A few hours after removing injured Mathieu Perreault and Joel Armia from his training, as well as Artturi Lehkonen, added to the NHL’s COVID-19 surveillance protocol, the Canadian recalled three attackers from his school club of the Rocket de Laval.
Quebecers Alex Belzile and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, as well as Swedish Lukas Vejdemo, were thus called in as reinforcements. The three train with CH this Sunday morning and they will certainly be on the team’s three-game trip to the New York area over the next few days.
Belzile, 30, played 8 games for the Habs earlier this season, scoring zero points. In Laval, however, he accumulated 11 points in 16 games.
For Vejdemo, this is a return to the NHL almost two years after his last game at this level. He had been involved for seven games in 2019-2020, just before the league ceased its activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was subsequently called up a few times, but never again played a game. In the American League this season, he had 13 points in 22 games.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, PRESS ARCHIVES
Lukas Vejdemo
As for Harvey-Pinard, it is for him a first recall with the big club. Choice of 7e tour of the CH in 2019, he is currently playing his second season at Laval. With the Rocket, he has 14 points in 24 games this season.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
By adding the presence of the three players to those of Laurent Dauphin and Jesse Ylönen in Montreal, five of the Rocket’s top eight scorers, including the top three, are now with the Canadian.
Paquette, Byron, Gallagher, Niku
Cédric Paquette, moreover, is not on the ice at Complexe Bell this Sunday morning. He has been placed in administrative segregation, awaiting the result of a COVID-19 test.
Paul Byron is participating in his first full training session with his teammates. He is wearing a “non-contact” sweater.
Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku also join their teammates for the first time, them who have missed the last seven matches of the CH after contracting COVID-19.