TORONTO, ON. — Diminutive Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto split some time in 2014-’15 between the Montreal Canadiens and the Hamilton Bulldogs. During his first three games alongside Tomas Plekanec, Andrighetto had two goals and one assist before being demoted to the 4th line where he went pointless in nine games. Andrighetto was then returned back to the Bulldogs. During his time in the AHL this past season, Andrighetto managed to rack up 43 points in 60 games.

Andrighetto likes to carry the puck up the ice, finding holes to exploit in the defense to create good scoring chances for himself or teammates.  In the Canadiens system, due to the high risk of a turnover, head coach Michel Therrien does not encourage players to rush the puck up the ice, especially a rookie. In addition to having to be good defensively, there is essentially no room for error at either end of the ice. Down in the AHL head coach Sylvain Lefebvre has been playing the same style as the Canadiens, which is to clear the puck at all costs and to limit any potential high risk passes or plays especially in the defensive zone.  This often causes the players to be chasing the puck around due to failed stretch passes and clearing attempts. For a smaller stature player like Andrighetto, this style doesn’t complement the way he plays. This could become more of an issue when looking at the organization’s young skilled players.

Andrighetto is a player who thrives on using his vision, speed and creativity when carrying the puck. He is a natural offensive talent who needs to be given some rope, as any young player does (if and) when he makes the Canadiens roster for good. At this point, Andrighetto would provide some very solid offensive depth if he were to make the Canadiens roster this fall. It never hurts to bring in someone like Andrighetto who is hungry to stay at the NHL level and will do anything to prove he belongs.

Although a very small sample size (just three games), Andrighetto showed that he can produce alongside Tomas Plekanec.  Before they were split up, they were solid at both ends of the ice. Perhaps the duo was not as good defensively as Therrien wanted.  However, while bumps are to be expected, the Plekanec and Andrighetto had chemistry together. Therrien should be salivating to have a good young offensive talent learning both offensive and defensive responsibilities and assignments from one of the best two-way centers in the league. Instead, the coach placed him on the 4th line to grind. Andrighetto is not the type of player to impress with his physicality but he doesn’t mind getting to the dirty areas and using his body to a modest extent.

When a youngster like Andrighetto earns his call-up, it’s time that he is given a fair shot in a scoring role. Not every player has to be sent to the 4th line to earn their stripes before being promoted to the top-6, especially if they show chemistry with other players on the Canadiens top two lines.