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Roundup: What should the focus be for the Montreal Canadiens at training camp?

By Omar L

BROSSARD, QC - JUNE 28: Montreal Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen (56) battle for position with Montreal Canadiens defenceman Josh Brook (46) during the Montreal Canadiens Development Camp on June 28, 2019, at Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BROSSARD, QC - JUNE 28: Montreal Canadiens prospect Jesse Ylonen (56) battle for position with Montreal Canadiens defenceman Josh Brook (46) during the Montreal Canadiens Development Camp on June 28, 2019, at Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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BROSSARD, QC – JULY 04: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Emmanuel D: I’m most excited to see how Ryan Poehling. I think he has a lot to prove after his first NHL game against the Leafs last season. I think he’ll want to show management and the coaching staff that it was not a fluke and that he can perform consistently in the NHL. Obviously, he won’t be scoring 4 goals a game, but if he can play a solid two-way game and rack up some points along the way, I think he can earn that spot.

Poehling is also physically prepared for a role in the NHL which will help a lot during the Rookie Tournament to outplay others on the depth chart.

Omar White: It’s moments like these where injuries are really unfortunate because my answer would’ve easily been Joël Teasdale. Sure Nick Suzuki and Josh Brook are at the top of the prospective hype, but Teasdale is a player who isn’t talked about enough. His injury will see him miss both the tournament as well as a portion of the regular season and it would’ve been interesting to see how he fairs in the AHL.

But if it’s not Teasdale, Gianni Fairbrother is my next choice. Fairbrother was one of five defencemen taking at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver, and he really stood out at development camp. The second scrimmage game saw the most of his ability using both his speed and skating to produce offensively including two clear snipes

Related Story. Fairbrother's Scoring Ability. light

Fairbrother will be an entertaining player to watch at the tournament and hopefully he doesn’t hold anything back.

Now for who has the most to prove, it’s definitely Suzuki. He has a clear path to play for the Laval Rocket this season, but if he wants to push further and land a spot on the Montreal Canadiens, he has to dominate. Suzuki needs to look like he doesn’t belong all tournament, similar to how Poehling looked at development camp and how Victor Mete looked at his own Rookie Tournament two years ago.

Suzuki made the OHL look easy last season, especially in the playoffs, and if he can do that against all these prospects, it’ll check off another box for Claude Julien to give him an opportunity.

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