It has been an odd month for Jeremiah Addison. He was believed to be a healthy scratch in Laval until recently where they gave him the injured designation. On Thursday, the Canadiens sent him to Brampton of the ECHL and just one day later, they’ve placed him on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract.
Addison was selected by Montreal in his second year of eligibility back in the 2015 draft where he went 207th overall. He wasn’t a prolific scorer at the junior level but was viewed as someone that could play on a modern day fourth line and kill penalties.
However, he missed most of last season with a shoulder injury which really derailed his development. He saw action in just six games with Laval last year and didn’t make much of an impact; he scored once but struggled in his own end.
Addison has two years remaining on his contract and assuming he passes through unclaimed as expected, they won’t be responsible for paying any more of it while they will clear his contract slot off the books. Considering the likes of Nick Suzuki, Josh Brook, and Joel Teasdale (plus any other prospects that sign between now and then) are all set to turn pro next year, freeing up that spot for next season is certainly notable.
It’s an unfortunate end to Addison’s time as a prospect as he never really made much of an impact but it will be interesting to see what’s on the horizon for him. Speculatively, he should still be in the window to utilize his CHL education package (he’s still barely within 18-months from when he signed) so he may be opting to go the Canadian college route and then perhaps look to try again in the pros down the road.