CHL notebook: Predators prospect L'Heureux thriving after hernia surgery

Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.

Zachary L'Heureux lost a chance to compete for a spot with the Nashville Predators this season because of offseason sports hernia surgery, but it could end up being the best thing for his NHL future.
The forward prospect missed the first eight weeks of the season with Halifax of the QMJHL. But since making his season debut Nov. 25, he has 36 points (18 goals, 15 assists) in 22 games, including an 11-game point streak from Dec. 8-Jan. 19.
"I was confident going in [to Predators training camp] that my abilities, my strength, if I play at my highest level of hockey that anything could happen," L'Heureux said. "That was kind of my mindset. But at the same time, I'm not looking at it as a disappointment at all. I think of it as one more year to really focus on myself, come back strong and really grow a lot as a player. And being a leader on this team has really proved to myself the kind of player I can become.
"I want to really treat this year like it's my first pro year and really have that mindset from learning from guys that I've seen at camp when I was in Nashville. I think I've been doing a pretty good job with that and this extra year will really make me 100 percent ready for next year when I do turn pro."
The Predators have seen the kind of positive growth they were hoping for from L'Heureux, whom they selected with the No. 27 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
"We're really excited about him, the way he plays the game, where he's scoring his goals and who he's playing with," Predators assistant general manager and director of player development Scott Nichol said. "He's a really good mix of grit, real competitive. He's got some nice hands, he gets to the inside, he knows where to score goals and has enough skill and hockey sense to play with real good players."
The biggest area of growth for L'Heureux has been discipline. The 19-year-old plays a physical, rugged game, but this season he has 21 penalty minutes in 22 games, down from 64 in 46 games last season.
"I've definitely lost my head a couple times, and more than I should, but I think I've really been able to kind of implement that physicality, that chippiness," L'Heureux said. "I'm going to be in the [penalty] box sometimes and I know that, I'm going to cross some lines. But knowing when to do it at the right times just to make sure that I'm not hurting my team, and that I'm able to stay on the ice and do the most possible with my game while still having that edginess."
Seeing L'Heureux find that balance has stood out to the Predators.
"That's just the maturation process of a young kid starting in junior and trying to make a name for himself," Nichol said. "I'd rather have a player like that rather than trying to instill that into a player. I'd rather try and harness his competitiveness, his emotion. Hockey is an emotional game and a lot of kids just put their sticks on the ice and they think they're going to be able to compete and I love the way Zach has that fire and he brings it every night. Now he's just channeling it in the right way."
The Predators also have been impressed with L'Heureux's maturity off the ice. Rehabilitation from surgery taught him some better ways to train, and he committed to better nutrition choices.
"He's back, he's playing the game and he's playing every night and also his body composition has gone down," Nichol said. "He's lighter (5-foot-11, 197 pounds), he's leaner, he's quicker. You can see on some of his goals, he's beating the [defenseman] wide and taking it to the net, where before just from probably the half wall in or the end boards in, just a power forward there. Now he's got his speed and his jump back because of the routine and the work that he put in in the summer when he was injured.
"He's in a really good frame of mind and he's in a really good spot. I'm excited just to keep watching him keep developing and keep scoring goals and playing that 200-foot game. He's on track."

OTHERS TO WATCH

Brandt Clarke, D, Barrie (Los Angeles Kings): Clarke has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 10 games since being assigned to Barrie on Jan. 6, after helping Canada win the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship. He has points in eight of the 10 games, including four straight multipoint games (six goals, five assists). The Kings selected the 19-year-old with the No. 8 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, and he has two assists in nine NHL games this season.
Riley Kidney, C, Gatineau (Montreal Canadiens): Kidney has been nearly unstoppable since he was traded to Gatineau by Acadie-Bathurst on Jan. 6. In nine games he has 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists), and since being held without a point in his first game, he has at least a point in eight straight, including seven multipoint games. The 19-year-old, selected by the Canadiens in the second round (No. 63) of the 2021 draft, has 68 points (21 goals, 47 assists) in 40 games this season.
Olen Zellweger, D, Kamloops (Anaheim Ducks): Zellweger had a season-best 11 shots on goal against Victoria on Jan. 28. He had an assist in that game, and has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) during a five-game point streak. Zellweger has 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in nine games since he was traded to Kamloops by Everett on Jan. 8. Selected by the Ducks in the second round (No. 34) of the 2021 draft, the 19-year-old has 45 points (15 goals, 30 assists) in 32 games this season.
Photos: Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Mooseheads