(Laval) If there is one element that is slowing down the Canadiens in their recovery, it is the special teams. Since Martin St-Louis took over in February 2022, the team has come to 31e NHL ranks in power play and penalty kill.
However, the power play will now be the direct responsibility of the head coach, St. Louis announced Monday.
Alex Burrows has stepped down as an assistant coach and will not be replaced behind the bench. Burrows was in charge of the power play, which will now become St. Louis’ responsibility.
“When Burr left, I wanted to take care of it. I didn’t feel the need to bring a coach into that department,” St. Louis said at the Canadiens’ annual golf tournament.
There will be one new addition to the St. Louis staff, though. It’s Roger Grillo, a 60-year-old American who was an assistant coach at the University of Vermont when a young St. Louisan wore the Catamounts’ colors. Grillo will serve as a consulting coach, for what will be his first official mandate in the professional ranks, according to his profile on the Elite Prospects website. He has worked so far in the NCAA and for USA Hockey.
“I was looking more for someone who would be an extension of the staff, I was looking for someone older,” St-Louis described. “Roger brings experience that I found very adequate for the position. And we’ve known each other for a long time. He will help all the departments so that I can do my job better, considering that I will also take care of the power play.”
St. Louis will of course try to design new play patterns, but part of the improvement of the five-man attack will also come from Cole Caufield. The small forward finished last season with an efficiency percentage of 8.9% on his shots, half of his 16.5% from the previous campaign. On the power play, he scored nine goals, which earned him a tie at 43e NHL rank. Last season, Caufield was recovering from shoulder surgery, while this summer, no injuries or surgeries have slowed him down. “A full summer without rehab was good for me. I was able to focus on my training and I feel good going into the season,” the youngster said.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Cole Caufield
Caufield was meeting the media for the first time since announcing his number change. He will now wear No. 13 in tribute to Johnny Gaudreau, who tragically passed away last month and was an inspiration to Caufield as a smaller player. “He was a special person to me and to the hockey community. It’s special for me to continue his legacy. […] Everyone knows him from the outside and last year I was able to play and spend time with him. He is a special person who inspired a lot of people.”
Joshua Roy was among the participants in the golf tournament. In the past, such news would have caused a stir; it should be remembered that in 2019, Ryan Poehling was invited, given his only game of NHL experience. Roy’s case is all the more intriguing because he was exempt from rookie camp, even though he only played 23 games in the big league. Except that Roy wasn’t the only one in his camp. Several players who would logically be expected in Laval this season were also there, including William Trudeau, Xavier Simoneau and Brandon Gignac.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Patrik Laine (center)
A funny moment when Patrik Laine arrived in front of the cameras. The Canadian newcomer was the first player to address the media, after Geoff Molson, Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis had done so. The catch: Laine, 6’5″, spoke immediately after St-Louis, who was a tad shorter. So the communications staff had to take a moment to raise the microphone, which was about at Laine’s belly button. “You should put it a little bit higher,” the Finn said, clearly concerned with his choice of words.
Laine already had at least one friend among his new teammates: Joel Armia. The two fellow Finns even arrived in the same car for the tournament. “I don’t have a car here yet, so he’s my driver,” Laine joked. The two giants met in Winnipeg, where Armia was still playing when the Jets drafted Laine in 2016.
David Savard’s influence over his teammates has been highlighted many times. Kirby Dach did so once again during his press conference. The big forward looked back on the difficult 2023-2024 campaign he had; difficult in the sense that he played 4 periods and missed the other 242 of the season. “I spent a lot of time with a lot of guys, especially David Savard. He got injured early in the year, so we spent time together. Then it was D-Vo [Christian Dvorak]. The whole team supported me and my mother came to live with me for three or four weeks.