Alexandre Alain is drawing interest from several NHL teams, and the Montreal Canadiens will have to put up their best offer to get sign him to a contract.
A lot of fans were up in arms after the Montreal Canadiens missed out on signing Alex Barré-Boulet out of the QMJHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning had that honour while the Habs watched a late-bloomer prospect get picked up from their backyard. As good as Barré-Boulet has been this season, the Habs still have a chance to bring in talent from close by, one of which they are fairly familiar with.
Remember Alexandre Alain? The 21-year-old was part of the Montreal Canadiens for development camp and signed an amateur tryout ahead of the 2017/18 season allowing him to take part in the Rookie Tournament in Toronto as well training camp. Alain had decent numbers in the QMJHL league the year before, but nothing out of the ordinary for a player his age.
Unfortunately, Alain didn’t do enough to stick around and was released from his tryout. He did have a nifty goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Alain beats Scott low and the Habs prospect take the lead 3-2! pic.twitter.com/xrRK545RSe
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla) September 9, 2017
Alain returned to Blainville-Boisbriand Armada as team captain and struck fire in a new season. He finished the regular season with 44 goals and 43 assists on Barré-Boulet’s right-wing easily forming one of the most dangerous lines in the Q. Alain’s production hasn’t fallen off in the playoffs as he’s currently second in scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists in 9 games.
Quand le capitaine Alexandre Alain marque, son coéquipier Alex Barré-Boulet lui donne un câlin... et un bisou? ;) #JembarquedanslArmada #SeriesLHJMQ pic.twitter.com/RVvrI2dljU
— ArmadaBLB (@ArmadaBLB) April 11, 2018
The Armada are still going for the championship as they’re set to face the Charlottetown Islanders in the semi-finals. However, his performance in the post-season hasn’t calmed the buzz around him. An article by Le Journal de Montreal included some notes on the free agency process coming Alain’s way.
According to the piece, the young forward would like to play for the Habs as it would fulfill a childhood dream. However, he’s not discounting the idea of taking the best hold of the best opportunity. It’ll be an interesting set of events to track especially as the team’s head coach in Joel Bouchard has been linked to the organization as well.
Either way, Alain has talent and the skill to play in the pros one day, and it would be discouraging to see the Montreal Canadiens fall short on this chance as well.
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