The Montreal Canadiens will have to admit to a rather regrettable failure
With the 56th pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens had selected Swedish center Jacob Olofsson. The Habs had gotten this pick from Toronto in the Tomas Plekanec trade.
This versatile player, who was considered promising at the time, is really not doing well these days.
He has just four points in 14 games this season in the Swedish first division with Timra IK. In addition, he has been left out of two of his team's games since the start of the 2021-2022 campaign. To top it off, he will miss another game tonight as the 21-year-old struggles with an injury.
Olofsson is a prospect who has not seen any progression since his draft year. He has pretty much the same offensive production as when he was 17. He has never had more than nine points since he arrived in the SHL (Swedish top division).
According to Grant McCagg, a former NHL scout, Olofsson has always shown great offensive skills, but he has never been able to transition in games.
These comments were made on October 23.
It would be very surprising if the Canadiens offered him an NHL entry-level contract, considering the lack of progress in his development. He will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current campaign. Should the Habs decide to release him. All the stars are aligned in this direction...
Once again, this will likely be a "wasted" pick for the Canadiens in the draft. Courtesy of Trevor Timmins.
