(Sunrise) The Canadiens’ present situation can probably boil down to one name: Cam Hillis.
This name means nothing to you ? Normal. Cam Hillis was probably not very well known until Friday morning, but since one tile does not wait for the other in the Montreal camp, everything indicates that this sympathetic 21-year-old striker, a player of the Laval Rocket and the Lions de Trois-Rivières this season, could have the opportunity to play a first game in the big leagues, Saturday afternoon at Sunrise, against the Florida Panthers.
“I would say I’m lucky to be here,” he admitted to Sunrise on Friday. I feel like I’ve had to face a lot of challenges this season, from ECHL to Laval. I try to take advantage of my opportunities. I’m at my best when I have fun and being here is fun… and it’s good for confidence. ”
In Friday afternoon practice at Sunrise, Hillis was skating on the fourth line, along with Michael Pezzetta and Cédric Paquette. His presence is suddenly needed because another player, Brandon Baddock, who himself had just played his first NHL game on Thursday night, was added to the Canadiens’ very long COVID-19 list, a list that already included 11 names before he added his own. Another attacker, Brendan Gallagher, injured, remains a doubtful case for Saturday, which opens this unexpected door to Hillis.
HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT PHOTO, PRESS ARCHIVES
Cam Hillis
If we add the injured players, the Canadian will end up with a formation that will struggle to reach the bar of $ 25 million in salary against the Panthers on Saturday.
Some would say a training that is not competitive enough for the National League …
“Of course, all of our players have to be at their best,” coach Dominique Ducharme replied. We demonstrated it in Tampa, we were able to get a point, we could have earned two. Thursday in Carolina, in the five-on-five situations, we were competitive.
“I think we can be competitive. Is this the training that the fans, especially the people from Quebec who are here in Florida, thought they were seeing when they bought their tickets in September? Surely not. But that’s the situation. We will give everything to be competitive, that’s for sure. ”
This match against the Panthers will be the Canadian’s first in 2022… and the last before a end. The club then had to play five straight games at the Bell Center, but since it will not be possible to sell any tickets, the Canadian asked for these games to be postponed, which was granted by the NHL. This therefore means that the next game on the schedule is that of January 12 against the Bruins, which was to take place at the Bell Center but which has been moved to Boston.
In the meantime, the Canadian will only have to try and survive against the Panthers returning from a nine-goal game against the Tampa Lightning.
“It’s a team that is explosive in attack,” noted goaltender Samuel Montembeault. If we start to make turnovers, they are able to take advantage of it, and if we open the game, they will make us pay for it. It will be important for us to play in a disciplined manner. ”
The Canadian, who has only one victory in his last 10 games, will therefore have to bet on a first trio made up of Jonathan Drouin, Nick Suzuki and Jesse Ylönen, and on a second trio made up of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Ryan Poehling and Cole Caufield.
Hills, he was a third round pick for the Canadiens in 2018. He played six games this season in the ECHL, and eight with the Rocket, before obtaining this sudden promotion.
It’s that kind of season.
“I only tried to tackle the day-to-day things by going back to the Lions,” he added. I regained my confidence in ECHL. Almost all players have to go through this, and I would say it builds character. ”