Montreal Canadiens: Looking Further into the Camp Invites

The Montreal Canadiens released the roster for rookie camp yesterday, and there are six invites who fans may not know much about.

It’s interesting how much a tryout can be intriguing to a team’s fanbase sometimes. Obviously there’s more excitement around the team’s own prospects, but a camp invite can bring up a lot of questions. Who are they? Where did they come from? What can they do? Why were they given the chance to tryout? These are some of the questions Montreal Canadiens fans may have after the rookie camp roster was released.

The Habs have handed out six tryouts at rookie camp. Five of them are forwards and one is a goaltender. All save for one played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Something to take note of is that the majority of those forwards are centers. This could be an attempt from management to address the lack of depth at that positions.

Montreal did well in drafting two centers at this year’s draft in Ryan Poehling and Joni Ikonen. Poehling may decide to finish all four years at St. Cloud State, but Ikonen may be in North America as early as next season. Other notable centers in the organization include Michael McCarron and Jacob de La Rose.

We’ve, looked at young goaltender Antoine Samuel, so we’ll breakdown the other five invites to the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp.

Alexandre Alain

It’s been an eventful career for Alexandre Alain so far. The year before his draft year, he had a tumor in his back that he needed surgery for. It was a successful procedure, but it kept Alain from being able to train. He was eligible to be selected in the 2015 NHL Draft after a 27 point season. Unfortunately, he was passed on the next two.

Even after his breakout season this past year. The centerman led Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in scoring with 29 goals and 23 assists. He’s a more well-rounded player that also brings physicality and responsible play to his game. The only downside is that there aren’t really any size of high-end skill in Alain.

Now that he’ll be 20 going into this season, it’ll be a slim chance that he’ll be selected in his final year of eligibility in the NHL Draft. Alain may have two for-sure options. Either go back to junior for an overage year with the Armada, or try to earn himself a contract somewhere.

Alexandre Goulet

Alexandre Goulet had the best offensive year of his junior career this past season. Goulet is another center at camp, but he’s averaged sized standing at five-foot-eleven and 190 pounds. His two-way game and skating has seen improvement over the years, so much so that his coach trusted him to play in all situations.

Jordan Boucher

Jordan Boucher saw a different route than the other camp invites. He finished playing his four years at Clarkson University in the NCAA. The left-winger’s college career didn’t start too well in his first two seasons. However, he turned it around in the final two. In his senior year, Boucher had 10 goals and 16 assists in 30 games at Clarkson.

He’s another responsible workhorse type of player who commits to a system in all three zones. After his college years of hockey ended, the Binghamton Senators gave him a tryout with the team at the end of the season. They took a long look at Boucher allowing him to play nine games to finish out a losing year for Binghamton.

Maxime Fortier

This is where Montreal Canadiens fans may have their eyebrows raised. When it comes to Maxime Fortier, the first thing that stands out is his offence. The right-winger made a pretty big name for himself on the Halifax Mooseheads.

The last two seasons have been his best. In the 2015-2016 season, Fortier finished with 31 goals and 46 assists. The year after (2016-2017), he broke out in scoring with 32 goals and 55 assists. Despite all of that, Fortier was passed on at the draft. Although, he did that playing with Nico Hischier. If you don’t know who that is, he’s a top center who went first overall to the New Jersey Devils at the 2017 Draft.

There have been discussions on his success and why he’s yet to get drafted. Gare Joyce did an article for Sportsnet on high scoring prospects, in particular Fortier, and their transition into the NHL saying:

"There have been other guys who tore up major junior, especially the Q, who were thought of as just good juniors and when given a shot in the pros the holes in their game showed up. It’s usually an undersized forward, a guy who you’d say isn’t a plus or plus-plus skater. A guy who won’t be able to get separation at the next level. We’ve seen that all before."

However, we’ve yet to see what Fortier can do at the next level. If he can stand out at this camp, perhaps Habs fans we’ll get a chance to see if he can keep up.

James McEwan

Injuries have been a big thing with James McEwan. Two years ago, he missed time with high ankle sprains and this season started with a broken jaw. The 20-year-old attended the Pittsburgh’s Penguins rookie camp last year but is hoping the same result wont happen with the Montreal Canadiens.

Unfortunately, he’ll have to do a lot more to stand out from the other camp invites. McEwan a solid shot and great speed to match it. Additionally, he’s made efforts to improve his overall defensive game which is an important attribute for a center. McEwan had 19 goals and 20 assists in 58 games for the Guelph Storm.

They’re far from the most attractive stats, but there’s a drive in McEwan that may help him at camp. If not, it’ll be another year of junior.

Next: Montreal Canadiens Release Rookie Camp Roster

Which camp invite are you excited to see? Will any of them earn a contract or a spot at main camp? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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