Goal in the third match, transfer to the “reserve” and praise from partners: how Bilyaletdinov's grandson made his debut in the NHL

Alexander Romanov continues to strengthen his status as one of the brightest rookie defenders in the NHL.

Only three matches were enough for the Russian to chalk up the first goal and impress not only the hockey players and coaches of Montreal, but also the demanding Canadian press.

The hockey player took part in the second consecutive victory over Edmonton and became the leader in points among equally young colleagues in the role.

From a statistical point of view, the third match in the Canadiens jersey was the most successful for the Russian.

And this is taking into account the fact that he spent less than one full period on the court (17 minutes 43 seconds), losing in this indicator not only to four out of five colleagues in defense, but even to forwards Phillip Dano and Nick Suzuki.

It is worth recalling that in the first meeting, he played 21 minutes and 30 seconds.

More was given only to one of the most famous hockey players in the league and the team captain Shea Weber and the highly paid Jeff Petrie.

Romanov scored his debut goal in the NHL already in the tenth minute of the first period.

Jake Evans won the throw-in in the foreign zone, while Paul Byron and Brett Fist brought the puck to the Russian.

He rather threw on the goal than an accented throw, but that was enough.

Mikko Koskinen was not ready and made a mistake.

Thus, Alexander became only the third defender under 21 years of age in the history of the Canadiens, who managed to excel in the first three matches.

Before him, only David Wilkie and Bob Turner could do this.

“At first I didn't understand what I had scored.

I just can't say how happy I am.

It's incredible, ”the hockey player admitted.

Even if Romanov's goal did not become a victorious one, it helped Montreal to defeat Edmonton (3: 1) for the second time in a row and extend the unbeaten run.

Alexander himself played the rest of the match quite confidently and managed to appear not only in equal compositions, but also in special teams of the majority and minority.

As a result, Alexander left the pitch for the first time with a positive "plus / minus" indicator and came out on top in the scorer race among the novice defenders.

He has two points on his account - the same for Ty Smith from New Jersey (1 + 1).

Romanov's success is also notable for the fact that at the moment he does not officially have a place in the main Canadiens, but is allegedly in the reserve.

The Russian belongs to the so-called taxi squad - a group of four to six players who have the right to go out on the ice in case of an emergency.

In particular, they have the right to replace one of their teammates if he tests positive for coronavirus.

According to the regulations, athletes who are members of the taxi squad have the right to train with the team and go on the ice, but their contracts are not counted in the payroll.

This gives clubs the opportunity to avoid salary cap problems and save money that can be spent on recruiting new players.

Thus, Romanov brings benefit to Montreal not only on the court, but also outside it.

We can safely say that this is appreciated by both the coaching staff and the leadership of “Montreal”, and its partners.

The head coach of the team, Claude Julien, praised the personal qualities of Romanov and said that he had already managed to fall in love with the team.

In turn, Weber noted Alexander's professionalism and praised him for his diligence.

“He just doesn't stop.

He's great and radiates a ton of energy everywhere - on the ice, in the locker room, in the gym, "- quoted by Weber, the press service of the NHL.

After his first match for the Canadian team, Romanov began to receive rave reviews about his game.

In the confrontation with Toronto, he acted as an assistant, sending Tomas Tatar to a rendezvous with Frederick Andersen with a beautiful pass from his blue line.

The Slovak did not blunder and took advantage of the moment, and the Russian repeated the achievement of the legendary defenders of Montreal - Andrei Markov and Peter Svoboda.

Those also managed to be noted for effective action during the debut meeting in the NHL.

“He fights very well, plays the puck very well in our second brigade of the majority… He is definitely a good hockey player,” Tatar said.

Josh Anderson has a similar opinion about the young hockey player.

The forward joined Montreal in October 2020, but has often heard of a potential newcomer to the club since then.

“At first we read a lot of good things about Romanov, and then we saw it all with our own eyes when we met him in a training camp.

Despite his youth, he gives the impression of a seasoned pro, and today he has once again confirmed this.

Alex played very well, especially for a debutant, ”said Anderson.

It is noteworthy that in Russia they feared that Romanov would not be easy to prove himself in Canada due to the close attention of fans and the press.

They love hockey in Montreal, as a result of which they are extremely demanding of hockey players.

So far, however, the defender has managed not only to avoid criticism, but also to delight the local media.

The Montreal Gazette has already admired the transfer to Tatara, and the Montreal Journal expressed the opinion that Alexander could grow into a good defender in the future.

It is worth recalling that the arrival of a Russian to Canada at such an early age is largely due to the figure of the general manager of the Canadiens, Marc Bergevin.

Over the past two years, the functionary spoke about the interest in the services of the then 19-year-old athlete and personally contacted him.

According to TSN, one of these meetings took place in December 2019 - a month before Romanov's performance at the World Youth Championship.

In Ostrava and Tršinets, Alexander scored six (1 + 5) points and entered the symbolic team of the tournament, pairing up with the Swede Rasmus Sandin in defense.

“I remember communicating with Bergevin after the Edmundson exchange.

And he said: “We needed a third pair defender (Joel

- RT

), and we got him.

Because we already have a top-4 defender - this is Romanov. "

And you watch this guy play.

At what pace he returns to the zone, how he avoids the opponent's forecheck, how he sees the court, what passes he gives out to his partners ... You can immediately see a smart hockey player in him, and he is not afraid to use his throw if possible.

And I'm not talking about the pass to Tatar - it was great ... Romanov doesn't look like a newbie at all.

Moreover, very soon this boy will be the core of this team, "said former Anaheim and Toronto general manager Brian Burke.

Also, Romanov's debut in the NHL was not ignored at home.

The grandson's performance was commented on by the former head coach of the Russian national team and the Kazan "Ak Bars" Zinetuela Bilyaletdinov.

“I think he played very solidly.

The actions that he performed during the game were correct.

Most importantly, Alexander was psychologically ready for this match, it was not visible that he was worried or worried.

Throughout the game he was calm, "- quotes the words of the Sport24 specialist.

He admitted that Romanov trained hard all summer in order to properly prepare for performances in the NHL, and also said that public praise is not able to put pressure on a hockey player.

“The fact that there is so much enthusiasm around him now does not affect him in any way.

He doesn't catch stars.

He is an earthly person who loves hockey and does not react to such things.

This distinguishes him, he is calm about it.

The main thing for him is the game, and he pays no attention to everything else, ”Bilyaletdinov concluded.