The Canadian will play his first match of the rookie tournament Friday evening in Buffalo. Let’s recall five memories from previous tournaments, just to put things into perspective…
The first had just scored three goals in his first NHL game during the last meeting of the previous season. The second had a splendid playoff series, but in the junior ranks.
To all credit, Ryan Poehling played center during the 2019 rookie tournament and Nick Suzuki to his right. An “intruder”, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, completed this trio. After the first match against Toronto, Poehling’s passing skills were widely praised. “He saw the openings on plays, whether it was to spot me or to spot other players, his vision is out of the ordinary,” Suzuki commented about Poehling.
Poehling, invited to the Canadian golf tournament that year – unlike Suzuki – was injured in preparatory matches and Suzuki, who was not necessarily expected, took the opportunity to earn a place in the lineup.
Suzuki had 41 points in 71 games in his first season, Poehling only two in 27 games during his recalls to Montreal. The “intruder”, who initially settled for an American League contract, has only five fewer career goals than Poehling… in 100 fewer games!
The Senators had a seasoned roster at the 2018 rookie tournament, with six players already having games in the NHL. Brady Tkachuk played on the wing of Colin White, 21 games in Ottawa the previous year, and Filip Chlapik, the top scorer for the Senators’ farm club.
Ottawa also had a certain Filip Gustavsson in net, Drake Batherson and two defensemen, Christian Jaros and Christian Wolanin, who without being top prospects had played games in the National League.
The most experienced player among the Canadiens’ prospects, defenseman T. J. Melançon, arrived from the ECHL. We were waiting with curiosity for two Czech defenders recently signed, Michal Moravcik and David Sklenicka. Josh Brook was the best prospect on defense.
Kotkaniemi started the first game at center for Alexandre Alain and Allan McShane. Jake Evans was playing second center, but he left the arena on a stretcher, the victim of a hard-hitting hit. Unsurprisingly, the Canadian suffered a correction.
“It wasn’t my best night,” Kotkaniemi said in his still rudimentary English after the match. I think it’s going to take me a little bit of time to get used to this (style of) game. It’s a little different, but I think I’ll get there. »
Melançon returned to the ECHL. Alexandre Alain, never drafted, played two seasons with the Laval Rocket before enrolling in university. McShane never even made it to the American League. He played in Austria last year. Moravcik played 20 games in Laval and four in the ECHL before returning to Europe. Sklenicka played around fifty more matches, without impact, before also returning to the Old Continent. Brook was never able to establish himself in the American League. He will play in Finland this season.
Kotkaniemi was already more comfortable in his second rookie game against the Toronto Maple Leafs two days later. To everyone’s surprise, he earned a position with the Canadian a few weeks later.
“If we had relied on the rookie tournament, he would never have played in the National League,” declared head coach Claude Julien. CH supporters are right to be disappointed with what happens next. But Kotkaniemi remains an NHL player, established last year at the center of the second line of one of the best clubs on the circuit. Let’s see if he improves on his career high of 43 points set last year.
At the 2015 rookie tournament, the Canadian’s hopes crushed those of the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4. They even shot 51 times on the opponent’s net. Charles Hudon scored twice. He had the advantage of age, 21, and one year of experience in the American League where he had 57 points in 75 games in his first year in the pros. We could see an interesting sequel for him.
Within his trio, another dominant player during this tournament, Daniel Carr, never drafted, also with a good first season in the American League, in Hamilton, with 24 goals. Carr even acted as captain of the Canadiens’ rookie team.
“It was just a rookie tournament, but seeing the C embroidered on my jersey was quite an honor, with all the history of this organization,” Carr said after the game.
Carr managed to play around a hundred games in Montreal, still a feat for a player ignored in the draft. Hudon, a fifth-round pick, played roughly the same number of games in the NHL. He even had a 30-point season and played in nine games last season with the Colorado Avalanche.
Slight detail to mention about this meeting: the Leafs had left aside their best trio of offensive prospects, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Mitchell Marner…
“Carey Price can’t help it if the Canadian was criticized for calling for a goalie with his first pick, the fifth overall, during the July draft. However, he admits that the situation represents an additional source of motivation for him. “Yes, a little,” Price replied when asked the question yesterday. »
So began the text by colleague Robert Laflamme, from La Presse Canadienne, at the dawn of the Canadiens rookie tournament in 2005.
In his first game, Price allowed the winning goal to Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect Jiri Tlusty with three minutes left in the third period, “a shot he would have liked to see again,” some colleagues wrote – without specifying that the size of the goals was larger than usual – and a major challenge awaited him in his second match.
Price was in fact facing Jeff Glass, the number one goalie of the Canadian junior team that won gold at the World Championship in January. Calm, sure of himself, always well positioned, Price won 3-2 against Glass and the young Ottawa Senators.
His performance reassured many people. “You can see his talent,” said the Canadiens’ goalkeeper coach, Roland Melanson, after the match. He had a lot to absorb since arriving at camp and I’m amazed at how quickly he was able to make the necessary adjustments. I don’t know how long he’ll be in training camp, but I like what I see so far. »
Almost 20 years later, Carey Price bows out with 361 victories, a record in Canadian history, Hart and Vezina trophies, an Olympic gold medal, a World Junior Championship gold medal and a final of the Stanley Cup. Glass has played in 15 career NHL games.
The Canadiens’ recruiting director Pierre Dorion, now GM of the Senators, was beaming after the Canadiens’ rookie tournament in 1998. His hopes had just won all their matches. At just 18 years old, Éric Chouinard, the Canadian’s first choice a few months earlier, stood out by scoring three goals.
“Real goals, goals that you can’t teach to score,” Dorion enthused. This is one of its strengths. He is skilled and no one needs to tell him where the goal is. I don’t like to indulge in the comparison game, but several observers have compared him to Phil Esposito because of his scoring skills and also with the way he protects his puck.
Éric Chouinard has scored 11 career goals in the National Hockey League…706 fewer than Phil Esposito. We say it without pettiness. After a professional career that took him to Germany, Switzerland, Russia and France, Chouinard has a successful post-career as director of player safety in the QMJHL.
We can forgive Dorion’s almost youthful exuberance at the time. Four other of his choices that year, Mike Ribeiro, François Beauchemin, Andrei Markov and Michael Ryder had very good careers. Chouinard was not their choice, it is said, the organization rather listened to a venerable recruiter at the end of the course. Still, Phil Esposito…
Pierre Dorion has not lost his positivism, even 25 years later, this time at the head of the Senators.
“When we succeed in qualifying, I believe we will participate in the playoffs for seven, eight or even nine years in a row,” he said Thursday during an event organized at Ottawa city hall.
Dorion pleaded guilty to his most recent sweeping statement two years ago, but not to the point of holding back his enthusiasm. “I know, I got myself into trouble a few years ago when I declared that the rebuilding of our team was over…”
1- Even if his training will be composed mainly of players aged 22 and under, Laval Rocket coach Jean-François Houle wants to develop but also to win, writes Simon-Olivier Lorange.
2- They crossed Quebec together for six years. Now, they are going to travel the Sahara. Katherine Harvey-Pinard says.
3- Philippe Cantin looks back on his highlights of the summer.
