Breaking down Nick Suzuki's game

MONTREAL – Playmaker. Goalscorer. Leader. Iron Man.

Those are just some of the words that can be used to describe Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki.

With a three-point performance against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, the 26-year-old center reached and surpassed the 90-point mark for the first time in his career. His 91 points and 65 assists have him seventh and sixth, respectively, in those categories among his NHL peers. Not only that, but Suzuki has an active Iron Man streak going with 528 consecutive games played, which is the second longest among active players, behind the Colorado Avalanche’s Brent Burns.

He has found a new level every season, and it’s no wonder Suzuki's name has come up as a potential nominee for the Selke Trophy. But what exactly makes him so elite?

The Canadiens content team spoke to his skills coach, Joey Hishon, to break down Suzuki’s skillset.

Please note answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Hockey IQ

I would say he's in the top of the entire League, in the entire world, in that department. I think that's what kind of separates him from everyone else, is his ability to think the game and process the game at a high rate. And for me, as a skills coach, when I talk to him about something, it's so crazy how fast he'll implement whatever it is we're talking about. So, I just think his cognition and his ability to process information at an extremely high rate.

And then obviously part of that as well, for me, is the fact that he grew up with a younger brother that was also very, very into hockey. I feel like they would have been a family that constantly watched hockey, constantly played mini sticks and road hockey. He's so good at adapting to whatever environment you put him in. And that's what makes him special.

Vision

I think his vision is incredible as well. I think part of that is the way he's able to slow the game down and let lanes open up for him. When he gets into super tight situations or environments where there’s not a ton of space to make a play, he's got an ability to add in poise in certain areas. So, he's able to make plays and he's able to see the next layer, whatever that next layer is. And again, it definitely relates to his hockey IQ, but it's also his vision and his ability to be able to see things happening and developing before they're actually there.

Leadership

He's so mature beyond his years. He's a quiet guy. But he's a guy I think that when he speaks, it's pretty easy for everyone to listen because he's not always yapping and saying something. He doesn't always have something to say. But when he does have something to say, it's super important. And then his ability to lead by example. He's one of the guys that, for me in the summer, if I have three hours of ice and the first two hours are NHL guys and the third hour is junior guys, there are times where he'll stay for all three hours and just continue to work. Him and Ryan O'Reilly are the only two guys I have that do that. Ryan O'Reilly is very, very similar in that sense. He feels like he's always got to be putting in extra work and getting extra touches in, and he sees the value in that. And Nick is the exact same, which is very uncommon. So, it's always fun to work with those guys.

Hands

I think his hands are amazing. To me, hands are what makes everything tick. You can be incredibly smart. You can have great speed and a great shot. But if you can't handle the puck and get the puck under control, you're kind of behind the eight ball in every other category because there are plays to be made that you just won't be able to make. I think that's another reason why Nick is so good at slowing the game down and seeing things that not a lot of people are able to see; his hands are so good, and he's put so much work into that. And, he's able to settle bouncing pucks down much faster than others and because of that, now he's a split second ahead of everybody and can see those plays that are developing.

Shot

I think his shot is very underrated. I think he's a pass-first guy and he loves to make his teammates better and make plays. And I think that's something that we've continuously talked about. I feel like there are definitely situations where he passes when he has a clear shot and he's in a very dangerous position on the ice. But he's always looking to make that extra play to get a teammate going or have someone else score. It's almost like he's happier to make that last second play than to take that shot himself. I was saying to Nick [after watching practice on the Mentors’ Trip], I was like, ‘I don't think you realize how good your shot is.’ And he was like, laughing, ‘what are you talking about?’ I'm like, ‘I'm watching everybody live, like right above the net. Your shot is so, so hard and so, so accurate. You need to use that. That thing's a weapon.’ But he's a guy that likes to pass first, likes to make everyone around him better, and he's incredibly unselfish, which I think is a testament to his leadership as well.

Skating

I think his skating has come a very long way, to the point where, like in junior, the knock before the NHL Draft was, well, what about his skating? Like, does he move well enough? And when I watch him play now, I feel like he's got an extra gear even, and his skating is way above average. But again, that's him putting in the extra work and lengthening his stride and doing everything he possibly can to put himself in the best position to develop that skill.

When he was younger, I think that's something that you could have said might have been a little bit of a knock, like, does he skate well enough to be an elite player in the League? But I think that's gone now. I think he's proven that he can. And I also feel like guys at a young age who don't skate incredibly well at a young age, it forces them to really develop their hockey IQ and their hockey sense because they can't get to places as fast as other guys. So, if that was something people talked about early on, to me it's gone now but it's also something that only helped him long term because he had to develop other parts of his game to be successful.

Power

He's so strong. The way he's built, he’s just a thick-boned, very, very in shape, and very, very, sturdy. So, you see it; he's so hard to knock off the puck. He's gotten better and better in his face-offs. I don't know what his exact Sportlogiq battle percentage would be, but me watching it has to be pretty high. I feel like that's something that, again, he's worked so hard in every single aspect of it, and you can just see with his durability and his ability to play consistent game after game after game, that's a huge part of his strength he's been able to develop.