MONTREAL, QC — Mitch thinks all the attention given to training camp scrimmages and exhibition games is silly. Like his mentor, Red, he doesn’t darken the door of the press box for exhibition games. We’re hockey purists, he’ll argue.
Brian doesn’t see much in the new Canadiens roster to be excited about, writing that he sees the team missing the playoffs by 7-to-10 points. I bet he won’t be attaching a car flag to the CTV van. He is so unenthusiastic about the team that most of his piece focuses on a “hero” who was last in uniform for the Habs four months ago, on May 24.
Don’t tell Brian, but his hero was unimpressive on Tuesday night allowing three goals on 18 shots. That’s a save percentage of .833.
Contrast the rather ho-hum attitude of the mainstream media to the exuberance of every fan I encountered in the days prior to the Canadiens first exhibition game. Their comments were rather consistent. The Habs returning to the ice was akin to air returning to their lungs.
Ben in Winnipeg was set to wear his brand new Cammalleri jersey to watch the pre-season contest against Boston. Tracy in Vancouver painted her nails bleu, blanc et rouge for the occasion. Robert in St. Lambert took the morning off work to meet the cable guy so he could see the broadcast.
Thousands of Canadiens supporters trekked to Brossard over the past few days to sit in the stands for scrimmages or to line the glass to study players doing drills. There is a story to be told and Habs fans can’t get enough. In their opinion, the off-season has been two months too long and they are ravenous for their Habs.
But as the pre-season begins, what should we be watching for? Most “experts” suggest that the Canadiens opening-day roster is set with injuries creating the only openings. But there are issues to keep an eye on during the exhibition schedule. Let’s examine a few.
Three young players who have had the best training camp so far are Lars Eller, Alexander Avtsin and Ben Maxwell.
- Is Eller the only player of the three who will be in the opening day line-up?
- Who will be the first forward called up from Hamilton in the event of a need? Maxwell? Avtsin? Pacioretty? Palushaj?
Speaking of Eller, on Tuesday he practised on a line with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and the trio looked very good. Line combinations don’t mean a great deal in training camp because the coaches are experimenting for the most part.
But it is an interesting question to ponder. Eller is known as a playmaker but has a good shot with a very quick release. He can also bring an element of physicality to the line that is not in Benoit Pouliot’s repetoire. Pouliot has been virtually invisible at camp.
- Is playing on the wing with Gomez and Gionta, Eller’s job to win?
Jeff Halpern was signed by the Canadiens for his face-off expertise, his willingness to block shots and the ability to play on the penalty-kill. He has practised on a line with two other natural centers, Tom Pyatt and Max Lapierre.
- Can Halpern, Pyatt and Lapierre form an effective shutdown line for the Canadiens?
Avtsin has been a wizard with the puck at both the rookie and regular training camps. He can escape checks, protects the puck well and fights to get into good shooting positions. At times, he has been matched with David Desharnais and Ryan White.
- Will Avtsin, Desharnais and White play on the top line in Hamilton this season?
Carey Price is the number one goaltender for the Canadiens and should be in line to start 55-to-60 games. Alex Auld is penciled in as the backup but has looked a little rusty so far. Curtis Sanford has been rather ordinary. Robert Mayer has been the most impressive of the three goalies behind Price.
- While he will start the season in Hamilton, will we see Mayer dress for the big club at any time this season?
With the departure of Georges Laraque, the Canadiens do not have a designated heavyweight. Some will argue that the position has been vacant for some time with Laraque’s unwillingness to stand up for his teammates. The organization will have some guys who can handle themselves stationed in Hamilton such as Alex Henry, Andrew Conboy, Ian Schultz and Jimmy Bonneau.
- Will the Habs call up a tough guy during the season and who will it be?
With Roman Hamrlik and Andrei Markov slated to miss games at the start of the season as they recover from injuries, there may be an opening for a seventh defenseman. Yannick Weber likely has the inside track.
- Does Weber or Mathieu Carle start the season with Montreal or will Markov or Hamrlik be ready to go when the puck is dropped in Toronto on October 7?
That’s enough to think about for now. I look forward to your comments.
We will pose more questions as we go through the exhibition season. There is no doubt that you will be interested and watching. When they drop the puck, I know that you’ll be saying “It’s about time!”
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The following rosters were announced by the coaches for the Bruins vs Canadiens at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday night.
Montreal Canadiens
Goaltenders: Carey Price and Curtis Sanford
Defensemen: Jaroslav Spacek, Josh Gorges, Hal Gill, Yannick Weber, Jarred Tinordi, Frédéric St-Denis.
Forwards: Tomas Plekanec, Michael Cammalleri, Benoit Pouliot, Maxim Lapierre, Travis Moen,Tom Pyatt, Jeff Halpern, Louis Leblanc, Gabriel Dumont, Aaron Palushaj, Benjamin Maxwell,Andrew Conboy.
Boston Bruins
Goaltenders: Tuukka Rask, Nolan Schaefer
Defensemen: Matt Bartkowski, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Johnny Boychuk, Matt Hunwick, Adam McQuaid, Dennis Seidenberg
Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Gregory Campbell, Jordan Caron, Nathan Horton, Brian McGrattan, Daniel Paille, Mark Recchi, Jeremy Reich, Max Sauve, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Spooner, Blake Wheeler
(photo: CTV-Montreal)
Palushaj has been playing with Cammy and Pleks. Another guy Pouliot has to look over his shoulder too. In that quasi-power forward way, Palushaj and Pacioretty (though I loved Patches when he played with Lapierre) just like Eller have the means to make Pouliot uncomfortably insecure on the roster.
Pre-season purists should just enjoy it. The games are meaningless warmups but you get to see the kids play. Leblanc and Tinordi are the obvious headliners tonight!
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