Canadian 1 – Maple Leafs 2 (preseason game) | Presentations continue

(Toronto) If that wasn’t already clear enough, this 2024 Canadian training camp will be remembered as that of Lane Hutson.

We got a first clue Thursday morning, at Maple Leafs practice. Easton Cowan, a 19-year-old youngster, was questioned by local journalists about Hutson.

(Re)read our live coverage

View the meeting summary

“He competes very hard, he loves hockey and his turns are incredible. He has quite the hockey face, said Cowan. Facing it is quite difficult. You can’t rush at him, otherwise he’ll make you look bad. You have to play him to the body and look at his chest. »

It’s quite rare to hear such detailed analysis about a player with two games of NHL experience, but this is the attention the puny Habs defenseman is getting. The kind of attention usually reserved for players drafted at No. 1^er or 2^e rank, not at 62^e.

It continued into the evening. In a game between an NHL team (the Leafs) and a club full of players promised to the American League or the fourth line (the Canadian), Hutson found a way to stand out again. Montreal certainly lost 2-1, but it was still number 48 that was in question in the construction site that is the corridors of the Scotiabank Arena.

We first talked about him because of his use of 25 min 47 s, but especially 23 min 20 s at even strength, levels rarely seen during the season, even less in preparatory matches, when the minutes are distributed for purposes devaluation.

“It wasn’t the plan, but we know he’s capable of taking it. He did it at university,” recalled Martin St-Louis.

We also talked about Hutson because the Canadian head coach pushed his experiments with him. Already facing an NHL caliber team for the first time in camp, he was also transferred with Arber Xhekaj during the match. Explanation from St-Louis: “We wanted to see him on the right. »

But still? “I watch the game in general. But in the third period, Lane wanted the puck. Left or right, he wants it. […] The puck finds him a lot. »

The coach also found him in the third period. According to NHL records, he played only 6:12 in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Questions

The numbers don’t necessarily paint a flattering picture of his evening’s work. According to Natural Stat Trick, the CH controlled only 36% of shot attempts when he was on the surface. On the other hand, the chances of scoring were 3-3. And above all, it was he who was at the origin of many of his team’s offensive surges. Ditto during Montreal’s four atrocious minutes on the power play; he organized the Leafs’ only minimally sustained zone sequence.

It’s more around him that remains unclear, especially in the absence of Kaiden Guhle, still injured, but who has resumed training on ice alone. It’s easy to just take for granted that he will form a duo with David Savard, but it’s to forget that Savard can get injured or even be traded, as a player in the final year of his contract.

At the start of the match, right-hander Justin Barron was paired with Hutson. “What I like about playing with him is that we often have the puck,” said Barron. For a player who says he wants to refine his defensive game, a partnership with Hutson would encourage him to focus on that aspect.

Hutson was then paired with a left-hander, Xhekaj, and that’s where he was moved, officially, to the right side. But Xhekaj didn’t have his best game in the body. At 23, he was the oldest of the Canadiens’ six defenders in uniform, but it didn’t necessarily show.

“You can’t ask a young person like that to take [le groupe de défenseurs] in charge, pleaded St-Louis. It had to be done collectively. We had that tonight. »

Xhekaj averaged 16 minutes per game last season. Perhaps it would be prudent to limit Hutson to such playing time to begin with, but St. Louis seems to be taking a liking to exploring the limits of its rookie defenseman.

Adam Engström was in the underdog camp for a job and his inconsistent performance on Thursday won’t help him. Ditto for David Reinbacher, who should refine his art in Laval. It remains to be seen that Logan Mailloux, on leave on Thursday, against more seasoned attackers, something he did not face in his first two matches on Monday and Tuesday.

If it seems certain that Hutson will start the season in Montreal, it will be very interesting to observe the options surrounding him. The mandate promises to be interesting for anyone who inherits it during the year.

Rising: Jayden Struble

He and David Reinbacher were guilty of giving John Tavares too much space on the first goal. But for the rest, he once again proved that he deserves to start the season in Montreal.

Down: Adam Engström

His simple and precise game has often been praised. This is why his few glaring blunders were so obvious. For this player who is learning North American hockey, such a decline is not surprising in the face of NHL-level opposition.

The number of the match: 8

Like a lightning rod, Chris Tanev was the target of all the Canadiens players. The veteran defender conceded 8 of the 26 hits distributed by Montreal.

In detail

A beautiful business card for Dobes

Casually, with the departure of Jake Allen at the end of the season last year, Jakub Dobes is one injury away from finding himself in front of a net or on an NHL bench. The 23-year-old goalkeeper was therefore entitled to a “veteran” privilege: a full preparatory match. And he really did well, behind a team that was both poor and generous. In the second period, Dobes stood out in particular in front of Bobby McMann, well fed by Nick Robertson in a 2 on 1 descent. He put it back at the end of the match in front of Pontus Holmberg, to keep his team one goal behind the Leafs. This is without counting his subtle gesture of clearing the puck in the neutral zone after a whistle in the second period, in order to lower the temperature around his overwhelmed teammates. One of the referees came to shout at him, but his teammates must have appreciated it.

Nylander injured

The injury to Kings defender Drew Doughty, the seriousness of which is still unknown, was featured at Craig Berube’s press briefing Thursday noon. The Maple Leafs head coach was asked about managing risk in games that don’t count. “It’s hockey. The players have to play to find their synchrony, and they want to play,” said Berube. The question remained relevant during the match. It started with John Tavares, returning to the bench on one leg after contact with Michael Pezzetta along the ramp. More fear than harm for Tavares, who opened the scoring seven minutes later. Then, William Nylander, another attacking pillar of the club, fell after his teammate Nick Robertson pushed him to help him fall back. Nylander lost his balance and his head hit Christian Dvorak’s knee. He did not return to the game as a preventative measure, the team says. Fans of conspiracy theories will also see this as a clever plan by Robertson to secure a position in Toronto, but we won’t go there. Especially since the sequence earned him strong criticism from former player Nick Kypreos at Sportsnet.

Don’t panic!

The topic of the hour around here: a simple question asked of Craig Berube on Tuesday, after the Maple Leafs lost a second game in a row. “Is it time to panic? ”, the head coach was asked. The next day, discussion forums accused “the Toronto media” of exaggerating and raising ridiculous questions, after two preparatory games, both lost by one goal, including one in overtime. Very valid arguments, except one: there was no Toronto media at this Leafs game in Ottawa. The Toronto colleagues say they did not recognize the voice of the person who asked the question. Either way, the Leafs’ victory should calm the fake storm, even though they essentially beat an American League club.