2023 Montreal Canadiens Top 25 Under 25: #19 Riley Kidney

Introduction

After three seasons with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, Riley Kidney found himself in a leadership role as an assistant captain with the club to start the 2022-23 season. But having lost a number of veterans in the off-season, and despite some impressive play from Kidney, the Titan were all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention before Christmas rolled around.

Ahead of the holidays, Kidney was a strong candidate to represent Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships but saw his bid to make the team derailed by an unfortunate injury during selection camp. Returned to the QMJHL, the struggling Titan unsurprisingly traded their biggest asset to the Gatineau Olympiques ahead of the deadline.

Finding motivation through his missed opportunity to represent his country in his home town of Halifax, Kidney went on an absolute tear with the Olympiques. He put up 65 points – 51 of them assists – in a mere 29 games, then added another 22 points in 13 playoff games before his club was eliminated at the hands of the eventual QMJHL and Memorial Cup champions, the Quebec Remparts.

It was an encouraging year in his development, and he ended his junior career with two straight 100-plus point seasons. Now, he’ll look to take the next step in his career and join the professional ranks.

Voting

While Kidney wasn’t even close to having the biggest variance in votes on this year’s list, a high of 15 and a low of 27 makes him another example of how tough this exercise has become.

T25U25 History

This is the first time since his debut in 2021 that Kidney has fallen on our list. This is far more a product of the pool strengthening around him than an indictment of his development, as he arguably played well enough in 2022-23 to deserve a third consecutive rise. For us to have a 110-point Junior producer barely crack our top 20 indicates a strong pipeline and an excellent problem for the Canadiens to have.

History of #19

Strengths

One of the purest playmakers in the QMJHL, Kidney’s success in junior has always been rooted in high hockey IQ and ability to thread passes to his teammates. What we saw from him on a weakened Bathurst roster this season was different, however, as he was relied upon to drive play more than he ever had been in junior.

Without the luxury of solid linemates able to drive the middle lane and get open for his passes, he had to start getting there himself. In the past, he’d just utilize his stickhandling to manipulate passing lanes from the outside. Last year, he was using it to get inside himself, drive the slot and create chances on his own. Even after his trade to Gatineau, he kept a significant focus on getting to the slot more often, and with better linemates after the trade, we saw an explosion in his point production.

None of this newfound penchant for slot drives has impacted his perimeter play, as he remains crafty with the puck along the walls. His vision is top-notch, and when he spots an opportunity to put pucks through, the precision with which he delivers passes is exceptional.

His improvements certainly looked like the work of Adam Nicholas, and he now boasts a much more well-rounded offensive game. Given a full professional season, and more opportunity to work with Nicholas, there is reason to believe that Kidney can continue to improve and potentially get closer to reaching his full potential.

Weaknesses

When I spoke with Kidney back in April, he specifically noted that he wanted to add size and strength this off-season. As mentioned, he’s gotten much better at attacking the slot but adding some extra physicality will be important for him in order to continue doing that when his competition is a little bigger, and a little faster.

Adding that strength would help develop his defensive game as well, as he’s still a little too focused on stick lifts and poke checks in his zone instead of taking the body. This is another element that he’s been very focused on – developing a more complete 200-foot game in order to make himself a stronger candidate to play centre in the NHL.

Despite improving at attacking the middle, there is still something left to be desired in his shooting volume. He has an intriguingly quick release but still isn’t quite using it enough. He actually shot the puck a little less than he did the year prior, and it would do him well to let the puck fly a little more when he gets into the slot.

Projection

This past season may not have suggested a higher ceiling for Kidney but I’d argue it – perhaps more importantly – raised his floor. He’s still probably going to top out as a middle-six centre capable of playing up in the lineup when required, but he looked a lot more like a sure bet to at least make the NHL. The versatility he brings in being able to play the wing should give him, at worst, a chance to play a depth scoring role in the future.

He has an excellent opportunity with Laval this season to show everyone how close he is to reaching that ceiling. The team has lost some veterans, so he should be able to get some significant top-six time with the Laval Rocket, including power-play opportunities. Performing well in that role could even earn him a look with the big club, though it likely won’t be until 2024-25 that he’ll get a real shot to earn a permanent roster spot.

His game has undoubtedly improved, and while a ranking of 19 on our list doesn’t always suggest an NHL future, we also haven’t seen a list this deep in the 15 years we’ve been doing this.

Scott Matla joins Patrik Bexell to discuss the most recent entries on the Top 25 Under 25

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Eyes On The PrizeScott Matla