The final training camp cuts will likely not be announced until Monday, with the Canadian. However, two players can already say mission accomplished.
If management had wanted to cut them in order to give them to the Laval Rocket, attackers Michael Pezzetta and Alex Barré-Boulet should have been placed on waivers this Sunday afternoon. However, the name of neither appears in the long list of players who can be claimed by any team on the circuit.
This means that Pezzetta and Barré-Boulet will appear on the list of 23 players that the Canadian will make official on Monday at 5 p.m. The two found themselves in a fight for the last available positions. For now, they find themselves in position 12e and 13e attackers.
The accomplishment is particularly noteworthy for Barré-Boulet. At 27, the Quebecer finds himself, for the first time in his career, with an NHL position in the fall, at the end of a training camp. He has been cut from each of the previous camps he has attended with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team with whom he has played 68 games to date.
The Montmagny native showed combativeness throughout camp and visibly demonstrated that his offensive flair belonged to the NHL. We can now wonder what role we will entrust precisely to someone who, in the past, has shown shortcomings in terms of consistency.
Pezzetta will begin his fourth season in the NHL. Often a reserve last season, he has always been recognized for his commitment to the team and his teammates. His offensive potential remains limited, but he remains one of the only Canadian attackers whose main signature is robustness.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Michael Pezzetta
Assuming that defender Lane Hutson will remain with the big club, the management of the Habs will still have to cross out the names of two skaters. Defenders Adam Engström, Logan Mailloux, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble as well as forwards Emil Heineman, Oliver Kapanen and Joshua Roy can be removed without going on waivers. However, it would be surprising if Xhekaj, Struble or Roy fell victim to the ax.
Read “Canadian training camp: ten auditions under the microscope”