Vinzenz Rohrer is having an excellent tournament representing Austria at the 2025 World Championship. In his team’s last group stage game, he scored twice in a 6-1 win over Latvia. The win allowed the Austrian to finish fourth in Group A and qualify for the quarterfinals. This is the first time the country has qualified for the playoffs stage since 1994. He leads his country in goals alongside Marco Kasper with four goals in seven games.
The Montreal Canadiens prospect, who was drafted 75th overall at the 2022 NHL draft, has yet to be signed to an entry-level contract. In his draft year, he was playing with the Ottawa 67’s. After two seasons in the OHL, he decided he had nothing left to learn there and returned to Europe to play in the Swiss National League.
Canadiens: A Potential UFA Target?
Canadiens: What If The PWHL Expansion Rules Happened In The NHL
Canadiens: The Grades Are In – Kirby Dach
In two seasons in the pro Swiss league, he has gathered 19 and 25 points, showing good progression. The same can also be said in the playoffs, where he posted four points in 15 games in his rookie year and seven points in 16 games in his sophomore year. Skating with the Zurich Lions, Rohrer won a Champions League title this season and two National League titles in a row.
The 20-year-old hasn’t decided what he’ll do next season, but the Canadiens’ player development coach, Lauri Korpikoski, in charge of player development in Europe, is keeping close tabs on him.
Given how well he has performed in this tournament, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Canadiens decide to offer him an ELC. However, if he signs and is cut at training camp, he must return to Switzerland since he has a valid contract with the Lions until the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Former Lions’ coach Marc Crawford once compared him to Mike Keane. That’s high praise from the man who coached Keane to a Stanley Cup in 1995-96 with the Colorado Avalanche. In Switzerland, Rohrer mainly skated on the third line and the penalty kill, although he saw some power-play action when regulars were injured.
It will be interesting to see if Rohrer can also stand out in the upcoming quarterfinal against Switzerland, which is scheduled for Thursday, May 22.
Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.