The Canadian | Observations on the first day of camp

The sixty or so players present at the Tricolore training camp are divided into three groups, two of which faced each other in an intra-team game on Thursday. Here are the random notes from our two journalists on site.

The trio of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky were reunited from the start. “Why would we have done it any differently?” Caufield asked afterward. Good question indeed. The three quickly found their bearings. The only goal from their unit was Slafkovsky’s, following a nice high pass from Caufield. – S.-OL

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Kirby Dach was paired with Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook on this first day on the ice. Let’s just say that the connection wasn’t exactly natural. It’s important to note that Dach hasn’t played in almost a year and that Laine played his last game on December 14, 2023. “It’s not going to be perfect the first day,” Cole Caufield warned. “They’re smart players, they’re going to find each other.” – S.-OL

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The Canadiens are trying a new format this year. Intra-team games will be played in a rotational tournament format. On Thursday, Team 1, led by Nick Suzuki, faced Team 2, with Kirby Dach as the first center. On Friday, Team 2 will face Team 3, which has Christian Dvorak and Jake Evans as veterans at center, and Mike Matheson on defense. Saturday will be 1 vs. 3, and the top two teams in the standings will face off in the final on Sunday, while the last-place team will have to undergo a vulgar training session. – GL

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“Nobody wants to be on the team that’s just going to practice,” said Nick Suzuki. Good news for him, his team has already taken an option on the final by triumphing 4-2. – GL

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Of course, it was a game devoid of any kind of robustness and in which only half the players were NHL players, but Lane Hutson still put on a very good show. The young defenseman distributed the puck with authority, and he didn’t put himself in difficult situations from which he couldn’t get out. “It was like he’d been here 10 years!” exclaimed forward Alex Barré-Boulet about him. The real test for Hutson will come Monday during the first exhibition game. The encouraging signs, however, are piling up. – S.-OL

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We talk about the lack of robustness, mind you, but the same Hutson caused a bit of a surprise by checking Alex Newhook in the first period, which Newhook didn’t seem to appreciate too much. A rivalry to follow. Note to the muddy gossip sites on the CH: no, this is not a real rivalry. – S.-OL

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Luke Tuch was one of the few who didn’t get the memo to ease off on the physicality. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound guy made ample use of his presence. And rather than picking on the smaller guys, he stayed in his weight class and was particularly aggressive with Patrik Laine. On another shift, his fighting spirit allowed him to steal a puck from Arber Xhekaj and get his line buzzing. – GL

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If his signature fake is anything to go by, David Savard is in mid-season form. The game was only a few minutes old when the defenseman took Slafkovsky down at the blue line. The Lane Hutson effect, already? – S.-OL

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The Slovak looked better at the end of the game, when, in the same sequence, he first blocked a shot with a cry of pain, then took the puck out of the corner of the rink by bouncing it a few times on his stick, like the cowboy in Power Play 2. An action that you would never see in a real duel, but which amused everyone on site. – S.-OL

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Development coach Francis Bouillon had warned earlier this week that defenseman William Trudeau would be ready to face the music at training camp. He didn’t lie. The Quebecer, an overlooked candidate among the aspirants for open defensive positions, played with confidence, which reminds us that this isn’t his first barbecue. He notably scored a nice goal following a clever pass from Filip Mesar. A case to follow (for real, this time). – S.-OL

Guhle out for start of camp

Kaiden Guhle will miss the start of the Canadiens’ training camp. The Canadiens’ defenseman underwent an appendectomy. According to the team, he will be re-evaluated in a week. The Habs will play their first preseason games next Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Guhle should logically miss these games. The CH also added the name of defenseman Jacob Paquette to its camp roster. The 25-year-old athlete played for the Trois-Rivières Lions and Queens University last season.