Nick Suzuki, captain of the Montreal Canadiens, celebrates his 25th birthday this Saturday.

Since his first season with the team in 2019-2020, the Ontario native has never stopped making progress and proving why he has what it takes to be a crucial player within the Montreal organization.

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When he was named captain in September 2022, he made sure that the CH staff did not regret this decision. Certainly, the team is in the process of rebuilding and has not had a good season since then, but that is not his fault: In every game, Suzuki leads by example and represents one of the most important offensive threats in the group.

While many like to say that he is not the number one center in the NHL, Suzuki is quietly proving them wrong.

On this special day for him, let’s look back at five beautiful moments that Nick Suzuki gave to Habs fans:

A first goal in the NHL

The London native scored his first major league goal in his seventh game when the Habs faced the Minnesota Wild on October 17, 2019. CH was already leading 2-0 when Suzuki jumped on a loose puck to the right of Wild goalie Alex Stalock and backhanded it into the net. The Montreal public, aware that this was the first goal from one of the organization’s key hopes, loudly applauded the achievement.

The tide is turning in Toronto

There is not a single Habs fan who has forgotten that goal by Suzuki on May 27, 2021, which gave the team the overtime win in game five of the first-round series between them. After a very poor pass from Leafs forward Alex Galchenyuk, Cole Caufield and Suzuki were able to make it alone towards the Leafs net. After a little passing, Suzuki made the final stroke and the series, which had been led by the Leafs 3-1 up until that point, had just turned around for good.

A nice feint against the Jets

A few days later, the Canadiens faced the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the playoffs. And Suzuki got the first game going by scoring with a very nice feint at the end of the first period, increasing the score to 3-1 for CH. In the end, Montreal won this game, which was marked by the famous dangerous check by Jets striker Mark Scheifele on Jake Evans, by a score of 5-3. Scheifele was then suspended and the Habs took advantage of the opportunity to defeat the Manitoba team.

A spectacular penalty

Suzuki showed off a skill that was widely used in the NHL on October 20, 2022, when he attacked Arizona Coyotes goalie Connor Ingram with an amazing fake attempt. The Ontario native used the feint a few times in 2022-2023 before abandoning it.

The plateau of 30 gates

Suzuki became the first 30-goal scorer since Brendan Gallagher in 2018-2019 when he scored in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 29. Suzuki finished the season with 33 goals and 77 points, providing the Habs with one of their best offensive seasons in the last 25 years. As the team around him continues to mature and improve, there is reason to believe he could do even better in the coming seasons.

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