Canadiens recall intriguing prospect

The Canadiens recalled high-end left-wing prospect Emil Heineman from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday, per a team announcement. To make room on the 23-man roster, winger Tanner Pearson, who is out six weeks with an upper-body injury, was moved to injured reserve.

If the 22-year-old Heineman draws into the lineup tonight against the Penguins, it would be his NHL debut. It’s not a guarantee, however, as the Canadiens have 13 healthy forwards on the active roster. Heineman would likely play a third- or fourth-line role in the event he enters the lineup, relegating either Joel Armia or Michael Pezzetta to the press box.

Heineman is already in his third NHL organization after the Panthers selected him 43rd overall in 2020. The Panthers moved on from him less than 12 months after the draft, dealing his signing rights and a 2022 second-round pick to the Flames in exchange for center Sam Bennett in April 2021. Less than a year after that, Calgary flipped his rights to the Canadiens as part of the package that got them Tyler Toffoli near the 2022 trade deadline. Heineman signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens within a few months of the second trade.

Montreal loaned him out to his Swedish Hockey League club, Leksands IF, for most of last season, where he fell short of his SHL career-highs with eight goals and 15 points in 35 games. After Leksand’s brief playoff run concluded, Heineman finished out the 2022-23 campaign with Laval, recording seven goals and two assists in 11 regular-season games. The strong start to his North American professional career made some believe he could crack Montreal’s roster out of camp this year, and although he was a late cut, Heineman was eventually assigned to Laval before opening-night rosters were due.

An injury suffered early this season sidelined Heineman for most of October and all of November, but he returned to the Rocket lineup this month and has three points and 11 shots on goal in five games post-injury. A speedy winger with a high-end shot, Heineman could bring a skill element missing from Montreal’s depth forward group with Kirby Dach, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Newhook all sidelined with long-term injuries.

He is ranked as the third-best left-wing prospect in Montreal’s system behind 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky and 22-year-old American Sean Farrell by Dobber Prospects. At this stage, a long-term future in Montreal’s top six seems unlikely, but he certainly has the potential to churn out a lengthy career as a legitimate third-line scoring threat.