Rookie phenom Alex Galchenyuk was crushed after the Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from the playoffs. In his postgame comments, the way he worded his responses it seemed like he thought he would never have another chance at the Stanley Cup. That’s how much this 19 year old cares, and it shows.
After helping to bring home a gold medal for the USA in the World Junior Hockey Championships in January, Galchenyuk will be moving on to the pro level to play with fellow WJC gold medalist and Canadiens prospect Danny Kristo.
The USA has shown a penchant for going youth first at the World Hockey Championships, which may serve their future very well.
It’s unclear just how much ice time Galchenyuk will get as a 19 year old, but odds are that he can find the back of the net no matter how little he plays.
The Wisconsin native with a Russian accent scored 1 goal and 2 assists in 5 playoffs games to add to his 9 goals and 18 assists in 48 regular season games.
The World Championships are usually fairly diluted talent-wise, but Galchenyuk has given Habs fans a reason to pay attention.
Update:
Tomas Plekanec’s season will also be continuing, as he heads to the Worlds as well to play for the Czech Republic. Plekanec has represented the Czechs many times in this tournament, with 32 points in 45 games.
