After their career on the ice, some NHL players find a job behind the bench or in team management. This could one day be the case for Nick Suzuki.
The Canadiens captain is already fulfilling his role to perfection, and some see him as a future general manager.
Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff explained in a recent text that this is what he sees in the future for the Habs’ young player.
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Nick Suzuki jokes that he has a “pre-management side.” He tracks the #GoHabsGo prospects. He has ideas for where the team should be in its rebuild timeline.
Could he be a GM a couple decades from now? Don’t bet against it.
– Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) October 3, 2024
Larkin had a chance to chat with Suzuki at the NHL Media Tour and realized that the captain does a lot of “scouting” work with members of his organization.
At the draft, Suzuki was quick to call Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage and confirmed that he feels it’s his responsibility to follow their development.
In fact, he’s not only following the development of the first-round picks, but also of the organization’s multiple prospects.
In a way, Suzuki is already a leader of the Habs. As captain, he makes sure he keeps up with his teammates, giving them advice on and off the ice.
He explained that he has been closely following Juraj Slafkovsky’s development and noticed the exact moment when everything started to click for the former first overall pick. It was when Slafkovsky discovered how to play physical hockey and how to use his body to advantage.
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Suzuki understands that the team is rebuilding and that it’s time for trial and error, but he sees the light at the end of the tunnel and soon wants the team to take the little wheels off his bike.
The captain admires the work of Kent Hughes, but feels that this is no longer the time to fill the bank with prospects. According to him, it’s time to concentrate on those who are already there, to make sure they succeed in carving out a place for themselves on the team.
Suzuki is doing all this to get back to the playoffs. He made the playoffs in his first two NHL seasons, but he wants the real thing. His two appearances were tarnished by the COVID-19.
He therefore feels that his “pre-management” work is useful to the team in ensuring that the Canadiens become competitive again as quickly as possible.
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