While many are rightly talking about the NHL debuts of rookie defensemen Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj, few are talking about young Justin Barron. The latter has been doing very well lately and deserves a little more attention.
Since his return to the big club, number 52 has never ceased to amaze with his consistency and offensive skills. He has played in all of the CH's games since his recall, averaging over 16 minutes per game, and has 6 points in 19 appearances. We remember that he earned first star honors in the January 17th game with a nice two point performance.
On Saturday night, despite the CH's 5-2 loss, Barron also impressed The Athletic's Scott Wheeler. Wheeler said the youngster, who often flies under the radar, could be a great 4th or 5th defenseman in the league.
These performances will certainly make people swallow their words that Kent Hughes lost the Artturi Lehkonen trade. It is true that Lehky is doing very well with the Colorado Avalanche, but we should not conclude too quickly that the CH is losing. Barron seems to be showing us that little by little since the beginning of the season.
A little bonus for you, Barron's performance in the CH skills competition this Sunday. He managed to hit all 4 targets in 4 throws and that was in just 9.603 seconds. Only Rafaël Harvey-Pinard managed to beat him!
