Brossard – The Montreal Canadiens held their final intrasquad game at training camp, a perfect opportunity for players on the cusp to make a difference before the preseason begins.
Smart and competent
As he has throughout his career, smooth-skating Kaiden Guhle took his chance and secured his place as a top contender for one of the open defense positions.
If Guhle is to make the roster and stay on the roster for the rest of the season, he’ll have to prove to the coaching staff that he can make NHL-level decisions. And that’s exactly what he did.
As usual, his skating shone brightly as he joined the game on several occasions, but more importantly, he did so at the most opportune times. But even when a forward covered his position during a pinch, Guhle still showed his fantastic defensive awareness, turning on the jets and neutralizing the threat before the opponent reached a highly dangerous goal area.
Pre-season will determine whether Guhle remains the best defensive contender at camp, but given how well he’s played in camp so far, it’s hard to imagine a situation where his maturity and stoicism would let him down.
As it stands, there’s a very good chance Guhle will find himself on the Montreal Canadiens blue line on October 10th.
Guhle jumped in the rush but absolutely loved the rush for him to come back and disturb whoever was going back the other way. pic.twitter.com/kRc8p1h4q2
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) September 24, 2022
Kirby Puck-ett
Newcomer Kirby Dach has slowly but surely revealed why Kent Hughes was interested in his services. The young center appears to have all the necessary tools to eventually develop into an NHL-level impact player.
Kirby Dach was fantastic in that scrum. Score a goal here with good hands.
I’m not sure how Rem Pitlick got that pass but he did it. pic.twitter.com/x6XhFl06aS
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) September 24, 2022
On Saturday he made the most of his 6’4″ frame, causing chaos in front of the net and creating scoring chances for his linemates which we didn’t see on Friday.
His puck protection was on point, an encouraging sign as he tended to lose the puck a little too easily in previous scrimmages.
Dach also displayed the kind of skating you would never associate with a player his size. He’s not a good skater for a big guy. He’s a good skater, period. This allowed him to generate a string of controlled offensive zone entries, a trait that will serve him well as he attempts to write the next chapter in his fledgling NHL career.
It’s starting to become clear why Jonathan Tows was so upset about the trade.
Better late than never
Jan Mysak had a relatively calm development camp, a relatively calm prospect challenge and a very calm training camp ahead of today’s action. He’ll be playing for the Laval Rocket this season, and if he’s going to make an impression with AHL affiliate Montreal Canadiens, he’ll need to find some consistency in his game.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have the sorts of skills that don’t translate to the professional game, but he does need to improve his timing, both when it comes to driving the game onto the ice and anticipating where his linemates are will be.
Mysak finally found his rhythm on Saturday, displaying the same skills that served him well with the Hamilton Bulldogs last season.
Nice setup from Jan Mysak, who I think was the best player for Team White here.
Two great saves by Desrosiers to keep it out. pic.twitter.com/izsruPuCPB
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) September 24, 2022
Lavalagher 3.0
We already know that Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Xavier Simoneau will drive their opponents insane this season in the AHL, and now we can add Anthony Richard to the list of annoyingly effective players at Laval.
His work ethic and skating allow him to wreak havoc on the forecheck, but more importantly, he does so without crossing the line, mitigating times when his team faces understaffing.
Get your tickets for the pest show now in Laval, ladies and gentlemen. It will be fun.
Heinemann!
We don’t know exactly where Emil Heineman will play this season, but we do know he’s likely to score a ton of goals with his NHL shot.
However, he needs to show the organization that he can do more than just score goals.
He delivered on Saturday and showed great puck protection and fantastic awareness on the ice. He also showed decent speed, which will help convince management that he’s more than just a strong shooter.
Emil Heineman with a little jump from a turnover. Can’t finish. #Have pic.twitter.com/6xwO5VTBUr
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) September 24, 2022
The Canadiens return to action tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. EST for their annual Red and White game at the Bell Center.
#Canadiens #Camp #Notes #Guhle #Dach #leave #tracks
Leave a Comment