“If we had relied solely on the rookie tournament, Jesperi Kotkaniemi would never have broken through our regular squad this year”.
Posted at 9:45 a.m.
So said coach Claude Julien, after confirming the place of the young Finn in his team for the opening match, in October 2018.
The Canadian had sent a very weak formation to this rookie tournament. Kotkaniemi started the competition at the center of Alexandre Alain and Allan McShane against seasoned young Ottawa Senators, with six players having appeared in NHL games. The defeat had been embarrassing for Kotkaniemi, overwhelmed by events in his first steps in North America, and for the Canadian recruits.
That hadn’t stopped this Finnish weakling from surprising at training camp and deserving, to everyone’s surprise, a position with the team despite his 18 years.
The result gave a bitter taste to fans of the Canadian. Kotkaniemi has never been able to replicate his 34 points from his rookie year and he now plays in Carolina. But Kotkaniemi’s experience at his first rookie tournament helps give us some perspective on this famous tournament.
An 18-year-old boy unable to keep pace against opposing rookies managed to become a National League player in just a few weeks.
We could also take Nick Suzuki as an example. Ordinary at this tournament in 2019, but from the CH starting lineup a month later. The opposite is also true. Some shone there, before fading in preparatory meetings for the National League.
Current rookies were undergoing medicals Wednesday morning before heading to Buffalo for the tournament.
We obviously want to see the first overall pick of the most recent draft, Juraj Slafkovsky, shine there, but in his head, as in that of the team leaders, his performances in the real preseason games will be proof of everything.
Slafkovsky, like Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder, the four young defensemen in the fight for two available defense positions with the Canadiens, will be invited to training camp, regardless of their performances at the rookie tournament in Buffalo.
Filip Mesar, Joshua Roy, Emil Heineman, Jan Mysak, Brett Stapley, Arber Xhekaj and Gianni Fairbrother will be entitled to the same privilege, barring total disaster.
The opportunity will be good, however, for some younger recruits, or less highly rated, such as Owen Beck, Cédrick Guindon, Riley Kidney, Xavier Simoneau, William Trudeau or Miguël Tourigny, to leave a nice business card.
For top rookies, this tournament can give them the impetus to enter camp with even stronger confidence. Kotkaniemi had been able to pull himself together after a tough tournament, but others before him couldn’t recover in time from disappointing performances against opposing rookies.
The Canadian will have the advantage of presenting a leading formation, one of the strongest in its recent history, at this tournament. Strong opposition was expected, including from the Sabers, the first opponents, Thursday evening, but Buffalo prefers to spare two of its best hopes, defenseman Owen Power, first overall pick in 2021, and winger Jack Quinn, 61 points in 45 games last year in the American League. One of their three first-round picks in 2022, Swedish center Noah Östlund, is retained in Sweden, but we will at least be able to see the other two, Matthew Savoie and Jiri Kulich, in action. The second 2021 first-round pick behind Power, Isak Rosen, 14e in total, will also be there.
The Ottawa Senators, opponents of the CH Sunday noon, will present a more interesting formation, with the best prospect in defense, Jake Sanderson, fifth overall choice in 2020, the center Shane Pinto, a regular center in Ottawa at the start of last season before suffering a serious injury, and goaltender Mads Sogaard, starting in the American League and recalling the time of two games in the NHL.
First-round picks of the past two years, Tyler Boucher, Zack Ostapchuk and Ridly Greig, a valuable defensive center at the most recent World Junior Championship, will also be there.
The New Jersey Devils, opponents on Friday night, have yet to announce their roster, but we should expect to see Slafkovsky’s compatriot, second-overall defenseman Simon Nemec, and possibly Alexander Holtz as well. , seventh overall pick in 2020, almost a point per game in the American League last winter. Defenseman Luke Hughes, fourth overall pick in 2021, is retained in the NCAA.
The matches will be broadcast on the Canadiens website and its various platforms, with the excellent Sébastien Goulet, from TVA Sports, on the description.
Hourly
- Thursday, September 15: Buffalo v. Montreal, 7 p.m.
- Friday, September 16: Montreal vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.
- Sunday, September 18: Ottawa v. Montreal, 12 p.m.
Not a lot of goalkeepers
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Joe Vrbetic
Because he already has three professional seasons behind the tie, not counting his 18 NHL games, Cayden Primeau is no longer considered a rookie, according to the tournament’s unofficial rules. The Canadiens will instead send 19-year-old giant Joe Vrbetic, a 2011 seventh-round pick who played with North Bay of the Ontario Junior League last season. He will be accompanied by two guest goaltenders from the QMJHL, Antoine Coulombe, 20, of the Shawinigan Cataractes, and Riley Mercer, 18, of the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Two of the organization’s best prospects at this position, Jakub Dobes and Frederik Dichow, are retained in their respective circuits. Dobes, 21, a finalist for the Mike Richter Trophy awarded to the college goaltender par excellence last year, will begin his second season at Ohio State in the NCAA. Dichow, also 21, will play for Frölunda, in the Swedish Elite League (SEL), after his participation in the Olympics and the World Championship with Denmark. The most recent choice of CH as goalkeeper, Emmett Croteau (6e round, 2022), has just joined Clarkson, in the NCAA.