With the Habs being banged up right now, recalls were expected. They came right after Laval’s game on Wednesday as the team announced that Ryan Poehling and Mattias Norlinder were recalled from the Rocket.
Norlinder’s was no surprise as he was on a three-game conditioning stint as he works his way back from an injury sustained in training camp. He didn’t make much of an impact with the Rocket, recording just one shot in those three contests which is pretty low for an offensive-minded defenceman. Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme indicated last week that they plan to give the 21-year-old a look at some point before deciding on whether or not to send him back to Sweden for the season.
As for Poehling, he’s off to a decent start with Laval this season, one that was interrupted by an upper-body injury that cost him four games. The 22-year-old has three goals and three assists in seven contests this season while playing exclusively in a top six role. It’s unlikely that he will get that opportunity with Montreal; instead, he’ll probably settle onto what could be an all-Laval fourth line with Michael Pezzetta and Alex Belzile on Thursday against Calgary with Adam Brooks again being the odd man out.
To make room for the recalls, Jonathan Drouin was moved to IR retroactive to November 2nd and Cedric Paquette was placed on IR retroactive to November 9th. With the timing of the placement, Drouin can be activated as soon as he’s ready while Paquette is expected to miss about a week and a half.