Barely had the selection of Juraj Slafkovsky at first place been confirmed during the 2022 draft, commissioner Gary Bettman announced this astonishing news on the microphone: “The Montreal Canadiens trade Alexander Romanov…”
Let us remember the astonishment in the Bell Centre. Murmurs in the amphitheater, until commissioner Gary Bettman announced the name of the player obtained in return, Kirby Dach.
Romanov was nonetheless a popular player in Montreal. He was only 22, had just established himself as a top-4 defensive player in Montreal, possessed an infectious exuberance and was one of the few promising draft picks in recent years on defense.
But Kent Hughes knew what we now know today. Several left-handed defenders were waiting their turn. Kaiden Guhle, the 2020 first-round pick, was coming and he would be even better than Romanov. Jordan Harris was going to fight for a job, but there was still Joel Edmundson, and Mike Matheson was coming. Arber Xhekaj wasn’t even on the radar screen yet, at least not with a view to a position in Montreal.
Here we are at training camp in 2023. At 29 years old, Mike Matheson is coming off the season of his career and he is under contract for three more years. Guhle, Harris and Xhekaj are all 23 or younger. It will be necessary to send one to the right to unclog the left flank.
The glut of young left-handed defenders does not seem to deter aspiring players. At least not so far. Mattias Norlinder, 23, compared to Nicklas Lidstrom by the Swedish media a few years ago, a major awkwardness, is having a good start to camp. He had a strong session on Saturday, he attracted the spotlight during the next day’s match at the Bell Center with a nice goal.
William Trudeau, 20, never ceases to amaze. We were juggling between the idea of sending him back to the junior ranks or giving him a position in the American League at this time last year. Over the course of the season, he has become one of the Rocket’s best defenders and has played with surprising confidence since rookie camp.
Even Jayden Struble, although he is less talked about than the other two, has shown a certain confidence so far, after a timid start in the professional ranks at the end of last season.
Let’s get along well here. Not all of them are predicted to have a glorious career in the National League. It is still too early to know if they will eventually reach the NHL. And the balloon could well deflate within a few days. But at the dawn of the preparatory calendar, they are offering an interesting performance against their teammates.
They also know that competition comes not only from the top, but from the base of the pyramid. Lane Hutson, 19, will bypass the American League and go straight to the National League sometime in April, after his season at Boston University. You will have read it here first. Despite being 5-foot-9, Hutson just broke NCAA records for a defenseman with 48 points in just 39 games and will be one of the eyes at the World Junior Championship.
The CH management is also closely following another young left-handed defender, the Swede Adam Engström, third round choice in 2022, around thirty ranks after Hutson, a late second round choice. Engström plays in the first pair at Rögle in the Swedish First Division (SHL) despite being 19 years old. He already has two points from his first four games. Rögle sits third in the 14-team overall standings after five games.
Engström would sign a one-year contract extension at Rögle, it is said. It’s almost a blessing for the Canadian who will have one more year to see things more clearly. The young man, although he is left-handed, nevertheless plays on the right in Sweden.
The abundance of young defensemen within the organization is obviously a happy problem. She gives Kent Hugues trade material to improve the team at another position, like with Romanov.
Once again here, we must remember the reality of things. The CH does not have ten Cale Makars in its ranks. But if Romanov, a number four defenseman, brought in Kirby Dach, who knows what one of the organization’s many defensemen might bring in eventually?
Who will be the next Romanov? It all depends on the interest and needs of other clubs. And Hughes is never far from his cell phone…
Jordan Harris will be the dean on defense Monday night in the first preseason game against the New Jersey Devils. He is 23. Arber Xhekaj is 22, Justin Barron and Kaiden Guhle are 21, Logan Mailloux is 20, and David Reinbacher is 18.
Teams must send a minimum of eight veterans into the fray during NHL preseason games. Veteran means a player who played at least 30 games in the National Hockey League the previous season, a first-round pick in the most recent draft, or a player who played 100 career games.
In defense, only Logan Mailloux does not fall into this category. Interesting to note, however, that there are four first-round picks from the three most recent vintages among this very young cohort, Guhle, Barron (obtained from the Avalanche for Artturi Lehkonen), Mailloux and Reinbacher.
Reinbacher, the fifth overall pick in 2023, will have the honor of being part of the first pair with Guhle, and Mailloux will play to the right of Harris, moved to left after a try to right during intrasquad games. Xhekaj and Barron will form the third pair.
On offense, the trio of Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson is intact. We notice a trio of interesting young people made up of Joshua Roy, Owen Beck and Jesse Ylönen, which shows that we should not trust the combinations of intra-team matches…
1- The media crisis affects Quebec sports teams, writes Alexandre Pratt. Among others, CF Montreal, the Alouettes and the QMJHL clubs.
2- Simon-Olivier Lorange evokes the rebirth of certain players, including Cayden Primeau and Mattias Norlinder, in his analysis of the match between the reds and the whites, Sunday at the Bell Center.
3- Samuel Piette doesn’t have a tongue in cheek. He did not spare the coaches by mentioning a lack of tactical preparation of the club after the defeat of CF Montreal in Atlanta. Jean-François Téotonio summarizes.
