The Canadian will play his first game of the season on Wednesday, but until then the team’s staff will have to make some decisions, some of which are more difficult than others.
Martin St-Louis, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton used Sunday to look at the latest personnel changes they are looking to make and while the roster isn’t official yet, it is what it is.
NHL teams have until Monday at 5 p.m. to submit their 23-player rosters for the start of the season.
At least the trio won’t have to worry about goalkeeping for long. They will trust Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. We kept Jakub Dobes until the end to give him NHL experience, but he will continue his already advanced development with the Laval Rocket.
How many defenders
The decision-makers had to debate, especially at the back. Everything will depend on the number of defenders we want to keep, whether seven or eight. Logic suggests seven.
Mike Matheson, David Savard and Kaiden Guhle are guaranteed positions. The absence of Jayden Struble and Lane Hutson during the final preseason game shows us that they also have a position in Montreal, otherwise we would have given them one final audition.
Lane Hutson has secured his place in the Canadian’s squad. – Photo BEN PELOSSE
We can assume that Arber His physical presence is important for the team. As long as he pays attention to his discipline, he will be able to continue to improve his defensive game.
If there is only one position left, it will go to Justin Barron as he was not claimed off waivers during Sunday.
20-year-old Adam Engström has shown some great things, especially on offense. The quality of his recovery is undeniable, but a stay in Laval that will allow him to continue his defensive development and get used to the North American rhythm will benefit him the most.
Justin Barron – Ben Pelosse / JdeM
Logan Mailloux played five of the six preseason games. He had a pretty positive camp, although his defensive game still needs some cleaning up. A return to Laval, where he can dominate and consume a lot of minutes, makes sense. But we may well see him again at the Bell Center soon.
An attacker
With Patrik Laine, who will be out for two to three months, and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who will return in late autumn, the decisions for St-Louis, Hughes and Gorton will make themselves.
The team has 15 attackers and if we keep 7 defenders, that means there are 14 forwards, so only one player will be left off the list.
It now remains to be seen who will be selected from Joshua Roy, Oliver Kapanen and Emil Heineman for the 13th positione and 14e Attacker.
Kapanen surprised everyone with the quality of his offensive game and his great adaptability. For him, it’s Montreal or another season in the Swedish first division. But the Canadian can keep him in his lap for as long as he wants.
If the Canadian wants to extend his stay in the NHL, he will have to choose between Joshua Roy and Emil Heineman. The first finished last season with the big club and has obvious offensive talent. He had a respectable camp, but his last game in Ottawa was difficult. We can think that it is the job that comes into play.
Heineman has a good shot, is robust and can generate offense. He also had a good camp, but he needs to improve his consistency. This is the last surprise that this end of training camp has in store for us.
In collaboration with our partners
Avid beer trailblazer. Friendly student. Tv geek. Coffee junkie. Total writer. Hipster-friendly internet practitioner. Pop culture fanatic.
