BREAKING: Canadiens Prospect Leaves the Organization Indefinitely

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Aaron Itovitch
January 23, 2024 (4:33 PM)

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Photo credit: BVM

In the last few minutes, a rather worrying news regarding a prospect of the organization has just been announced. Indeed, the Montreal Canadiens' affiliated club in the ECHL, the Trois-Rivières Lions, have indicated that the third-round pick, Ty Smilanic, has decided to stop playing for the Trifluvian team for personal reasons.

"The Trois-Rivières Lions announce that forward Ty Smilanic will be kept away from the game for an undetermined period for personal reasons.

We fully support Ty in his decision.

Wishing you all the best, Ty!" - Trois-Rivières Lions

Acquired in the trade involving Ben Chiarot and the Florida Panthers, the 22-year-old forward had already admitted that he had faced mental health issues during his time with the Wisconsin Badgers in 2022-2023, which notably forced him to miss two months of action.

We truly hope that the 74th overall pick in 2020 is doing well, as he had joined the Trois-Rivières Lions this season with the aim of proving to the management that he deserved a new deal with the Canadiens.

Unfortunately, after an excellent first season in the college ranks (21 points, including 14 goals, in 29 games), Ty Smilanic struggled enormously to repeat his offensive exploits, accumulating only 23 points in 41 games the following season.

Things got even worse when he joined the University of Wisconsin, where he was forced to take a break from hockey to focus on his health. In 14 games with Cole Caufield's former team, the CH prospect amassed a meager total of two points in 14 games.

Following this difficult season, both mentally and athletically, Smilanic decided to leave the college ranks to jump into the professional ranks. However, he was unable to earn a spot with the Laval Rocket, thus being demoted to the ECHL where he recorded only 7 points in 31 games.

One thing is for sure, we strongly hope that the forward is doing well and that this withdrawal will allow him to resolve his situation.

Previously on habslatest

BREAKING: Tanner Pearson's Fate Confirmed

Justin Barron Traded? A Top Insider Has Made a Major Statement

Cole Caufield Shows His True Colours at Practice

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23 JANVIER \| 304 ANSWERS BREAKING: Canadiens Prospect Leaves the Organization Indefinitely Do you think the NHL needs better mental health support?
Yes	261	85.9 %
No	43	14.1 %
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