LAVAL – People say about Mattias Norlinder that he has changed, that he has changed since he arrived in Montreal for training camp.

It’s not like Norlinder has changed. This is because he finally manages to be himself.

As the Laval Rocket’s practice ended at Place Bell on Wednesday, we sensed he was in a laughing mood as he left the rink.

“Hello, guys!” he says happily to the press representatives in the hallway.

He stares at the keyboard in disbelief as he enters the password that opens the locker room doors. “Oh, I did it on the first try!” cheers the cheerful guy, finally letting his unique personality shine, that of a young man who is both moody and lovable.

A few moments later he returns to offer an interview.

“Just one more minute!!!” he shouts jokingly. He then talks about how dominant he was on the Tremblant greens, so much so that the group consisting of Jake Evans, Cayden Primeau, Josh Anderson and himself played -14.

Norlinder admits it himself: His attitude wasn’t the same last year when he reported to Canadiens camp.

“I used to just focus on getting to the NHL,” he explains. Yes, you could say I put unhealthy pressure on myself. This year I had the mindset to have fun and enjoy the moment.”

God knows the young defender has come a long way. During the 2021-2022 season, after being injured in preseason camp, he remained stuck in Montreal during the pandemic before finally making his NHL debut in November. Norlinder was used sporadically by Dominique Ducharme.

This year he played in the NHL, AHL and Sweden. At the end of the season, he returned to Laval to help the Rocket in the playoffs.

It’s an easy reality to forget, but Europeans arrived in North America disoriented, and not just because the ice was smaller. That factor can slow the development of a player like Norlinder, who struggled seriously last season, his first full-time job in the American League.

“It’s not easy for a European who is young and far from his family, far from his girlfriend, far from many things that come into play and that people don’t think about,” argues the head coach of the Laval Rocket , Jean-François Houle. They are not home for months without seeing their parents. It can have an impact on the person.

“In Norlinder’s case, he now knows all the players. He knows the staff. It really helps to know the world around you.”

A glaring weakness

Taking all of this into account, Houle isn’t wearing white gloves when it comes to Norlinder’s struggles last year. While working with him, he quickly realized that one aspect in particular would require a lot of work: puck battles.

“For us, it was the battles in the corners of the court and in front of the net,” notes Houle. Pick up your player in front of the net and don’t lose sight of him. All these little details. In our training there are many one-on-one combat situations. This was a place that needed significant improvement. It didn’t reach the body, it wasn’t physical enough. It didn’t close the room.”

“One thing that stood out to me was the speed at which players in the American League go straight to the net,” Norlinder points out, unknowingly confirming his coach’s words.

Luckily, Norlinder was willing to learn. He spent a lot of time analyzing video with assistant defensive line coach Kelly Buchberger.

“He was very open-minded,” Houle says. He said it himself. He hid a little. It’s because he had no self-confidence. It’s not because he had his affairs under control. What I like is that he admitted last year that he went into hiding. We hope that he won’t hide there and shows everyone that he is capable of playing.

The waves are medium but firm. He recognizes his foal’s work. Except the work has just begun.

What kind of player will Norlinder be once his development is complete? An offense-oriented defenseman or a defenseman who can move the puck well and score points here and there?

“I see a little bit of both,” Houle predicted. He is able to play offensively and play well defensively. I see him as a man capable of “leading” this. Power play. But to play consistently in the National League, you also have to be good defensively. I think he has improved in that regard. He just has to keep going. Maybe he could “lead” a second wave of power play in the National League.

“I see myself as a defender who is effective in both directions and can play on the power play,” says Norlinder, who doesn’t want to be seen as a purely offensive defender.

To put an end to the rumors

Even before Norlinder arrived in the CH camp, most of the supporters had resigned because of him. There was even a rumor that he would not report to the camp and would stay in Sweden.

This rumor came from Grant McCagg, who announced that the connection between Norlinder and the CH had effectively ended. And it was essentially based on the fact that Norlinder would have taken part in a preseason game in Sweden in the summer: if he planned to go to training camp, why risk unnecessary injury?

But that was also wrong.

“To be honest, I have no idea where it comes from,” Norlinder wonders. I usually trained in Sweden. To get in shape, I took part in two training sessions with the MODO club. I’ve never played a preseason game.”

We can bury this story, which was not a single one, once and for all.