An old NHL goaltender makes a monster statement regarding the Canadiens' attackers, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Kirby Dach

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Elias Edmonson
September 14, 2023 (12:26)

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The rise of Rafael Harvey-Pinard is certainly one of the beautiful stories with the Montreal Canadiens last season. The Quebec attacker, who had only played four games in the NHL in 2021-2022, excelled during his call-up with the Tricolore, collecting 14 goals and 6 assists (20 points) in 34 games. He was notably one of the best players on the team when he was paired with Nick Suzuki on the first line.

Selected in the 7th round during the 2019 draft, the 24-year-old left winger will have the opportunity to play his first full season with the main club this year. Moreover, many fans are wondering about the role he will get in Martin St-Louis' lineup. It would be surprising to see him on an offensive line in the first game against the Leafs, but Harvey-Pinard will represent a very interesting option for the head coach if injuries occur in the top-6.

Although he experienced a rapid progression last year, the Quebecer is possibly destined to become a third, or even fourth-line forward. However, the former Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender, Louis Domingue, has very high expectations for the Saguenay native player. Indeed, during his appearance on the podcast "La Poche Bleue", the 31-year-old veteran made a major statement, mentioning that RHP was better than Kirby Dach.

"Lâchez-moi avec Kirby Dach. Si Rafael Harvey-Pinard avait été repêché 5e overall, on n'en parlerait pas de Kirby Dach. Harvey-Pinard joue mieux que Dach." - Louis Domingue

Wow! We didn't expect that!

Even if Harvey-Pinard accumulated very interesting statistics last season, it is unlikely that he will be able to repeat this feat over an 82-game season. As for Kirby Dach, the 22-year-old center player has enormous potential, who clearly has not yet reached his peak. He will certainly be a frontline attacker for many seasons with the Canadiens. It is simply unthinkable to make a comparison between the two players when Dach obviously has much more talent than the Quebecer.