The Montreal Canadiens signed prospect Tyler Thorpe. He earned his three-year ELC and signed the ATO so he can try to help Laval with their playoff run. There are some things that the 6-5 right wing can do very well.
I like his reach. He has a long stick. Thorpe is terrific 5-on-5 and that will translate in the AHL for sure and possibly at the next level. He has a good wrist shot and can get to the net too. I can’t wait to see how his career progresses. He has a long way to go but this is a positive first step for the fifth round pick. But it’s one step closer. That’s it.
He will work on his all-around game in the AHL and his speed should get better over time. His 27 goals and 25 games in 68 games. Thorpe had three points in five games in the postseason. That’s not fantastic so it would be unfair to expect too much now that he will play some AHL games at the end of a season. It could be great but if it isn’t, I’m not going to hold it against the prospect.
The Canadiens are having some good early results from early drafts but it’s important to give the prospects time to learn and sometimes experience some hard times too. It helps them to become pros down the road. Rushing prospects is the worst thing you can do and it seems like Kent Hughes isn’t going to do that.