By Rick Stephens, Editor-in-Chief, All Habs Hockey Magazine
BROSSARD, QC. — The Canadiens opening day roster is set. So some would have you believe. But don’t tell Gabriel Dumont.
The Habs fifth round pick from 2009 (139th overall) is using training camp to grab the attention of coach Michel Therrien hoping to stay with the big club for more than the 10 games that he did last season. Dumont played 55 games in Hamilton scoring 16 goals and 15 assists in 2012-13.
The 22-year-old centre made his presence known during the first intra-squad game of this year’s training camp. Fans collectively held their breath as Dumont upended Andrei Markov in the corner of the rink. Markov wasted no time pasting Dumont into the Brossard glass.
Undeterred, Dumont continued his feisty play throughout the game. His targetting system may require some fine tuning before the season begins — the undersized centre took the worst of an attempted hit on defensemen Jarred Tinordi. But Dumont’s energy was noticeable in a very spirited practice.
An opening for Dumont may come at the expense of Ryan White who found himself in the coach’s doghouse at times last season. White left practise with a cut over his right eye after being hit by the errant stick of Greg Pateryn. One would think that White will be on a rather short leash as the Canadiens season begins.
Defenseman Nathan Beaulieu also was injured during Thursday’s scrimmage. Beaulieu suffered a shoulder injury after being knocked into the boards awkwardly by Charles Hudon. White won’t likely miss any practise time but Beaulieu’s injury could be another story.
The scrimmage was an intense affair, certainly far more than expected for the first on-ice session. Newcomer Nick Tarnasky was on the receiving end of hits from youngsters Tinordi and Mike McCarron. Max Pacioretty delivered a solid hit to Christian Thomas that seemed to sting the diminutive winger.
With most of the Canadiens players reporting to camp in good shape, Tarnasky was one notable exception. The designated Bulldogs enforcer was clearly winded at times in the later parts of the game.
The two-period contest ended 2-2 with goals from Michael Bournival and Louis Leblanc for Team Red, while Markov and Erik Nystrom tallied for Team White.
The four goaltenders who played also garnered some of the spotlight. Carey Price robbed Alex Galchenyuk who failed to convert an open side chance. Dustin Tokarski prevailed on a P.K. Subban penalty shot. But the biggest applause of the day was for Peter Budaj making a great save on a David Desharnais breakaway.
At each training camp there seems to be a common set of talking points that are magically circulated by the mainstream media. At the last full camp in 2011-12, the story was that Raphael Diaz was the best thing since sliced bagels and heir apparent to Andrei Markov. As we know, that didn’t exactly pan out — Diaz proved to be a defensive liability and his offensive production was, let’s just say, inconsistent.
This year, you will hear a lot about the rebirth of Louis Leblanc. The former first-round pick followed a mediocre season in 2011-12 with a terrible performance in 2012-13. Many will excuse his 10 goals in 62-games with Hamilton last year blaming an early-season ankle injury.
Leblanc is a very smart player which helped mitigate his physical limitations in his junior years. But those have proved harder to overcome in the pro ranks. Leblanc reportedly worked on his sub-average skating in the off-season which is long overdue. But at times on Thursday he appeared frustrated by his inability to create separation between himself and defenders.
It’s clear that Leblanc will be afforded every opportunity to succeed this year by the coaching staff (and the media.) But it will be up to the 22-year-old to begin to show signs that he was worthy of being selected 18th overall in the 2009 draft. The clock is ticking.
The bottom line is, that contrary to popular belief, this Canadiens training camp matters. It’s a fact that more than a few players have realized.
Team Red
Bourque – Plekanec – Thomas
Galchenyuk – Eller – Gallagher
Bournival – Dumont – Blunden
Reway – Leblanc – Tarnasky
Subban – Gorges
Bouillon – Murray
Pateryn – Beaulieu
Budaj – Mayer
Team White
Pacioretty – Desharnais – Briere
Nystrom – MacAulay – McCarron
Hudon – St. Pierre – Andrighetto
Moen – White – Prust
Markov – Diaz
Tinordi – Drewiske
Lashoff – Nygren
Price – Tokarski