The Habs announced on Monday that they have re-assigned defenceman Mikhail Sergachev back to Windsor of the OHL. As he played in just three games this season, he does not burn the first year of his entry-level deal.
Sergachev was Montreal’s first round pick (9th overall) back in June and he made an immediate impression with a strong rookie tournament. That earned him a lot of action in the preseason as he suited up in four games, collecting two assists. He made the team out of training camp but only got into three games where he was held off the scoresheet while struggling at times in his own end.
Speaking with reporters, GM Marc Bergevin acknowledged that their original plan for Sergachev was to keep him up for a month and then re-evaluate the situation at that time. With Greg Pateryn playing well though, there wasn’t really a spot for Sergachev in the lineup and players can only learn so much in practices. The team is only carrying six healthy defencemen at the moment so a recall from St. John’s is likely coming, potentially as soon as 5 PM EST today.
Sergachev will see plenty of action at the junior level. The Spitfires are hosting the Memorial Cup this year so he’ll be playing well into May no matter what (and they’re expected to have a long playoff run in their own right) and he’ll likely see lots of action at the World Junior level, including a pair of games in the Canada-Russia series in November.
In other news Monday, defenceman Shea Weber was named the NHL’s third star of the week after picking up five points (and two game winning goals) in four games.