Sergachev turning heads early at Canadiens camp

Mikhail Sergachev's tenure with the Montreal Canadiens is off to a good start.

The Habs' development camp is well underway, and the ninth overall pick of the 2016 draft wasted no time in gaining attention from his superiors.

"His level of confidence with the puck, at his age, is exceptional," Canadiens director of player development Martin Lapointe said, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet. "To only be 18 and be so composed with the puck is impressive.

"He picks his spots to get up in the play. He defends well. We also saw his level of competitiveness is very high."

Sergachev, who's listed at 6-foot-3, 206 pounds, is also impressing with his degree of physicality.

"The strength he has already, at 18, is impressive," Lapointe said. "I love his brute force."

The 18-year-old blue-liner scored 57 points in 67 games for the Windsor Spitfires last season, and while it's clear Montreal's back-end will look different come October, the potential emergence of Sergachev on the Canadiens depth chart provides even more intrigue.