(Laval) The Canadiens’ training camp will open Wednesday in Brossard, and according to Martin St-Louis, there will be positions at stake.
“There are always positions available,” explained the Canadiens coach Monday on the sidelines of the club’s golf tournament in Laval-sur-le-Lac. “It’s up to the players to force our hand. Even when they think there are no positions, there always are. They have to force our hand and try to steal a chair.”
The Montreal driver did not want to give more details, but we can probably say that it is in defense that the most intense fights could take place during the team’s next camp.
Read our chat as part of the team’s annual golf tournament
Already, youngsters Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson and David Reinbacher have been able to get noticed at the rookie camp, Hutson in particular, who is starting to generate a lot of expectations for him.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
David Savard
David Savard, at 33 years old, the oldest member of the team on the blue line, looks favorably on all these youngsters who will be arriving in the scene and who will try to cause a surprise in the coming days.
“Our young guys are continuing to learn,” the veteran defenseman explained Monday. “There’s an improvement curve that we saw every game last season, and that’s why we’re so optimistic right now. We’re happy to see the kids going, and they’re just going to continue to get better. This is a group that’s ready to learn. There’s not a single kid in there that thinks they’re someone else.”
“I would say it pushes guys to keep pushing themselves. Our young defensemen are very talented players, they will fight for spots in camp. There are some who will make the team, others who won’t, but that’s the reality of the game. It’s fun to see how well prepared they came in.”
The defensive struggles will therefore be worth following, which is undoubtedly good for the suspense, because elsewhere, it could be calmer.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Patrick Laine
So, in front of the net, there will be no intrigue to be expected, unlike a year ago. In attack, the arrival of Patrik Laine could lead to a second trio completed by Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. Joshua Roy, who was not invited to rookie camp, therefore seems to be part of the plans for next season.
Of course, Laine and Dach’s names came up a lot in the questions and answers on the sidelines of the golf tournament. Martin St-Louis pointed out that the club didn’t steal the show on the free agency market this summer, but that may not be a bad thing.
“We’re not starting from scratch and we haven’t made a lot of changes,” the coach noted. “I like our continuity, we’re familiar with each other, and I think that’s something that helps us.
“I’m very enthusiastic about our team… We had a good summer with the contracts we gave to our players, we acquired Patrik [Laine]we have Kirby Dach coming back… there are several reasons to be excited.”
And despite all that, despite the beautiful promises and the hopeful phrases at this time of year, when everyone except Toronto can aspire to the Stanley Cup, Martin St-Louis also recognizes this inescapable truth: in the end, and after all that, it’s on the ice that it will be decided.
“We want to see how we stack up against the rest of the league… I really liked how we were able to compete in this league last season, so this will be an opportunity to see where we are. We’ll draw conclusions at the end of the season.”