Montreal Canadiens Call Up Prospect to Help Ailing Powerplay

With recent injuries to defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Andrei Markov, the Montreal Canadiens have called up a coveted prospect.

Yannick Weber, a Swiss-born sharpshooter, will likely find most of his minutes on the Canadiens' power play.

Below is the Canadiens' official press release:

Canadiens recall Yannick Weber from the Hamilton Bulldogs

Montreal Apr 8, 2009, 2:00 PM EDT

Weber

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL – The Canadiens announced Wednesday that defenseman Yannick Weber has been recalled from the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs while defenseman Doug Janik has been assigned to the Bulldogs.

As a rookie with Hamilton, Weber leads all Bulldogs defensemen with 44 points (16 goals and 28 assists) in 68 regular-season games, with a plus-12 rating and 42 penalty minutes.

Captain of the Swiss National Junior Team at the 2008 World Junior Hockey Championship held in the Czech Republic, Weber was on the starting line-up for Team PlanetUsa the 2009 AHL All-Star game. He was also voted to the AHL All-Rookie Team for the 2008-09 season.

Weber, who suited up with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers for two seasons, completed his junior career last season with a combined total of 96 points (33 goals and 63 assists), 121 penalty minutes and a plus-12 rating.

The 20-year-old native of Morges, in Switzerland, had 15 minutes of ice time in his first NHL regular-season game with the Canadiens last January 8. Weber will join the team today and will be available for tomorrow’s game against the Bruins, in Boston.

Called up from the Hamilton Bulldogs last Monday, Doug Janik took part in the Canadiens’ last two games, averaging 13:54 of ice time.