Don't underestimate Montembeault playing way up Team Canada's depth chart

BROSSARD, Que. — Samuel Montembeault has made Team Canada.

Step 1 was being named to the roster. Step 2 is putting himself in position to see some playing time.

You have to like Montembeault’s chances of doing that, even though he is Canada’s presumptive third goaltender for the time being. He plays for a team in Montreal that forces him to be otherworldly on most nights and, if he can be that more often than not before the 4 Nations Face-Off begins in the second week of February, that’ll give him an opportunity to play his way up the depth chart.

Montembeault is in the one position where everyone he’s competing with is on an even plane. He may not have a Stanley Cup, unlike Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill, but he has backstopped Canada to gold before and is just as capable as either one of them to do it again.

If you’re running Team Canada, you take the credentials into consideration, but you must put equal — if not greater — weight on who’s playing best in the lead up to the tournament.

“He continues to progress,” said Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis after watching Montembeault start Step 2 by making 31 saves in a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

The goaltender stopped several shots that were expected to be goals, helping him pad his lead on Binnington in the goals saved above expected category.

The Canadiens will play 31 games between now and the beginning of the 4 Nations Face-Off and, just based on his usage so far, Montembeault will likely have 24 more opportunities to chase down Hill in that category and make his bid to start.

Even if the 28-year-old isn’t chosen to do that, his inclusion on this roster is a huge accomplishment. Especially considering where he’s come from.

The Canadiens picked him off waivers from the Florida Panthers in 2021 without thinking he’d develop into a future starter for them. His early play with the team inspired more doubt than confidence he’d continue to be an NHL goaltender.

But Montembeault began proving himself toward the end of that season. His next season helped him establish himself as the No. 1 goaltender for the Canadiens, and it ended with him backstopping Canada to gold at the world championships.

Montembeault’s performance to start last season earned him a three-year, $9.45-million contract, and his consistency to finish it helped open the possibility he’d be named to Canada’s roster for this upcoming tournament.

The Becancour, Que., native delivered some big performances through the first quarter of this season to serve as the lone French Canadian on it.

Now Montembeault must build on it to play at the tournament.

Patrik Laine and Joel Armia in for the Finns

No real surprises here.

Finland can’t be underestimated in this tournament, but it’s far from the deepest nation at forward.

It makes taking a flyer on Laine, who returned Tuesday after nearly a year-long absence, a no-brainer. Especially considering his sparkling goal-scoring resume — not just in the NHL, but in all international competition he’s partaken in going back to the under-16 level.

Armia, who’s represented his country a lot going back to well before he was drafted 16^th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, brings a versatility Team Finland will benefit from.

The Canadiens are getting it, with him playing both special-teams units and all over their lineup since the start of the season.

“Army knows that he can play up and down the lineup, and his game doesn’t really change, whether you play him up and down the lineup,” said St. Louis. “Army can play the power play, Army can do so many things, so I think what ends up happening with Army is because he can do so many things, he becomes so valuable. He’s the kind of player that can get hot, too.”

That’s pivotal in a short tournament.

Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield snubbed … for now

Montreal’s best forwards were in the conversation to the very end but ultimately weren’t chosen to represent Canada and USA, respectively.

But with so much road to go before we arrive at the 4 Nations Face-Off, either Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield could end up replacing injured forwards.

That Suzuki is in that situation rather than on Team Canada might at least be in part explained by his decision to not go to the worlds last May.

But that shouldn’t invalidate the 25-year-old’s worthiness.

Suzuki had 33 goals and 77 points in 82 games last season and is on pace to score at least as many goals and finish with 85 points this season.

He has also come a long way on the defensive side of things, pulling back to even on his season despite the Canadiens being so generous in chances and goals against since the start.

“He’s unreal,” said Caufield of his long-time linemate. “He doesn’t get the amount of recognition he should get, but in our room he’s the guy. Day-in, day-out, night-in, night-out, he’s doing it consistently, and you can always count on a guy like that. He’s always making plays, obviously, on the right side of the puck and he works his ass off.”

It’s a big reason we wouldn’t bet against Suzuki playing for Team Canada at next year’s Olympics.

We can also see him lining up against Caufield in Italy, especially with where the American’s game has come to — and where it’s going.

Over the last three weeks, the 23-year-old hasn’t solely been scoring goals to make himself the third-highest scoring player in the league. Caufield has been playing strong all over the ice, and he appears poised to build on that.

“To me, it’s his commitment to playing the game, the 200-foot game right now,” said St. Louis. “He’s very committed to defensive assignments and responsibilities, he’s physically engaged, he wins battles, he’s not just scoring goals. I feel very comfortable when he’s on the ice against anybody.”

If not for USA’s ridiculous depth up front — and it’s clear it leaned on veteran experience in its selection process — there would have been no way to have left Caufield off this team.

One player who was named to it early on, Jack Eichel, felt Caufield had as good a chance as anyone else in the running.

“He’s got a great knack for scoring, and his touch around the net, his shot is really impressive,” Eichel said during a recent visit with the Vegas Golden Knights to Montreal. “He’s a super-skilled, talented player and it’s awesome to be able to see him do what he does at his size. For such a long time, it seemed guys his size were undervalued in the league, but I think it’s really nice to see the transition and seeing guys make an impact like Cole.

“He’s got the competitiveness, the skill, the will, the compete, and that’s what’s allowed him to have success in his career and score at such a great clip. He always makes a lot of plays, and you definitely need to know where he is on the ice when you play against him.”

Eichel won’t be playing with the five-foot-eight, 185-pound winger this time around — unless an injury or two opens up space for Caufield — but we’re confident he will be alongside him at a best-on-best tournament in the near future.