A Winning Habit
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Top storylines to come out of Montreal Canadiens training camp

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 05: Goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens makes a pad save near teammate Shea Weber #6 and Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins during the second period at the Bell Centre on November 5, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 05: Goaltender Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens makes a pad save near teammate Shea Weber #6 and Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins during the second period at the Bell Centre on November 5, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2) Secret weapons

Scott Cowan: One of the most enjoyable parts about this impromptu training camp has been the presence of the Canadiens AHL forwards, or colloquially their “black aces” for this impromptu training camp. In total, 14 Laval Rocket players were brought on for their phase 3 camp, including leading scorer last year Alex Belzile, starting goalie Cayden Primeau, and leading scorer this year Jake Evans.

Despite the high challenge the Canadiens have in front of them when they first face the Pittsburgh Penguins on August 1st, these players have made a statement on the ice and showcased the benefits of having a coach like Joel Bouchard can have. Defensemen like Cale Fleury and Josh Brook, who have struggled on and off this season, bring their individual skillsets to the table, and forwards like Evans and Belzile bring their typical work ethic and drive.

While it remains to be seen what the Canadiens lineup looks like come August 1st, there’s a chance at least a few players from this group could see themselves slotted in.

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3) Full frontal line scramble

Max Domi came to training camp later after taking the time to assess whether he should participate or not. The Montreal Canadiens had their first three lines already set, so Julien instead made a “fourth line” out of Domi with Dale Weise and Jordan Weal along the wall.

According to the Habs head coach, we shouldn’t think of this as a usual fourth line, and it’s possible Julien rolls all four somewhat equally. This will be a departure of Julien’s usual format of traditionally only playing his fourth line about 10 minutes while saving his players on that line for penalty killing.

That said, it’s not as if the Penguins have a major drop off in ability through their lineup. Their fourth line was the best defensive line in hockey this season, so it’ll be a challenge for Domi’s line to get the edge. However, they have the offensive edge.

Another thing we may see is Julien going more for the line scrambles. Could we see Domi take shifts on left wing with Kotkaniemi? Or perhaps Domi moves up for a few shifts to play with Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia. The creative possibilities are there for the Montreal Canadiens, but it’ll be up to Julien whether or not he actually goes through with them.

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