Lars Eller is Starting to Assert Himself
Last Tuesday, my roommate sat down with me to watch a few minutes of the Canadiens' battle against the Flyers. Now, this person is a passive Habs fan at best but he does know the players. He also knows things like how Carey Price is turning his career around. But he didn't know who Lars Eller was. Who could blame him? To that point, even devoted followers of the team only know Eller as the guy we got in the Jaroslav Halak trade who wears the over-sized visor. Lately however, Eller is starting to change that perception. He's starting to make fans envision him as the big, play-making centre the team has lusted after for what now seems like an eternity.
On paper, nothing seems to have changed with Eller. He continues to play around ten minutes a game, notching one or two shots and being average on face-offs. However, there's a reason you watch the games rather than rely on the box score for the full story. It really started a week ago when the Habs didn't show up against the Predators, with the exception of Eller. The former 13th overall pick played his best game as a Hab (to that point) setting up Tom Pyatt for the team's best scoring chance that night and buzzed around the offensive zone on a consistent basis. On Monday against the Flyers, Eller was getting speared in the groin by a man who surely won't ever have any Montreal streets named after him, Daniel Briere. Eller proceeded to snatch Briere's stick away from him and chuck it down the ice. Standing up to the diminutive Briere was certainly appreciated by Habs fans who didn't know Eller had it in him. The kicker came when Eller immediately skated over to the penalty box assuming he just earned himself two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The upswing in Eller's stock culminated last night with his first goal in a Canadiens uniform. It was well-earned and long overdue, just look at the barrage of face-washing he earned from his teammates when he returned to the bench. Fact is, Eller could've added even a few more had his wrap-around attempt been successful and had the Kings' Jarrett Stoll not lifted his stick at the last second to thwart Eller's attempt at potting in a rebound. Deservedly, the pride of Rodovre, Denmark earned second star for the game and a bushel of microphones in his face at the post-game scrum.
Indeed, Lars Eller is starting to give fans a glimpse into the type of player Pierre Gauthier envisions him to be. He's a big, strong, smart player who excels in being strong with the puck and setting up scoring chances. But he's also a rookie and like most rookies, will have more downs than ups while he tries to figure out how to be successful in the best and most competitive hockey league in the world. For now anyway, the calls for sending Eller on the next bus to Hamilton are being replaced for calls as to when his player t-shirt will be available in stores.
Will Martinez runs the 'Hey, My Name is Will' blog and is a contributor for TheFranchise.ca. You can follow Will on Twitter @heymynameiswill
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