superstars in Johnny Gaudreau, said he’s been nothing but impressed by his young captain.
“He’s a smart player, he makes good reads, he thinks the game at a high level and he executes it,” said the 28-year-old. “So, he’s been great for the team and guys have to keep following his lead.”
When asked what impresses him most about Suzuki, Monahan said, “I think it’s his poise.”
“He’s smart, he reads the game well. He makes good reads, and he seems to always be in the right spot, and that’s a credit to him,” Monahan added.
That Suzuki isn’t satisfied with his results so far is another.
He’s aware he’s not going to continue scoring on 50 per cent of his shots (as he has over the last six games) or on 27 per cent of them (as he has since the beginning of the season), especially knowing his career average is under 13 per cent.
But Suzuki doesn’t think he’ll be scoring any less.
“I’m probably just not shooting enough, honestly,” Suzuki said. “There’s some games where I had like one or two shots on net, so that’s something I keep telling myself to do is shoot more. But I think I’m pretty good at picking when I can shoot, and if I don’t feel like I have the right opportunity to try to score on the shot, I try to find something else.”
Finding someone else is a trademark of his, and the options he has to choose from right now are doing their part.
Cole Caufield has eight goals from Suzuki’s wing, and Kirby Dach has scored three in six games since joining the top line.
The chemistry is undeniable between the three of them, and Suzuki believes it’ll continue to build.
As for the growth in his offensive numbers, Suzuki has also learned a thing or two about sustaining productivity since entering the league in 2019.
He took a key lesson from the 2020-21 season, in which he produced 12 points in his first 10 games before sputtering with just three points over his next 10.
“As the season goes on, teams get better defensively and things start to tighten up and you just want to keep finding your game, playing well, practice habits, working out more and trying to stay stronger during the season and not have dips in energy,” Suzuki said. “Stuff like that is what I’ve learned through my first couple of years here.”
Meanwhile, just playing his game, not worrying about external expectations and not succumbing to the pressure that comes with his lucrative contract and the captaincy all seems to come naturally to Suzuki.
“I feel like whether I had the ‘C’ or not, I’d still want to be doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I didn’t put any other pressure on me to produce more. I think I’m a player that plays on the power play and plays in offensive situations, so it’s my job to produce and help the team as much as I can whether it’s power play, P.K., 5-on-5. I didn’t come into the season putting more pressure on myself.”
Like St. Louis said, Suzuki has confirmed why he’s the right player to serve as captain for the Canadiens.
That he’s done it this early in his tenure will only benefit him as he navigates the role moving forward.
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