There are players who are afraid of Montreal, the C, and the pressure that comes with it, but Nick Suzuki is not one of those players.
When the Canadian approached him during the summer to offer him the prestigious letter from the captain, Suzuki did not really hesitate. Of course, he was going to wear it, this C, because for him, it was in the order of things.
“I spoke to different people about it, he explained Wednesday morning in Brossard. I spoke to Shea [Weber], to others who carried the C before him. A captain of the Canadiens, what does that have to say, do what? I answered yes, I accept, and very quickly, I felt comfortable in this role…”
Comfortable ? You could say that, indeed. This season, the 23-year-old forward has already collected 19 points in 16 games, and he is very well positioned to exceed his peak of 61 points, obtained last season.
If there’s pressure that comes with that C, Nick Suzuki doesn’t know about it.
I never felt that this role was too big for me. I feel that I was able to stay who I am, that I was able to continue to do things in my own way, and I also think that it is for all these reasons that the management chose to give me the C.
Nick Suzuki
“It’s a huge honor, of course, but I would be the same guy without this letter. I just want to be a leader for this team. There are a lot of guys with character here, I rely on them, we talk to each other every day. We respect each other, we have fun. We want to play to the extent of this rich past…”
Suzuki, a native of Ontario, admits himself that he did not know all of the history of the Canadiens before arriving in Montreal in 2019. But he put his nose in the history books of the club, he asked questions when he met the elders, in the corridors of the Bell Centre.
“I set out to learn about those who came before us… It’s a privilege and a pleasure to play here. We see how much the supporters support us, love us.
“There’s more pressure here, obviously, and there’s more media, but I think everyone should have that pressure in order to be able to win and get good results. That’s what we have in Montreal. We sometimes hear stories about players who don’t feel any pressure, like [Max] Pacioretty had explained it about Vegas… In Montreal, when you arrive at the arena every day, it is expected that you can win, and that you can play well. In my opinion, it allows us to stay on our toes, and to provide maximum effort. »
Obviously at this rate, we’re going to start talking to him about the possibility of a 100-point season, and obviously Nick Suzuki is already well aware of this reality. “I imagine it’s possible, but it’s going to take me a very good season… and also a bit of luck. We’ll see. »
He did not know that Mats Naslund is the last member of the club to have been able to break the 100 point mark. He knows it now.
“What year was that?” In 1986? OK, it’s been a while…”
Matheson is on the trip
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Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson
Mike Matheson is about to take part in a match, finally. The defender, obtained during the summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the trade including Jeff Petry, has still not played this season, but it will not be long. He took part in training with the Canadiens with the regulars on Tuesday, and then traveled to Columbus, where the Canadiens will face the Blue Jackets on Thursday night. It was impossible to discuss the situation with Matheson at the end of Wednesday’s training, the management of the Canadian having decided not to make it available to meet the journalists, contrary to the directives of the NHL, where it is expected that a player participating in training in a regular jersey must be able to meet the media.
For Drouin, “a problem of comfort”
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Jonathan Drouin
The news fell Tuesday evening: Jonathan Drouin will have to miss four to six weeks due to another injury. What is special in this case is that the Canadian mentioned an injury suffered on November 5 at the Bell Center, which means that he was able to take part in three games despite this injury. Finally, Drouin had to retire after Saturday night’s game at the Bell Center against Pittsburgh. “It’s a problem of comfort, I don’t know to what extent,” explained Martin St-Louis on Wednesday. I don’t know if it’s something he made worse. The coach also confirmed that Samuel Montembeault would be in goal for the Canadiens this Thursday evening.