On Monday, the Habs announced that Mikhail Sergachev -- the 18-year-old blueliner taken ninth overall at the draft -- has been re-assigned to OHL Windsor after spending all of October in Montreal, appearing in three games.
It’s a move that, apparently, was always in the cards.
“The plan was to keep him a month and evaluate after that,” Habs GM Marc Bergevin said, per the club’s Twitter account. “He needs to go play. It’s going to be great for him.”
Sergachev impressed team brass during training camp and the exhibition campaign, earning an opening-night roster spot over Mark Barberio.
But, as Bergevin noted today, the club is playing well and has solid depth across the lineup, making it tough for the rookie to secure minutes.
The Habs also saw some potentially troublesome developments -- specifically, Sergachev tailoring his style of play to survive and stick with the NHL club.
#Habs Bergevin says he saw Sergachev modifying his game to try to stay up in Mtl. Wants him to play his true style, & can do so in Windsor.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) October 31, 2016
"Do things quicker," was #Habs Bergevin's instruction to Sergachev when he returns to Spitfires. Referring to pace of decisions & execution.
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) October 31, 2016
Sergachev has loads of skill and is a gifted offensive d-man, so it should be fun to see him follow up on his ’15-16 campaign in Windsor, when he scored 17 goals and 57 points in 67 games.
The Spitfires should be a contender for the Memorial Cup, which is another reason Montreal was keen to send Sergachev down. Windsor is currently being led by a fellow first-rounder from this year’s draft -- Logan Brown, taken 11th overall by Ottawa.