Canadiens: Potential Surprise Players to Watch out for in Training Camp

Well, Zac Rinaldo has found himself with an NHL contract once again, and as was expected, I guess? It wasn’t with the Montreal Canadiens. It wasn’t likely Rinaldo would have signed in Montreal anyways, but regardless the 31-year-old forward will continue to bring his usual physicality and energy come 2021-22, after signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Rinaldo has always been an intriguing case to me, having played 374 NHL games thus far in spite of a limited skillset and mostly outdated style of play. After bouncing around the OHL for four seasons with fairly unimpressive numbers, Rinaldo was picked up in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. After just one full season with the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms, Rinaldo made the Flyers roster out of training camp in 2011-12 and hasn’t looked back since, for the most part.

While he’s had the occasional stint in the AHL, including all of the 2016-17 season with the Providence Bruins, Rinaldo has managed to crack NHL rosters time and time again in spite of being, in many ways, a product of the NHL’s now long gone enforcer era. While players like Ryan Reaves continue to find regular shifts and fourth-line minutes, Rinaldo doesn’t have anywhere near the on-ice presence of Reaves, yet is about as hardworking as they come, and now has a fairly solid chance to crack a rebuilding Blue Jackets roster come next season.

Leading on from that, Rinaldo’s career got me thinking about some of the other underrated players on the Canadiens roster going into training camp, some of which I feel could surprise many in either making the Canadiens opening night roster, or seeing the occasional call-up, cup of coffee, or even regular role down the line. So, with that being said, here’s a look at some players who could surprise many, come the Canadiens next training camp, for 2021-22.