HC Martin St. Louis makes his feelings clear about Nick Suzuki's growth as a leader since being named youngest captain in Canadiens history

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis had high praise for captain Nick Suzuki and his growth in leadership this season. Suzuki was named captain of the Canadiens on Sept. 12, 2022, at the age of 23, making him the youngest captain in franchise history.

After the Canadiens' decisive 4-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night, St. Louis commented on Suzuki's evolution as a leader. When asked about his observations regarding Suzuki's leadership abilities, St. Louis said:

"I think Nick is vocal on the bench. I think he didn’t necessarily like the way his line finished before the break, and you can see it in his response—how he’s responded coming off the break." (starts at 25:25)

St. Louis went on to say,

"I think he’s in a good place. He’s leading with a lot of great actions on the ice right now,but he’s also growing into a more vocal leader. I think that’s important. We’re not forcing it,and he’s not forcing it, but he’s getting more comfortable each and every day."

In the 4-0 victory, Suzuki led the way offensively with a goal and two assists. Juraj Slafkovsky and Josh Anderson and Patrik Laine also scored.

Goaltender Sam Montembeault made 20 saves, while Frederik Andersen stopped 14 shots.

Game Recap: Montreal Canadiens 4-0 shutout win against Hurricanes

Juraj Slafkovsky opened the scoring for Montreal at 8:05 of the first period, deflecting Jayden Struble’s shot. Patrik Laine then tipped Alexandre Carrier’s shot from the point to make 2-0 at 17:37.

"I feel like the rest of our team, everybody's actions were really in the direction of, taking care of the team and in terms of how much risk we're going to take and each and every one doing their job off the puck, on the puck that limits action that helps the other team." St. Louis said on the win.

In the second period, Nick Suzuki made it 3-0 with a power-play goal after a cross-ice pass from Laine. Lane Hutson added another power-play goal with a wrist shot from the left point to make it 4-0 in the third period.

The Canadiens will next take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday at Centre Bell.