Japanese-Canadian Nick Suzuki having stellar rookie campaign for the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens
- The speedy centreman is fast making a name for himself as a fan favourite for the Quebec-based team
- Suzuki represents a wave of NHL players of Asian descent now making their way into the league in earnest
When it comes to the National Hockey League, there is no more a storied franchise than the Montreal Canadiens.
The team have won a record 24 Stanley Cups, most of them between the 1950s and 70s. French-Canadian players such as Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur came to define a team, a province and even a style of hockey - fast, flashy and with plenty of flair.
This year the Canadiens find themselves fighting tooth and nail just to get into the play-offs, as they sit seven points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card slot in the Eastern Conference. With injuries depleting the squad, they’ve called in reinforcements – former two-time 50 goal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk – to try and help bolster a team anchored around veteran franchise goaltender Carey Price.
But there is hope for the future, as one of the team’s youngest players, rookie Nick Suzuki, is having a stellar campaign during his first year in “the show”, as the league is know inside hockey circles. The London, Ontario native also brings with him a rich history, he is a quarter Japanese as his great-great grandparents immigrated from Japan to Canada in the 1990s.
Suzuki has 27 points in 49 games, which puts him seventh in team scoring, and fifth in the entire league for rookies. He said breaking into the league is one thing, having previously played for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, suiting up for such a well-known franchise adds another element to his first campaign.