Arrested Development

No one should be surprised by the Canadiens' struggles early on. We all get that this is a rebuild, that it will take time.

It's also not that difficult for the fan base to digest the fact that the current management inherited some terrible contracts, and that those will take them before they're washed away.

But what should be of greatest concern, heck, infuriate the fans is the fact that (for the most part) our young players are simply not developing, or at least not properly (meaning learning to play a more complete brand of hockey.

Progress you say? More like arrested development.

Let's take Alex Newhook for example. It was thought he was underutilized in Colorado, that he could develop into a legit top 6. What progress has been seen in his game? Certainly not seeing an improvement in on-ice awareness, puck management skills or anything that would prove that the so-called additions to development and training the current management spent money on, has yielded any sort of benefit. Newhook looks like what he was with the Avalanche: a hard-working, strong on the forecheck forward, with perhaps a touch of goal scoring ability, but likely not suited for top 6 duty. Feels like this is the second trade with Colorado where the savvy Joe Sakic got the better of us (Lehkonen for Barron would be the other).

Has Arber Xhekaj improved under St.Louis? Justin Barron? Where was the big step forward we expected from Logan Mailloux this season? Slafkovsky is another one who , after a strong end to the season last year, is also off to a worrisome start. Cayden Primeau appears to be sinking in quicksand, looking as shaky as he has in the past couple of years. Where has the improvement been with these players?

And don't get me started on Kirby Dach, although it was to be expected he would struggle early on given all the time he missed.

To make matters worse, high-end prospects David Reinbacher (out for the season) and Ivan Demidov (hardly playing in the KHL) are certainly not going to progress as was expected.

While I get we are trying to stockpile a bunch of young, talented players and prospects, and I certainly appreciate this current regime has not rushed anyone unlike the previous ones did (KK, Latendresse come to mind, there were numerous others) but you still need to see progress and accountability at some point. And Hugo will also need to bolster this lineup with vets who can contribute and be leaders on this team.

Here's hoping to some changes behind the bench (to support St-Louis) and in the form of more veteran talent to make sure each of our kids will be in their rightful chair, which in the end should help them grow their game more properly.