Montreal Canadiens prospect chooses to remain unvaccinated, despite potential consequences
Montreal Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen has found his way into hockey headlines on Sunday after it was revealed that the 21-year-old has chosen to remain unvaccinated "for his own reasons".
The move is a risky one for Ylonen, as there are consequences for players who choose to enter the season unvaccinated and then miss participating in team activities due to COVID-19.
One of the major consequences is that Ylonen may end up being suspended without pay if he happens to contract the virus - or if border restrictions happen to prevent him from traveling due to the fact that he has chosen to remain unvaccinated.
The league does, however, have special exemptions if a player has not received the vaccine for religious or medical reasons.
Ylonen's agent has not yet confirmed whether the player's decision is based on a medical condition that could increase the risk of serious side effects or if it's a religious decision at this time.
Ylonen was a 2nd-round pick by the Habs back in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He is expected to challenge for an NHL job in training camp and the preseason, though a return to the AHL's Laval Rocket seems likely, as the Habs are loaded up on the wing.
If the injury bug bites, it is expected that Ylonen would likely be among the first call-ups after making his NHL debut at the end of last season.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brandon Hagel | - | 5 | 5 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Nico Hischier | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Will Cuylle | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Lars Eller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alex Iafallo | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||