Canadiens rookie Jonathan Kovacevic has been a pleasant surprise

Johnathan Kovacevic had a 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in civil engineering at Merrimack College. His report card consisted of all As, other than two A-minuses in traffic engineering and steel design.

That makes the rookie defenceman, arguably, the smartest guy in the Canadiens’ dressing room — a point he disputes, with some logic.

“I’d say it makes me the most informed on engineering stuff,” Kovacevic said, while laughing, following Friday’s practice at the Bell Sports Complex. “There’s a lot of different ways people can be smart. There’s people in here that speak three languages. There’s a lot of different smarts. I might be the best at math and science, but I wouldn’t say (I’m) the smartest person.”

Point made. But as the Canadiens play the string out in yet another non-playoff season, Kovacevic has shown he’s a legitimate NHL player. That wasn’t necessarily the case last October when Montreal, desperate for defencemen after Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson went out with long-term injuries, claimed Kovacevic off waivers from Winnipeg.

The Jets signed their third-round (74th overall) draft choice in 2017 to a three-year contract extension in July, but given their depth with six returning blue-liners, Kovacevic said he wasn’t surprised to be the odd man out. He played only four games with Winnipeg last season, spending the majority of time in the AHL, and hadn’t yet established himself.

Heading into Saturday night’s game against Carolina at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., Sportsnet, City-TV, TVA Sports, TSN 690-radio, 98.5 FM), the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Kovacevic has been a pleasant and durable surprise, missing only five games as a healthy scratch. He has two goals and 14 points in 71 games and is a plus-3.

The 25-year-old is one of the organization’s few right-handed shooting defenders. Considering the low expectations associated with his unheralded arrival, Kovacevic might be the Canadiens’ most underrated player this season. While he spent the majority of time teamed with Jordan Harris, Kovacevic found himself on the top pairing alongside Matheson Thursday against Florida.

“I’m still looking to build consistency,” he said. “That’s something that comes with time. When I got put on waivers that was a nerve-wracking 24 hours. It was a whirlwind. The beginning was tough; I’m not going to lie. Going to a new team, it’s tough socially. There are challenges. You have to work your way through that.

“As the year went on, I’ve been feeling more comfortable and confident with my game. In general, I’ve been building and improving. I’m constantly learning, but the biggest challenge has definitely been mental. I have to work on physical skills, but the biggest thing is feeling more confident, having that poise, taking that extra half-second with the puck, making sure you’re making the right play.”

Being 25 and an NHL rookie means the Grimsby, Ont., native took a long and unusual path to the big leagues and is accustomed to overcoming challenges. At age 17, he was released at training camp by the junior Niagara IceDogs. Kovacevic found his calling in the Central Canada Hockey League before taking the NCAA route. He was drafted by Winnipeg following one college season and, despite being a big man in a game that’s getting smaller and faster, Kovacevic has proven dependable while keeping his game simple.

“I don’t think I coach my players based on their GPA, but that’s pretty impressive,” Martin St. Louis quipped. “Civil engineering isn’t an easy major in college. You can tell he’s a bright young man … very smart. His smarts got him to where he’s at. It’s not like he’s the fastest or has the best shot. He’s going to keep improving and that’s going to get him further in his career.

“If you have the basic skill and you’re intelligent, you’re probably going to play hockey for a while.”

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was given a maintenance day Friday, while injured defenceman David Savard didn’t practice. Injured forward Joel Armia, who has missed 19 games, participated wearing a regular sweater.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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