The Montreal Canadiens have called up Jacob De La Rose from the St. John’s Ice Caps.
The Montreal Canadiens announced today that they have called up Jacob De La Rose. The forward has been playing for the St. John’s Ice Caps this season. In 34 games this season, De La Rose has 15 points.
It won’t be the first trip to the National Hockey League for the 21 year old. De La Rose impressed two seasons ago when he was trusted enough as a teenager to be used on Michel Therrien’s penalty kill.
The Swedish winger played 33 games with the Canadiens that season, and scored four goals and six points. Last season, De La Rose once again split time between the Habs and their top affiliate in St. John’s. He scored 14 points in 34 AHL games and had one assist in 22 NHL contests.
De La Rose isn’t a flashy, high scoring player. However, he has provided a decent run on offence for the Ice Caps recently. He started the year with just five points in 20 games. In his last 14 games though, he has scored ten points.
Offence, not defence holding back De La Rose
The defensive side of the game has never been an issue for De La Rose. Earning a role as a shutdown winger and penalty killer in the NHL as a 19 year old is an impressive feat. He’s as defensively responsible as a seasoned veteran NHLer already.
However, it is the lack of offence that is holding back the second round pick from the 2013 NHL Draft. At 21, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could develop more of an offensive game.
Other than the past few weeks with the Ice Caps, De La Rose hasn’t shown much promise that he can be an offensive player. He remains a safe, reliable player that can be called up when the Habs are facing several injuries, like they currently are faced with.
However, if De La Rose doesn’t bring any offence to the table, he will find himself constantly stuck between the AHL and NHL.
The team also announced that Chris Terry cleared waivers today and was sent down to the Ice Caps.
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