The Montreal Canadiens are heading in full-throttle to training camp this season, and with no preseason, training camp should be as intense as ever.
No more waiting, no more plans and no more targets. The Montreal Canadiens officially start their 2020/21 season with training camp opening up at the Bell Centre, and it should be one full of intensity, and most importantly, internal competition.
All the cliches of “enjoying exhibition games because they help solidify timing and execution” are out the window. There isn’t going to be a preseason and the closest thing the Habs will get to the legitimate competition of an NHL night are inter-squad games. But that isn’t an excuse for any part of the roster to take a seat back.
There are six new faces on the Montreal Canadiens this season (seven if you count Alexander Romanov, but he was with the team during the bubble). And those new faces create more congestion for roster spots. There are several battles at training camp this season, not only for regular roles in the everyday lineup but also for the taxi squad.
First impressions will be everything. Claude Julien is known to make up his mind about a player fairly early while still giving them room to change their perception. A positive example of this is Victor Mete, who stood out to Julien at the 2017 Rookie Camp and Tournament. Mete’s play earned him not only his NHL debut but doing so on the top pair next to Shea Weber.
A negative example is Alex Galchenyuk, who didn’t perform well after returning from injury when the Montreal Canadiens just hired Julien. Galchenyuk didn’t do himself any favours the following season, and the perception of him didn’t change much either.
Players like Ryan Poehling are in that awkward grey area of needing to stand out. After being kept out of games by being unfit to play (fitness-wise), the 2017 first-round pick has a lot to prove. Not only is it his 22nd birthday, but Poehling is also in the final year of his entry-level contract.
If you’re wondering how it came up so fast, well, that’s the blessing and curse of having a college prospect join a team late in the season. Poehling signed his deal in March of 2019 but had a year of it automatically burned. It was worth it given his NHL debut, but now one of the biggest milestones of his career is right around the corner, and he is by no means guaranteed a spot on the regular roster or taxi squad.
Romanov is walking into training camp with a positive aura around him. The coaching staff seem to already be in love with what the young defenceman can bring, and although he’s pencilled in on the third pair, that leash is long. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if Romanov gets a few looks with Weber, just to test it out and see if it’s possible.
Again the key idea here is quickness. There isn’t a lot of time for bubble players to stand out, and there isn’t a lot of time for bubble players to steal a spot. Every drill, play, and scrimmage game matters. And unfortunately for those on the outside looking in, there isn’t a lot of time to send a message.