Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Phase 3, Phase 4, Injuries, Openings on Defence, First Week of Training Camp, Noah Juulsen, Cale Fleury, Brett Kulak, Xavier Ouellet
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens hit the ice at Complexe Sportif Bell on Monday for the first time in four months. It feels great to being able to write that once again.
It looked like the players were as happy to be back as much as the fans are excited to see them. I can’t blame them considering the Return to Play plan is giving them a chance to take part in hockey again this season.
“It’s good to get back out there on the ice and do what we love and share a goal here in the next few weeks of getting ready and enjoying some playoff hockey,” said captain Shea Weber on the opening day of camp.
“It’s good to be back. I see players and coaches who are excited. It’s like starting a new season. The fact that we’re in the postseason makes things even more exciting. We know that at the pause, our chances weren’t high. But we’ve qualified for the postseason, and we shouldn’t shy away from that fact,” added Claude Julien on Tuesday.
The first week of camp was primarily focused on getting the players physically ready to play. The coaching staff had the roster on the ice five days last week, with Thursday being an off-ice workout and a complete day off on Sunday. The team was split in two for a scrimmage on Saturday.
“I’ve appreciated the focus and effort I’ve seen from the players. We’ve had some great practices this week. It’s been four months where we haven’t done anything, so for sure the guys are excited to be back playing. But the pace has been good all week. What I’ve really liked is how excited they are to be here,” said the satisfied coach following Saturday’s practice.
Injuries
On the eve of the start of training camp, The Athletic had reported that at least three players had tested positive for COVID-19. On Monday, the publication updated their report, advising that two of the three players turned out to be false positives.
The organization didn’t comment the situation as per the National Hockey League’s (NHL) policy for Phases 3 and 4, which states that all communications about injuries and anything related to COVID would be handled by the league.
Brett Kulak and Xavier Ouellet have yet to hit the ice since the start of training camp. Ouellet participated in Phase 2 up to two days ahead of the start of camp, while Kulak wasn’t part of any groups in the voluntary phase. Even though the NHL’s policy encourages it, I don’t want to speculate on their absences. I will leave you draw your own conclusions.
In another odd situation, Philip Danault, Ryan Poehling, Victor Mete, Cale Fleury, and Cayden Primeau have been separated from the group and been skating on their own since Friday.
“There’s circumstances that were presented to us a few days ago that forced us to use this format,” explained the coach on Friday. Even if he wanted to, Julien couldn’t divulge any more additional information due to the NHL policy.
Openings on Defence
Barring any significant injuries before August 1st puck drop, in my opinion, the biggest question marks are on defence. Based on the pairings from the first week, it looks like Ben Chiarot will be paired with Weber, and Mete will be paired with Jeff Petry. The third pairing is up for grabs. I believe that Noah Juulsen, Fleury, Christian Folin, and Kulak are the front runners to grab the two available spots.
If I was running the organization, I would give Juulsen and Fleury the first opportunity to play versus the Penguins. Unfortunately, it would mean that one of the two would have to play on the left side, but I think the experience alone would make it worth it for both young players.
Juulsen has missed significant amount of time over the last two seasons due to injuries. “I played the last game in Laval [before the pause], and I’ve felt great since then. I’ve had no problems, no issues, no setbacks, nothing. I’m happy the way everything has gone, and I hope it keeps going that way,” said the 23-year-old on Friday.
“I just got to go out there every day and do the best I can. Staying sharp, keep working on my timing, just being hard to play against,” Juulsen evaluated on how to earn a spot.
“What I like about him at the moment is that he’s able to keep the rhythm at practice. He looks confident, and he looks like he’s having fun on the ice. For a guy who has faced that kind of adversity, I like the direction he’s going in,” said Julien on Wednesday.
Fleury has recently been watching some of the games he played with Montreal. “I felt like maybe I was getting a little comfortable and not taking everything 100 percent, like I would have been at the start of the year when I was still fighting for a spot,” was his evaluation of his play prior to the demotion. Fleury would need to replicate his mindset from last year’s camp in order to earn the coach’s confidence.
In my opinion, Kulak and Folin will get the first chance to play versus the Penguins assuming they are both healthy. Julien made it clear last week that he will be coaching to win.
“Our organization’s philosophy and the approach that we’re taking is simple, and is staying the same. We will put the best team together that we think that will help us to win,” said Julien on Wednesday.
The coach has historically relied on veterans when he’s coaching to win. This trend doesn’t give a good chance to the young defencemen to get the call for August 1st game.
The Phase 4 camp is different than the traditional training camp that’s help in September prior to the start of the regular season. A traditional camp includes five to seven exhibition games in which players have an opportunity to win the coach’s confidence. It was from the pre-season games, that Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, and Fleury earned spots in their rookie seasons over the last two seasons.
There will only be one exhibition game ahead of the qualifying series, in which Julien should dress his regulars in preparation for the five game series against the Penguins.
Canadiens Connection podcast
These issues and other current Habs topics were discussed in this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen and subscribe!
By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2020 Rocket Sports
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