Montreal Canadiens: Standouts from the 2018 Rookie Tournament

Will Bitten

Watching him in junior, there were always signs of him being a threat at higher levels. He had a less than ideal performance in the playoffs with the Hamilton Bulldogs, but one thing that’s always been consistent about Will Bitten was the speed behind his game. It allowed him to bypass defending players and breakaway creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates. Sound familiar?

But it’s more than his speed. The high pace that he plays out make him a dangerous player out there, and particularly annoying for the other team. Bitten stood out on the ice for both games consistently and the clear highlight of the weekend for him was during the Leafs game.

After picking up the puck in the neutral zone, the 2016 third-round pick took off beating three Leafs players to the net. Zachary Bouthillier made the initial save, but the puck trickled down allowing Cole Fonstad to score after the resulting traffic in front. It’s that type of speed that can lead to a lot of offence at any level, and with that in combination with his work ethic, Bitten should be able to have a productive rookie season in the AHL.

You always look for progress from a player every year. Bitten stood out at last year’s tournament and did the same thing at this one, but even better.

Cale Fleury

He only got a single game, but I liked what Fleury brought to the table. The physical element that he brings to his playing style was effective when it counted. What stood out the most was his play along the blueline. He wasn’t as mobile as another defenceman I’ll be mentioning later, but Fleury activated off the point at times skating in to get a shot on net.

Additionally, he had the confidence to skate low to help establish pressure in the offensive zone and got back in time to secure the defensive line. Sample size hurts here. However, Fleury did the things that will work in his favour come training camp.