Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Development Camp, Kaiden Guhle, Logan Mailloux, Jan Mysak, Emil Heineman, Ty Smilanic, Justin Barron, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Montreal Canadiens development camp began on Sunday with tests and off-ice workouts in Brossard. A total of 40 players will participate at development camp that will run through Wednesday at the Bell Sports Complex.

The organization’s 11 picks from Friday’s NHL Entry Draft are part of the group of 23 forwards, 12 defencemen, and five goaltenders present for the four days. Forward Jan Mysak is not at development camp as he will take part in Czechia’s camp later this week in preparation for the World Junior Hockey Championships

The Canadiens invited coaches Charly Washipabano, Kirk MacDonald and Simon Ferguson to participate in the development camp as instructors. Defensemen Kaiden Guhle, and Logan Mailloux will not take part of the on-ice activities starting on Monday due to injuries. The club has organized seminars about sports psychology, sports science and fitness for the participants.

Up front, Emil Heineman and Ty Smilanic will dress in ‘bleu blanc rouge’ for the first time since their acquisition via transaction from the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers last season.

On defence, Justin Barron has recovered from his ankle injury that forced him to miss the end of the season. The defenceman played five games with Montreal after being acquired in a trade from the Colorado Avalanche.

Qualifying Offers

The opening of free agency on Wednesday will draw a lot of attention around the hockey world. According to CapFriendly, Kent Hughes has approximately $1.9-million of cap space with 20 signed players on the roster.

Before the frenzy, teams have until 5:00 pm. Eastern on Monday to tender qualifying offers to their restricted free agents (RFA). Qualifying offers range from 100 to 110 percent based on the player’s most recent salary.

The Canadiens need to tender qualifying offers to the following players in order to maintain their rights. A player becomes an unrestricted free agent if a qualifying offer isn’t received.

Forwards: Kirby Dach, Michael Pezzetta, Rem Pitlick, Nate Schnarr, Joel Teasdale

Defencemen: Kale Clague, Josh Brook, Corey Schueneman

Goalies: Samuel Montembeault, Cayden Primeau

Rocket Sign Veterans

The Laval Rocket signed two veterans to AHL contracts. On Wednesday, forward Danick Martel signed a one-year contract. In 2021-22, he recorded 33 points in 70 regular season games, and in the playoffs, he collected 15 points in 15 games.

“I know my NHL career is over, unless I have several brilliant seasons in the coming years. At 28 years old, my role is to be a leader in the AHL. It’s a league that I know well, and that I have always performed in,” Martel spoke about his future at the end of season conference.

On Saturday, the Rocket announced the signing of forward Brandon Gignac to a two-year contract. Gignac registered 26 points in 48 regular season games, and nine points in 13 playoff games.

Jean-Francois Houle values veterans on the team that understand their role as leaders. “A player that knows his place in the organization, that has had a chance in the NHL and knows that the AHL is his league now, and is ready to help the young players, have dinner or talk to them when they’re struggling, those players are really important,” said the coach at the end of the season.

Simon Payette was appointed Laval’s equipment manager on Wednesday. Payette has been with the team since 2020. He will take over the role as Eric Levesque left the organization.

Lions Veteran Honoured

The Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) announced that Mathieu Brodeur of the Trois-Rivieres Lions has been named the recipient of the PHPA/ECHL Player Representative of the Year Award for the 2021-22 season.

The award recognizes the efforts put forth by PHPA Player Representatives throughout the season. Brodeur was the Lions player representative, and was also one of the alternate captains.

“It is truly an honour to be recognized with this Award,” said the defenceman via statement. “Communication between players and the team and league is so important and I have always tried to educate my teammates and help them out as best I can.”

The defenceman collected 19 points in 69 games last season. Brodeur has played 620 games in the ECHL and AHL since 2009.

On Thursday, the Lions announced that their equipment manager Jean Huynh has left the organization. Huynh was the 2021-22 recipient of the ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year Award.

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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