(Brossard) From one season to the next, most players hope to show an improved version of themselves. Josh Anderson, for his part, chooses to start from scratch.
You can’t blame him. In his end-of-season review in April, the veteran striker was very clear about what he thought of his performances: “I’ve been awful this season [I sucked this year]he had let it drop. There is no other way to say it.”
Anderson had a long dry spell last season. It will be recalled that he took 25 games before scoring his first goal, into an empty net no less. Ultimately, he registered 20 points, including 9 goals, in 78 games. His worst output of his career.
It’s certainly not what anyone expects from a big winger of his ilk, who makes $5.5 million a season. Including himself.
On Saturday, after an intrasquad game in which he was paired with Christian Dvorak and Joshua Roy, Anderson met the media for the first time since the start of training camp. When asked by a reporter if he had turned the page on his difficult 2023-24 season, he cracked a smile.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Christian Dvorak
“Yes, absolutely!” he said with a sigh that was clearly one of relief. “There will be a lot more smiles at the start of the season. It’s a new beginning. There are good things happening here, with the group we have. I come here with confidence, believing in myself.”
The Ontarian had an eventful and “very positive” summer. He enjoyed a few weeks of rest, he got married in Italy. He also spent a lot of time in Montreal to train. Above all, he rediscovered the pleasure of going to the rink.
I wanted to be at the rink a little more often than in the last few summers and try to work on my game as much as possible. […] It was nice to have a few weeks off. It makes you realize how much you miss it.
Josh Anderson
“Being here longer, skating a lot more, being in the facilities… I enjoyed coming to the rink, having fun, taking steps in the right direction.”
“You have to turn the page”
If there’s one person who didn’t stop believing in Anderson last season, it was probably Martin St-Louis. All year, the head coach defended his forward, refusing to send him into the stands. “The attitude, the work habits, the commitment. He’s there, Josh,” he said during a media availability in December.
On Saturday, Anderson reflected on the impact his coach had last year, when nothing was working for him.
He’s been by my side all season. I have a lot of respect for Marty. He’s played in the league for a long time. It was amazing of him to come talk to me a few times, encourage me. That’s the kind of thing that makes you respect your coach, and that’s why you want to give 100%.
Josh Anderson
St-Louis, for his part, said he spoke with the number 17 at the end of last season and in the middle of the summer.
“You need to turn the page. [On a eu] discussions; it starts with the truth. […] We thought about his season, we talked about what can help him so that this doesn’t happen next year.”
Asked what exactly needs to be done to prevent Anderson from reliving this kind of lethargy, the coach indicated that these were “personal” discussions. “It’s certain that mentally, he had difficulty, confidence-wise,” he nevertheless continued. “If he had been a little lucky at the beginning of the season, it would have helped his season a lot mentally. He had a lot of chances to score, but the puck wasn’t going in. At some point, you squeeze the stick a little. It’s about learning from that, but you have to turn the page.”
“I like his energy, his skating. He arrived in good shape. It’s encouraging,” added St-Louis.
It now remains to be seen where the striker will be used. It seems almost unlikely that he will start the campaign in the top 6. Could he even lose his spot on the top three lines? That remains to be seen.
“I’ve been in this league long enough to realize I’m a good player, and I bring a lot to the game,” Anderson said Saturday. “If I can be an impact player on this team, it’s only going to help us in a lot of ways.”
On this, we can only agree.
Treatment day for Wool
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Patrick Laine
Forward Patrik Laine did not participate in his group’s practice at the Canadiens camp on Saturday morning at the CN Sports Complex, instead taking advantage of a day of treatment.
Laine has been part of Group 2 since the start of on-ice drills at the Habs camp. That group was taking part in a practice session Saturday morning, before Groups 1 and 3 faced off in an intrasquad game.
All three groups will play the same schedule on Sunday, while teams 1 and 3 are already assured of participating in the final of the friendly tournament.
Laine played in both Group 2 intrasquad games on Thursday and Friday. His group suffered two losses.
He played as part of a trio completed by Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook.
The Canadian Press