Free washer | Canadian Camp: favorites and disappointments

The Canadian’s training camp is coming to an end. There are a few days of training left in the Laurentians and a match on Saturday, but the evaluation is almost over. There will be no big surprise, except Mattias Norlinder, whose presence no one expected so late in this camp. However, his chances of starting the season in Montreal still remain low.

Here is the portrait at the time of the team’s departure for Tremblant. There are still four cuts to make. In bold type, candidates for demotion. Players marked with an asterisk may be sent back to the minors without being subject to waivers.

If goalie Cayden Primeau is placed on waivers, the Canadian will be able to keep 14 forwards and 7 defensemen, or 13 forwards and 8 defensemen. If we opt for a menage a trois, we will have to remove an additional attacker or defender. Make your choices!

• Caufield-Suzuki-Monahan
• RHP-Dach-Slafkovsky
• Anderson Newhook-Gallagher
• Pearson-Evans-Armia
• Ylonen
• Heineman*
• Pezzetta

• Matheson-Guhle
• Harris-Savard
• Xhekaj-Kovacevic
• Lindstrom
• Norlinder*
• Barron*

• Montembeault
• Allen
• Primeau

Who was surprised at the camp? Who disappointed? Let’s limit ourselves to players 23 and under, since we must give the veterans time to gain some momentum, although Brendan Gallagher’s lack of speed seemed even more obvious this year.

crushs

Alex Newhook

This exchange was greeted with skepticism by some. But giving up a late first round pick (31^e) and second round (37^e) really constitutes an exorbitant price given the fact that the chances of seeing a player drafted in these waters become a top player are of the order of 15%? Newhook, 22, disappointed in Colorado last year in a role he wasn’t yet ready for, at second-line center, but he still had 33 points in 71 games in his first full season, at 20 years. He showed us a lot of speed in preparatory matches, a good sense of anticipation, a lot of aggressiveness and great passing skills.

William Trudeau

This 20-year-old defender, drafted in the fourth round in 2021, has made enormous progress over the past year. We were hesitant between sending him back to the junior ranks or keeping him in the American League last year. He was regularly removed from the lineup in Laval at the start of the season, before becoming a pillar of the Rocket. He flew through the rookie tournament and offered great performances in preparatory matches. He is a very mobile, resolutely offensive defender who sometimes even acts as a fourth attacker. He was cut before Justin Barron and Mattias Norlinder, but leaves a good impression.

Mattias Norlinder

Norlinder was not in the plans. He even played a supporting role last winter in Laval. We liked his work in intra-team matches and we gave him interesting partners for the preparatory meetings. Norlinder played confidently at the point on the power play. We note an improvement in his defensive game. He gives Martin St-Louis an interesting option at the start of the season or later, if CH needs a good back for the second wave on the power play. He is expected to be cut by the end of the weekend, but that he is still with the team at this point comes as a surprise.

Kirby Dach

Dach is already a young veteran despite his 22 years and we felt even more confident this year, after a successful first season in Montreal last year. A great bond seems to be developing between Juraj Slafkovsky and him. Rafael Harvey-Pinard completes this trio well. Will we be able to say for a long time that Nick Suzuki is the number one center and Dach the number two, or will we eventually talk about two good offensive centers?

David Reinbacher

Not to mention a blast, this first-round pick, fifth overall in 2023, showed great confidence on defense for an 18-year-old. We see an intelligent, mobile defender, a lot of dog, who must gain confidence and muscular strength during the winter in Switzerland.

Deceptions

Justin Barron

This right-handed defenseman obtained from the Colorado Avalanche for Artturi Lehkonen, in addition to a second-round pick in 2024, had a good second half of the season last winter after his recall from Laval, but we saw the Barron again draft from the previous year in preparatory matches. However, he had a position to lose due to the shortage of right-handed defenders. Let’s see if it survives the latest cuts.

Emil Heineman

Many saw him as a candidate for a regular position, some even dared to make him a candidate for the right winger position within the first line, but there was the acquisition of veteran Tanner Pearson, and Heineman did not nothing done at the camp to thwart the plans of the management. Heineman, 22 in November, can be sent back to the minors without being placed on waivers, making him a likely candidate for Laval within a week. He scored seven goals in eleven games late in the season for the Rocket. It’s up to him to stand out in Laval and move up the hierarchy.

Filip Mesar

We no longer have many illusions with Mesar only a year after being chosen in the 26^e rank of the first round. Mesar is a fairly skilled small forward with a puck, smart, but not very fierce in his one-on-one battles, still weak defensively and not very fond of sticking his nose into more dangerous areas for the body. He’s not explosive enough to get away with these shortcomings. Mesar, 19, could even return to the junior ranks this winter if he doesn’t impress Jean-François Houle during the Rocket’s training camp.

Jordan Harris

Harris had his best preseason game against the Maple Leafs on Monday. It was time. In his defense, he had the role of big brother in a duo with Logan Mailloux. Harris, a third-round pick in 2018, is a smart and fairly mobile defender, skilled in transition, but we are still looking for a dominant quality. Is he an offensive defender? Defensive? Let’s let him play a second full season, time will tell.

Sean Farrell

Farrell joined the Canadian at the end of last season preceded by a great reputation. This 5-foot-9, 175-pound winger had a 53-point season in just 39 games at Harvard University in the NCAA, breaking USHL (the American junior circuit) records two years earlier with 101. points in 53 games, participated in the Olympic Games and two World Championships with the Americans. Even though he revealed that he had gained muscular strength during the summer, we saw essentially the same player as last year: frail, weak in his battles for the puck, rather on the periphery. Lots of work to do in Laval.

A surprise at Bruins camp?

The departure of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci leaves a gaping hole in the center of the Bruins lineup. They may have found a solution faster than expected. Young Matthew Poitras, a second-round pick, 54^e in total, in 2022, is having a brilliant training camp, after a season of 95 points, including 73 assists, in 63 games in Guelph, in the Ontario Junior League.

This right-handed center is not the strongest at 5 feet 11 inches and 170 pounds, but he has incredible vision of the game and surgeon’s hands. Brad Marchand even dared to compare him to Mitch Marner this week…

Poitras scored another goal on Tuesday, in 18:27 of use, as part of a trio with Marchand and Trent Frederic. Barring a surprise, he will at least start the season with the Bruins. Meanwhile, the 2021 top pick has already been returned (21^e in total), winger Fabian Lysell, in the American League.