HabsCast Hockey Blog

Defenseman Mark Streit has become a household name in Montreal, and with good reason. The 29-year-old is in his third season with the Canadiens and by the looks of it, he’ll be around for several more.

The Habs took a gamble in the ninth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft when they selected the then 26-year-old from the ZSC Lions Zurich of the Swiss league.

Before making the trip over to North America to join the Canadiens for the 2005-2006 season, Streit had served as an integral part of Swiss Hockey. At just 24 years of age, the Englisberg, Switzerland native was named Captain of the Swiss National Team – a title Streit’s held to this day.

Streit is no stranger to important games either. Between 1996 and 2006, Mark served Switzerland in everything from World Junior Championships to World Championships to the 2002 and 2006 Olympics.

However, during his first season with the Blue Blanc Rouge in 2005, the question really was whether or not he could translate his play from the bigger international surfaces in Switzerland to the smaller, North American game in the NHL.

The first season for Streit with Montreal was a tedious one. He had much to learn and needed to gain the trust in both his coaches and teammates alike.

Although the blueliner finished the season with 48 games under his belt in which he collected a total of 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points, there was still uncertainty as to his position with the club.

Last season, Streit found himself the odd man out on defense, but that didn’t stop him from playing. Coach Guy Carbonneau was short up front and decided to try the defenseman as a forward. It took some time, but the experiment paid dividends.

For most of the 06-07 season, Streit was a forward. He even found himself skating along side Saku Koivu and Michael Ryder on the Habs’ top line. Who would have guessed?

Moving Streit to the forward lines also gave the team options with the man advantage. During his time in and with Switzerland, Mark was the powerplay quarterback and boasted a hard, accurate shot from the point. This is an asset he’s used to his advantage to win a roster spot this season, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Streit set career highs in all offensive categories last season thanks to the shift in position. The versitaile player had 10 goals and 26 assists in 76 games with the Habs last season.

Even with his stellar performance, there was still some question as to where Streit would fit into the lineup this year with many rookies knocking on the door for a roster spot.

The Montreal Canadiens had found a replacement in Roman Hamrlik for loss of Sheldon Souray, but that didn’t discourage Mark Streit from doing everything in his power to prepare himself for the new season.

Knowing that the Canadiens had taken a serious blow on the powerplay with Souray’s 26 goals (19 with the man advantage) headed to Edmonton via free agency, Streit knew he had an opportunity to win some serious minutes with Montreal this season. And that’s what he did.

Streit came out of preseason as one of the team’s best defenders. While he’s not exactly a physical presence, the six-foot, 197 pound blueliner works well at separating his opponent from the puck and moving it up the ice quickly.

While Carbonneau currently has him on the bottom pairing along with Francis Bouillon, Streit is the second defenseman on the ice – after Andrei Markov – anytime Montreal goes up a man on the opposing team.

In keeping to my weekly column – On the Drive to 25 – I must draw attention to the question that has us asking if Streit has what it takes to help the team to a Stanley Cup.

If Montreal manages a Cup win in over the next two seasons, then my answer would be yes, absolutely. However, things start to get shady for the Swiss defender thanks to some work at the draft table over the past couple of seasons to bring quality defensive prospects into the fold.

David Fisher, Ryan McDonagh, Ryan O’Byrne, Alexei Emelin, P.K. Subban, and Pavel Valentenko (in no particular order) are all within a year to three years away from fighting for a roster spot with the Canadiens. This could pose trouble for Streit, Bouillon, and Dandenault who has already found himself without a spot on the blueline thanks in part to Streit’s strong pre-season play.

With Markov and Hamrlik under contract for the next four seasons, and Michael Komisarek looking like he’ll around to help lead this team for years to come, there remains only three open spots on defense for the next Stanley Cup push.

Streit is currently in the final term of the two-year contract he signed prior to the 2006-2007 season. If he can repeat with yet another solid year, he’ll be due for a raise over the $600,000 he’s making this season.

Canadians are often attributed for being fans of the underdog; I’m no different. Mark Streit is an underdog through and through. While he may be seen as a poor man’s Brian Rafalski, he has the potential to be more than that. This said, only time will tell if Streit can keep it up and contribute to the Montreal Canadiens’ next Stanley Cup.

Until next week, Go Habs Go!

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