2018 Memorial Cup champion Olivier Galipeau was expected to attend the Montreal Canadiens development camp but later wound up with the Boston Bruins.
When the Montreal Canadiens released their roster for development camp, there were two omissions that caught people’s attention. The first was goaltender Samuel Harvey who Jérôme Bérubé – QMJHL scout for hockeyprospects.com – linked to the Habs in a tweet. The second was Acadie-Bathurst Titan defenceman Olivier Galipeau.
Harvey was later revealed to be added to the team’s list wearing number 40 at camp. However, the same couldn’t be said for Galipeau.
TVA Sports reporter Mikaël Lalancette announced on Twitter that the 21-year-old would join on a try-out basis. But things got complicated once this started to flow around.
Acadie-Bathurst defenseman Olivier Galipeau added to the mix at #NHLBruins development camp today. Wearing #56
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) June 27, 2018
It’s hard to say that it was a tough loss for the Montreal Canadiens as they didn’t necessarily have him, but the situation was weird nonetheless. How could Galipeau be at the Boston Bruins camp when we thought earlier that the Habs would be his destination.
Lalanecette clarified the three-piece story. Olivier expected to be at Montreal’s development camp, but the Bruins came in last minute with a contract offer. It’ll be a one-year deal in the AHL with the Providence Bruins according to WEEI Sports Radio Network.
Should Marc Bergevin have sent a deal Olivier’s way? Maybe. The plan could’ve been to see what he’s capable of first hand before making that decision and offer the Montreal native an offer afterwards. Overage seasons are hard to track, and you can never be sure. On the other hand, it may have been a risk worth taking. One year isn’t too much of a commitment.
Surely other players at camp will stand out. Olivier is a good player, but the Habs have to focus on the names they have in front of them.
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