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Montreal Canadiens: Who is Aleksi Anttalainen and what does he bring?

By Omar L

BOISBRIAND, QC - NOVEMBER 24: Aleksi Anttalainen #4 of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada skates against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on November 24, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
BOISBRIAND, QC - NOVEMBER 24: Aleksi Anttalainen #4 of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada skates against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar during the QMJHL game at Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau on November 24, 2017 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 5-3. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
BOISBRIAND, QC – NOVEMBER 24: Montreal Canadiens Aleksi Anttalainen (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

The Montreal Canadiens went back to their development camp pool for their invites at rookie camp, but Aleksi Anttalainen is a new name to the group.

Camp invites are always interesting to track. History has proved time and time again that the draft isn’t the only way to work your way into the NHL, and sometimes a career picks up steam after a few appearances at camps. The Montreal Canadiens, like other organizations, make fair use of their invites and have given young players opportunities.

Think back to Alexandre Alain. The 21-year-old was at last year’s development and rookie camps, and after a stellar year as captain of Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, the Habs signed him to a three-year entry-level contract. The same thing can occur with this new crop of players if they show growth that is worth investing in.

Montreal has six invites for this year’s rookie camp. However, we’re familiar with five of them.  Brandon Hagel, Alexander Katerninakis, Joel Teasdale, and goaltenders Stephen Dhillon and Samuel Harvey were all at development camp last July.

Hagel was a Buffalo Sabres sixth-round pick responsible for a lot of offence in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels. Unfortunately, an upper-body injury held him to 56 games last season, but he managed to score 18 goals and 41 assists. Buffalo chose to leave him unqualified ahead of the deadline in June and Hagel re-entered the draft walking away without a team.

Katerinakis and Teasdale are former Armada players who will have an easier time adjusting with Jöel Bouchard behind the bench. Both wingers bring an effective layer of speed and awareness to their game. The former, however, has a little more sandpaper to go with him. Teasdale had a career year in the Q with 32 goals and 33 assists and stepped up as a sure threat in the tight areas around the net.

The goaltenders are on opposite spectrums of size. Dhillon stands at 6’4″ while Harvey is 6’0″. Both goalies are fast and have quick reflexes to make saves. Dhillon is a very aggressive player which sees him make a lot of those ‘highlight reel diving’ stops which are great to watch but may not transfer over well.

But these are the players we do know, so who is Aleksi Anttalainen?

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