Growth on the Backend
Many are expecting Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen to take a step. Mete shocked a lot of people in playing well enough to make the team last season. His usage took a turn for the worst after spending most of his time with Weber on the top pairing.
Mete will likely be back on top with Jeff Petry, and hopefully, he shows up looking ready to take the NHL by storm. The 20-year-old should have responsibilities on the second power-play unit locked up already. It’s his overall play that needs improvements.
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Juulsen made his NHL debut late last season and impressed the coaching staff almost immediately. He did the impossible in making Karl Alzner look more comfortable and in many ways more sturdy on the blueline. The 21-year-old was smooth on the ice and never appeared to panic or second-guess himself. He was also playing responsibly enough to earn minutes on the penalty kill which is a role he hopes to be given more this season.
Training camp could be a partial indicator of how the efforts to improve for Mete and Juulsen playout.
Mike Reilly is another name who could use a nice training montage. The Habs received him at the trade deadline for a fifth-round pick, and he was used immediately on the backend. Rielly stood out as far as his shot generation went, but he was a bleeder in terms of shots against. He may be a solid option for the third-pairing if he sorts that out. Otherwise, Julien will go to Jordie Benn for it.