Montreal Canadiens: Standouts from the 2018 Rookie Tournament
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up their Rookie Tournament for the 2018-19 season and there were some who stood out more than others.
It’s tough to come out of any tournament without a single win. But that’s where the Montreal Canadiens prospects were sitting after Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. There are little to no places for moral victories in the NHL. Luckily, wins and losses aren’t the most important thing about this yearly event. It’s about how each prospect performed and progressed as the weekend went on.
It ties into the many storylines that were being focused on ahead of the weekend. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was playing well for Team Finland and Ässät this summer, and this was his chance to show the Montreal Canadiens first hand what he could do. Would any of the six camp invites, in particular, the ones Joël Bouchard was familiar with, make any impact? Could the Habs two new Czech defencemen in Michal Moravcik and David Sklenicka move the needle?
And what about Cale Fleury? The 2017 third-round pick seemed to come to rookie camp with a mission to turn pro. With training camp up ahead, there’s still plenty of opportunities to complete that goal, but the Rookie Showdown would’ve been a solid way to pedal that idea along with management.
It’s a lot of information to take away from a three-day event. The Montreal Canadiens may not have gotten all the answers they were looking for. However, there were some prospects who stood out, while others quickly fell behind.