The Canadian | Joel Armia “is rebuilding himself”, according to his trainer

Given the omnipresence of the Canadian in the Quebec media, one might believe that the players and journalists who cover the team rub shoulders a lot. In reality, these people breathe the same air for just a few minutes a day, at most.

Some players are more in demand than others, whether because of their role in the team – the captain, for example –, their ability to speak French or simply their ease in expressing their thoughts. As in politics, there is value in providing a good clip.

This therefore results in inevitable perception biases. A very talkative player becomes, in a way, a safe bet. Think, at the CH, of Johnathan Kovacevic.

Those who find themselves furthest from the spotlight will inevitably be the players who, in addition to having a limited impact on their team, are not very talkative. Non-incidental example: Joel Armia. Almost mute in front of the microphones, and not much more chatty once the cameras were turned off, he made his trademark short, almost monosyllabic answers. He remains friendly and courteous, but in his sixth season in Montreal, you know what to expect when you go to talk with him. That is to say, not much.

Monday night, the Finn scored the winning goal against the Colorado Avalanche. In this meeting and in the previous one, against the Edmonton Oilers, he was among the most used forwards on his team. His commitment was sustained and effective.

However, in the locker room, after the match, Armia, third star of the match, was absent. Because no one had asked to speak to him. And even if he had been present, would he have provided any interesting insight? We can doubt it.

Smile

A little later, during the head coach’s press briefing, Martin St-Louis said this about his big winger: “I think he’s having fun. He’s smiling, he’s playing really good hockey at the moment. »

The attacker, in fact, has good reason to smile. After he started the campaign with the Laval Rocket, flirting with 20 minutes of play is quite a turnaround. He has scored three goals in his last five games. And in the last two games, the big guns of the Oilers and Avalanche were shut out on the power play when he was on the ice. Since the start of the season, he has been CH’s best shorthanded attacker.

However, St-Louis’ remark, made about such a dark character, could open the door to different interpretations. After all, Armia himself has already said that he can be his “worst enemy” when success is not there. His confidence is fragile, an obvious paradox with the character’s apparent invincibility when he is in full possession of his means.

The day after the victory, the main person seemed amused when journalists questioned him about his coach’s comments. His smile, in fact, said it all.

We might as well immediately debunk the myth of the tormented being who runs along the walls in the corridors of the Bell Center. “The minute you get to know him, he’s really funny.” He makes jokes all the time, he smiles constantly,” says Jayden Struble.

The defender worked alongside Armia in Laval at the start of the season. According to him, the 30-year-old veteran never pouted or projected his dissatisfaction on his teammates.

At the Rocket, “everyone liked him and he played his role very well,” insists Struble.

” Good place ”

“Since the start of the year, it has been rebuilding itself a little,” said Martin St-Louis. It’s hard to rebuild yourself the right way if you’re not in the right place, mentally. He’s working on that. »

Rebuild? But still ? Compared to the time of St-Louis’ hiring in Montreal in February 2022, continued the coach. In fact, during his first season and a half behind the bench, the Quebec driver did not have much access to the best iteration of Joel Armia. Often injured, he scored 12 goals in 70 matches. He also accumulated a differential of -16, an embarrassing statistic for a striker presumed to be reliable defensively.

Since the start of this season, he has scored 7 goals in 27 matches. His +1 differential is one of the best among the regular players on the roster.

St-Louis was asked about his difficulty in predicting which version of Armia he will see in action on a given evening. The Finn, in fact, struggles to consistently deliver good performances. Even recently, The Press praised him after an inspired game. From the next, he fell back into anonymity.

“Historically, yes, but recently, no,” replied the coach about the unpredictability of his protégé. This is a good thing, but how long will it last? It is, still and always, a mystery.

In any case, Joel Armia is enjoying the good times he is going through.

“I feel good, I have a lot of pleasure on the ice,” he assured. That’s pretty much all I have to say. »

Basically, what more can we add?

Montembeault against the Devils

Samuel Montembeault will be the designated goaltender to face the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, the first game of a three-stop trip. Forward Jesse Ylönen flew with his teammates, but he had not trained with them on Tuesday morning. He was unable to finish the game against the Avalanche, he appearing to have been hit by a puck in the head. It’s unclear if he will be in uniform in Newark. If he is not ready to play, it is not excluded that Martin St-Louis deploys a formation with seven defenders, for lack of counting on additional attackers. Josh Anderson, injured in his lower body, remained in Montreal, and he could join the team on the road by Saturday. As for Tanner Pearson, who is nearing a return to play, he practiced with the team on Tuesday and will accompany them on this short trip to continue his fitness after nursing an injury to his “upper part”. body “.