2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #20 Jesse Ylönen

Introduction

When looking at Jesse Ylönen’s drop in this iteration of the Top 25 Under 25, it might seem that the Finnish winger is struggling to find the next level to his game in North America. In reality, there is a massive and sudden influx of extremely talented players, and it’s masking what was a strong year for him.

Injuries opened the door for an extended stay in the NHL last year,and he made a case for making the roster this year, even without the injury bug striking the team. Clipping along at just below a point per game for the Laval Rocket and just under a half point per game in the NHL, he had little difficulty finding points on teams that struggled for offence for stretches of their seasons.

With a new one-year, two-way contract in hand, he is in what is essentially a last chance for the Canadiens it would seem. In the same vein, his continuous improvements in terms of production and varying his offensive contributions make him an extremely cost-effective option for a bigger role with the Habs this season.

The NHL roster is all but full, and in this writer’s opinion includes Ylönen. But it isn’t a guarantee where that spot will be and there is a chance that he could spend some time on the fourth line. However, if he has a strong camp and preseason, there’s every chance that Martin St. Louis will give Ylönen an increased role to prove that he can be a reliable NHL contributor when the team is healthy.

Voting

I had Ylönen the highest on the panel, while others are losing confidence in his ability to put his skills together. That said, all of his votes but one have him within the Top 25.

T25U25 History

He debuted high in 2018 and stayed around that range for his next four years. This eight-place drop is the largest he’s seen as he slips into the 20s for the first time.

History of #20

Strengths

When it comes to Ylönen, his biggest asset has always been a ridiculously lethal shot selection, and that hasn’t changed at all in the last year. He might be one of the best shooters in the Canadiens organization at any level, and it isn’t just one shot type that he specializes in. However, if we’re being asked to rank them, his slapshot is beyond lethal, so much so that teams game-planned entire penalty kills around shadowing him the last two years.

His shot comes off the stick in the blink of an eye and is almost always labelled for the upper third of the net where opposing goaltenders have little chance of trying to stop it. He and Anthony Richard made the Rocket man advantage a fearsome sight before injuries forced call ups to the NHL and knocked them out of the line up for weeks at a time. Regardless of that, Ylönen has the shooting talent to be an immediate contributor on the advantage in the NHL.

He has more than a big slapshot in his arsenal, often collecting passes and loading up a heavy wrist shot to blow by goaltenders. He can easily alternate between firing off the immediate one-timer and taking a moment to change his shooting lane to fire his wrist shot by the goalie.

What has been the most impressive part of Ylönen’s growth in North America is that he is finding patience as a playmaker at all levels, adding another layer of skill to his game. While many young players attempt to force plays to get a result, Ylönen has shown a remarkable knack for repeatedly scanning his options and changing his plan of attack on the fly.

His speed allows him to gain separation, his hands and agility allow him to cut and pivot with ease in the offensive zone. With all of that, he’s got his head up and finding either a lane to the net or a teammate with a clearer scoring lane to create havoc inside the offensive zone.

With his pace, shot, and budding playmaking skill, Ylönen has the flexibility to be inserted on any line and not look out of place for St. Louis this upcoming season.

Weaknesses

Inside the offensive zone, and when leading his team down the ice, Ylönen looks all the parts of an everyday NHL player. In the defensive zone, however, it is a different story for the Finnish winger.

Ylönen’s defensive work isn’t likely to win him any Selke votes in the future as he tends to find himself getting lost in coverage and allowing opponents free space to operate. It is highly unlikely that he’s going to turn himself into a defensive whiz overnight, but dialing in his defensive efforts are a must if Ylönen wants to see himself inside the Canadiens top six.

While maybe not as much of a weakness but something he can improve upon, since hitting the North American ranks Ylönen has been a heavy goal-scorer primarily on the power play. That in and of itself isn’t really a problem, especially with the Montreal power play being indisputably terrible on most nights. Increasing his efficiency at even strength can help Ylönen become a bona fide NHL player rather than a specialist or exploitation type player.

Projection

For this upcoming season the projection is clear for Ylönen — be an everyday fixture in the Canadiens lineup, which in itself is relatively simple. He should be one of the 12 forwards taking the ice on a given night given his skill level and scoring talents. However, the lineup is still congested with some remnants from the previous regime while emerging names like Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Emil Heineman are gunning for that same NHL time.

Based on his two-way deal, there seems to be the idea that the Canadiens might try to sneak Ylönen down to the AHL while the lineup is still full. Honestly, it feels like that would be a mistake as he has established that he can be a solid secondary production source for the Habs, and sticking him in the AHL doesn’t teach him much at this point.

Ylönen has all the tools in his kit to become a viable top-six option for Montreal, but he isn’t in a spot that will just allow him to walk into that role uncontested. There will be games where he plays on the fourth line, there will be others where he is on Nick Suzuki’s wing, that’s just how the flow of it works right now. Regardless of which spot he is placed in, Ylönen needs to keep his focus on what has made him so effective in his North American career so far.

People might take this drop down the prospect rankings as a sign that he hasn’t hit the levels he is capable of and that he isn’t worth the time anymore. A deeper (and younger) prospect pool has overshadowed the work he has done in the last year and it’s highly unwise to give up on the dynamic Finn before he’s been given a full NHL run to showcase his talents.

2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #21 Emil Heineman

Heineman made a positive impression in his short time in Laval, enough to move up a few spots from 2022.

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