They sometimes say in the business world that you learn on the job, and that’s kind of what Luke Tuch did this weekend.
For his first professional camp, the Canadiens’ burly forward was thrown into the lion’s den in an aspect of the game he had never really experienced before: the penalty kill.
“I think I had three appearances in four years of college, seriously!” he said, astonished, after the Habs’ 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on Sunday at the Bell Centre.
On Saturday and Sunday, Tuch was a regular fixture in that phase. In Game 1, he was on the ice for one of the Leafs’ three goals. On Sunday, his unit held the opposition in check, and it was while he was in the penalty box that Toronto scored with the man advantage.
“It went well. I think the coaches wanted to challenge me,” he said. “The puck moves fast, you have to have a fast stick.”
Pascal Vincent, head coach of the U21s this week, did not want to make a big deal out of it.
“The evaluation will not be on special teams. That doesn’t mean he’ll do it in Laval, but we wanted to give each guy the opportunity to play on one of the two special teams,” explained Vincent. “We knew he hadn’t necessarily played that role before, and he still did it well.”
Whether it’s for Tuch or any other young forward, the penalty kill could be an interesting calling card. The personnel assigned to it should indeed change considerably over the next 12 months. Here are the six forwards who played the most (on average per game, 20 games minimum) in this phase of the game last year:
Jake Evans: in the final year of his contract
Joel Armia: in the last year of his contract
Rafael Harvey-Pinard: out until November, in the last year of his contract
Christian Dvorak: in the final year of his contract
Sean Monahan: Left the organization
Mitchell Stephens: Left the organization.
At a guess, Owen Beck is the prospect who could benefit the most from the potential changes, but Tuch certainly won’t hurt his chances of getting a call-up to the big club if he diversifies his to-do list.
“Mistakes”
Tuch, along with Florian Xhekaj and Tyler Thorpe, formed a trio of colossi this weekend. “I’m the smallest of my trio,” Tuch noted, a little amused at his 6’3 and 209 lbs.
The unit produced another goal, like Thorpe’s Saturday. But Xhekaj lost a faceoff and a battle in the corner that both led to a Leafs goal. So Tuch wasn’t hearing any trumpeting in the locker room Sunday.
“I made a lot of mistakes,” the American said. “I was on the ice for three of their goals, I also caused two penalties, but I took one. And I was on the ice for a goal that we scored. I’m all over the score sheet! I don’t know how the coaches make their decisions, but even if I made a lot of mistakes, my effort was there.”
Goals and points
Thorpe, for one, was hard to miss on Sunday. First, at 6’5, he stands two inches taller than anyone who wore a blue, white and red jersey this weekend. Second, the 5-foot-5 picke CH tour last June proudly displayed a series of stitches on his nose, the result of a playful check by Braeden Kressler on Saturday.
Amazingly, Thorpe didn’t suffer a broken bone. “I had some stitches and I have some scars as a souvenir. I call that a successful weekend!” he said.
Thorpe laughed at this, which validated what Pascal Vincent was going to add a few minutes later.
“Everyone has their own little story in four days. In his case, yesterday was the big failure. I don’t know if you saw it, he’s battered! Today, how he reacted… He’s only 19 years old.
“Yesterday he scored a National League goal. Today he went to the net. His skating technique is excellent, he has a good shot, he is physically involved. He left a good impression.”
Thorpe will logically wear the colours of the Vancouver Giants, in the Western Junior League (WHL), this season. Since he was drafted at 19, he could make the jump to the pros as early as next season. It’s up to him to leave a favourable impression this fall.