Canadiens prospect Joel Teasdale out at least seven months after tearing MCL, ACL

Joel Teasdale’s professional career will have to be put on hold. The Montreal Canadiens prospect suffered a torn MCL and ACL. Teasdale has not yet undergone surgery but will be out at least seven months, according to a team release. 

The 20-year-old forward signed with Montreal in 2018 and recently won a Memorial Cup with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, where he was named Most Valuable Player.

Teasdale, 20, went undrafted despite showing he could be an extremely valuable two-way player at the junior level. A hard-nosed checker, his offensive game has gotten stronger and stronger over the years to the point of dominating his competition. In 86 games this past season he scored 57 goals and 114 points, proving he was ready to move on to the professional level.

Seven months is an unfortunate timeline for a prospect who had a little buzz about him coming into this season, but the major knee surgery should cause even more worry. Hopefully Teasdale can come back and get right onto the same development path he had showed, but it will take a lot of hard work to do it.