by Corey Desormeaux , Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
OTTAWA, ON. — When it comes to the NHL draft, Trevor Timmins and the Montreal Canadiens have a knack for finding diamonds in the rough. Brendan Gallagher, selected 147th overall in the 5th round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, is one of those diamonds.
Drafted as an under-sized, gritty forward, Gallagher earned the respect of his teammates and coaches quickly with his work ethic. Since his rookie season, Gallagher has shown continuous progression in a variety of aspects of his game. It’s hard to believe that he is just 22 years old with the potential to bring his game further than it already has, something Canadiens fans should be very excited about.
His work ethic has helped him develop into an effective top six forward in the NHL, where he has built up a reputation around the league as a player with no fear and a never say die attitude. He has made the goal crease his office, where he constantly takes a shellacking from the opposition often finishing shifts bruised and battered just to hop over the boards to do it again.
Gallagher has become the player that every team hates to play against, the type of player that each team wishes they had, a professional and a good teammate.
The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs has been no different. He’s had a relentless puck pursuit and has been raining havoc in front of the Senators net. He has managed to push the rules of the game to the limit while remaining disciplined. For a player that drives the net as much as Gallagher, he is yet to receive a penalty this postseason. This should be of no surprise as discipline is something Gallagher has been practicing all season long, reducing his 73 penalty minutes from the 2013/14 season to 31 penalty minutes throughout the 2014/15 season.
Amongst the media, Gallagher has been receiving praise primarily for the reasons I have listed above, but his impact on the game goes far beyond relentless puck pursuit, discipline and crashing the net.
The fact of the matter is Brendan Gallagher has been one of the Montreal Canadiens best forwards, if not the best forward this post-season.
I know what you’re thinking…”Gallagher has one point!,” and its true. But trust me, after setting a career high in goals (24) and points (47) this season, I’m sure he feels like he can contribute more offensively as well.
I’m here to tell you that he will.
Gallagher is averaging 14.12 minutes of ice time per game at even strength, and has been taking advantage of every second he has on it. Gallagher has been a possession machine, leading all Montreal Canadiens players at even strength with 61.68% Corsi for (CF%), a Corsi differential (C+/-) of +25, and an individual Corsi for (iCF) of 23.
Furthermore, he leads all Habs at even strength with 11 shots on net, 38 scoring chances (SC) and 12 individual scoring chances (iSC). Take a look at how these numbers measure up against other Canadiens top six forwards:
| CF% | C +/- | iCF | Shots | SC | iSC | |
| Gallagher | 61.68 | 25 | 23 | 11 | 38 | 12 |
| Plekanec | 53.33 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 29 | 6 |
| Galchenyuk | 54.00 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 30 | 9 |
| Pacioretty | 58.62 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 22 | 10 |
| Smith-Pelly | 44.00 | -9 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| Desharnais | 51.32 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 4 |
*statistics from war-on-ice-.com
The most impressive number to me is his individual Corsi for. Gallagher has fired 23 shots towards the net and 12 of those, that’s over half, have been deemed scoring chances. It’s only a matter of time until Gallagher starts burying his opportunities. If the team can continue to control the puck with Gallagher on the ice, Habs fans should see Gallagher’s point totals rise throughout the playoffs.
Who do you think has been the best Habs forward thus far?
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