Three intra-squad games had been completed at the Canadiens’ training camp late Friday morning. These matches devoid of robustness obviously do not allow us to draw definitive conclusions, but the team management scrutinizes these matches closely in order to make the right decisions in anticipation of the start of the preparatory matches.
A player looking for a position must have distinguished himself at this stage otherwise he will have some catching up work to do, if it is not already too late. Here are ten observations observed so far.
We have been able to observe the formation of a few duos, and not trios, until now: Suzuki/Caufield, Dach/Monahan, Newhook/Anderson (or Slafkovsky), Gallagher/Harvey-Pinard, Evans/Armia. The count is easy to do, there is one too many. A pair will inevitably be separated and these two players will be distributed among the pairs kept intact. This is why we should not rejoice too quickly for the Heinemans, Joshua Roy and Owen Beck, auditioning with an NHL duo since the opening of camp.
The Laval Rocket has already started advertising for ticket sales. Seen this week in one of them on RDS: the heads of Heineman and Filip Mesar. The Canadian will not stop himself from making his decisions because of an ad, but we can see it as a clue to his initial plans. Heineman does not have to go through waivers if he is sold to the American League and Mesar, the late first-round pick in 2022, could well be promoted to the Rocket, as he had let it show at the NHL camp. recruits, despite a lackluster season offensively in the junior ranks last year. Heineman was not bad in a trio with Suzuki and Caufield after two games, but not transcendent either.
We felt the Canadian’s first choice in 2023, fifth overall, right-handed defender David Reinbacher, a little less shy on Friday morning. In his case there is a normal adaptation. Not only is he only 18 years old, but he has to adapt to a new cultural environment and new dimensions of the ice rink.
We nevertheless note good mobility, in a straight line as well as lateral, fluidity, both in puck handling and skating movements, good efficiency in defense and informed decisions with the puck. His teammate in Kloten, Quebecer Eric Faille, set the bar high by comparing him to Roman Josi, one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. More realistically, if Reinbacher becomes a Rasmus Andersson, the number one defenseman for the Calgary Flames, Montreal will have won its bet. Reinbacher will have the privilege of playing a few preparatory matches before returning to Europe for the season, but nothing will prevent him from joining the Rocket in the spring when Kloten’s season has ended.
Sean Farrell, 21, joined the Canadian at the end of last season, preceded by a great reputation. Not only did he break USHL offensive records with 101 points in 53 games in 2020-21, but this young man was outrageously dominant in his second NCAA season with 53 points in 34 games at Harvard, and experienced the experience of the Olympic Games and two world championships with the American team alongside players from the National League.
We nevertheless saw his limitations, especially in terms of his battles for the puck, during his six-game audition in Montreal, and he was very discreet at the rookie tournament. Since Wednesday, he has been flying around the ice as part of a trio with veteran Tanner Pearson and Riley Kidney. Let’s see if he can continue to stand out with his speed and creativity during the preparatory matches. The Laval Rocket is waiting for him, but he could deserve one or more recalls during the winter.
Martin St-Louis clearly asked his defenders to attack more and William Trudeau got the message. The CH’s best player at the rookie tournament does not aspire to a position in Montreal due to congestion on defense, but we will have to start monitoring him more closely. This 20-year-old is gaining confidence and has been dominant since camp opened, both Thursday and Friday morning. He becomes a fourth attacker on the ice as he plays so boldly, without putting his team in danger defensively.
We kept Juraj Slafkovsky in Montreal last year, against all odds, to correct his bad habits. This 2022 first overall pick has some undeniable physical upside at 6-foot-3, 238 pounds, and some nice individual skills, good scoring instincts, speed, but his understanding of the game isn’t his main attribute. He seemed a little mixed up Thursday in his trio with Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson. However, it was a first match in several months for him. Let’s see if it’s better Friday afternoon.
We’re going to judge Alex Newhook in preseason games, but he impressed in his first intrasquad game on Thursday, probably even the best forward on the ice. Obtained from the Colorado Avalanche for first and second round picks in 2023 (27th and 37th overall), Newhook will be able to develop at a less pressurizing pace in Montreal. He remains a first-round pick, 16th overall, in 2019, immediately behind Cole Caufield, who had 33 points in 71 games in his first full NHL season in 2020-21 at 19, 20. He’s not the tallest, at 5-foot-10, but he’s still big at 190 pounds, sort of in the Nick Suzuki mold.
Obtained from the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week with a third-round pick against goaltender Casey DeSmith, veteran Tanner Pearson would not have wanted to grant an interview to a Vancouver journalist in the heat of the moment to digest the transaction. For two days we have been observing an attacker who seems to have recovered from his wrist injury which required six surgeries (he says he is 90% recovered) and above all a lot of enthusiasm. We had been praised for his leadership qualities and his hard work, the CH did not get their hands on a sulker.
Jared Davidson, 21, was the hero of the day, with three goals Friday morning, all three for his team. This young man has a background that could be similar to that of Rafael Harvey-Pinard. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2022, the day after he turned 20, after being passed over the year before (Harvey-Pinard had this disappointing experience twice).
You had to take the 89 and 82 point seasons in the Western Junior League with a grain of salt since they were achieved at ages 19 and 20, but they nonetheless convinced the CH organization to offer him a contract American League with the Rocket this summer, as we did with Harvey-Pinard. If he maintains such progress, a National League contract will eventually await him.
Despite an overall honest production in the second half of the season with the Canadian, 16 points in 37 games, right-handed winger Jesse Ylönen, 23, did not have the chance like Emil Heineman or Joshua Roy to complete a trio made up of NHL players. He has been playing with Xavier Simoneau and Philippe Maillet, two players destined for the American League, for two days. He nevertheless constitutes the driving force of his trio and was one of the most threatening players of the four attacking groups. Here’s someone shopping for a promotion…
1 — Charles Philibert-Thiboutot looks back on his record-breaking season, his “silly” race and Norwegian sensation, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. A rare opportunity to read the prose of Yves Boisvert in the Sports section.
2 – Richard Labbé looks back on the retirement of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, announced on the grounds of McGill University, his former team.
3 — Jake Allen wants to play more matches this year. Simon-Olivier Lorange summarizes his thoughts.
