A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Scouting the competition for the Rookie Showdown

By Omar L

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 08: Montreal Canadiens Forward Antoine Waked (97) and Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman Timothy Liljegren (78) fight for position in front of Toronto Maple Leafs Goalie Ian Scott (70) during the preseason Rookie Tournament game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens on September 08, 2017 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 08: Montreal Canadiens Forward Antoine Waked (97) and Toronto Maple Leafs Defenceman Timothy Liljegren (78) fight for position in front of Toronto Maple Leafs Goalie Ian Scott (70) during the preseason Rookie Tournament game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens on September 08, 2017 at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 09: (Photograph by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

To the Next Level

Filip Chlapik and Christian Wolanin will be two players to keep an eye on as well. The former made his professional debut in the minors last season after playing three years in the QMJHL with the Charlottetown Islanders. Chlapik was one point shy of leading Belleville in scoring with 11 goals and 21 assists in his rookie year. He also played 20 games in Ottawa that saw him score his first NHL goal, but only add three (3) more assists to it.

The nitty-gritty elements of Chlapik’s game need some work (defence and skating), but he’s continued to show sparks of a highly skilled playmaker.

Wolanin, on the other hand, is in a similar camp as Brown and Tkachuk. The 23-year-old completed his NCAA career at the University of North Dakota and will be looking to extend that 10-game window he got at the end of last season. Wolanin is an offensive-minded defenceman who likes to carry the puck and jump up in the oncoming rush. That could work with skilled forwards ahead of him, but consistency has been an issue for him so far.

The rest of the roster may also be looking to duplicate what Parker Kelly did last year. Kelly was an undrafted player out of the WHL last year who worked his way to a contract with the Senators last September after an impressive performance at camp. Ottawa has nine invitees attending who may follow suit including Nicolas Mattinen from the Hamilton Bulldogs.

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