Canadiens: 3 Players at Rookie Camp Who Will Play For Habs This Year

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The Montreal Canadiens begin their annual rookie camp today which is the first step towards dropping the puck on the 2021-22 season.

It was not long ago we were watching the Habs in the Stanley Cup Final, but a very busy offseason of change has a different looking group gearing up for this season.

The main training camp will not get underway for another week, but today it is the prospects turn to take centre stage at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

There are 27 players, ranging from recent first round draft picks like Kaiden Guhle to the 11 players that were invited to tryout. Those players have a chance to sign an AHL contract and start the year with the Laval Rocket, but most are likely destined for another trip back to their respective Junior club or possibly starting the year in the ECHL to begin their pro careers.

The camp begins today with medicals and media availability from the players, and they will then hit the ice for each of the next six days. This includes practices and training sessions in Brossard as well as a pair of exhibition games with the Ottawa Senators rookies and a game against a team of Canadian University All-Stars.

The camp will be run by the organization’s AHL coaching staff, led by Laval Rocket head coach Jean Francois Houle and his team of assistants, Kelly Buchberger, Martin Laperriere and Marco Marciano.

While many of the participants are destined to head to lower pro leagues or back to Junior, there are a few players in attendance that could be playing games for the Canadiens this season. Let’s take a look at the three most likely players to stand out at rookie camp and actually play NHL games this season.

Rafael Harvey-Pinard

The Montreal Canadiens decided to take a chance with an overager in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft.

Instead of selecting an eligible 18 year old, the Habs went with Rafael Harvey-Pinard who was passed over in 2018, but scored 40 goals and 85 points in 66 games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to catch the attention of Canadiens scouts.

Last season was Harvey-Pinard’s first as a pro and he had a great rookie AHL season with the Laval Rocket. The 5’9″ and 173 pound left winger showed he could play a scrappy style well above his stature even at the pro level. He was one of the smallest players on the team but he wasn’t pushed around in the American Hockey League.

Harvey-Pinard’s dogged determination on the ice and his offensive ability earned him many comparisons to Brendan Gallagher last season. He became widely known as the Rocket’s version of the Canadiens assistant captain, and he finished the year with nine goals and 20 points in 36 games.

The Canadiens are quite deep on the wings entering the year, but every team has to deal with injuries at some point.

Expect Harvey-Pinard to stand out against his colleagues this week, and when the Habs need reinforcements midseason, expect Harvey-Pinard to be one of the first beckoned from the Laval Rocket.

Kaiden Guhle

Kaiden Guhle had an odd season as far as the back of hockey cards go in 2020-21. He was supposed to be a cornerstone of the Prince Albert Raiders blue line, but the WHL season kept being delayed because of Covid-19.

Eventually, Guhle was allowed to skate with the AHL’s Laval Rocket while waiting for the WHL to decide whether it would have a season or not. When December rolled around, Guhle was off to World Junior camp for most of the month leading up to the tournament held in Alberta in late December and early January.

Then, after just one weekend with the Raiders in January after the WHL season finally began, Guhle was injured and missed the remainder of the year.

By the end of the season, the 2019 first round draft pick had played three games for the Laval Rocket, two games for the Prince Albert Raiders and seven games for Canada at the World Juniors.

It’s not often a player plays more games for his World Junior team than any other team.

Though it was an odd year for Guhle, he performed well at each level. He is still just 19 years old and is eligible to return to the World Juniors this season. Though I fully expect him to return to the Raiders for the WHL season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a terrific rookie camp followed by a strong training camp and then start the year with the Canadiens.

In 2016-17, first round pick Mikhail Sergachev played four games with the Canadiens before being sent back to Junior. Guhle could be given the same treatment just to get his feet wet at the NHL level.

Jesse Ylonen

Jesse Ylonen was a second round pick of the Habs in 2018 and he is by far the most NHL ready of anyone in attendance at rookie camp. Since being drafted three years ago, Ylonen has been playing pro hockey.

He has suited up for a total of 127 games in Liiga, Finland’s top pro league and made his way to North America last season when the AHL got underway and played 29 games for the Laval Rocket. The Finnish right winger scored nine goals and 17 points with the Rocket last season.

He even made his NHL debut when the Habs were dealing with injuries late in the season. He suited up for one contest with the Canadiens last season and is the only player at rookie camp with NHL experience.

Ylonen is still just 21, which is why he is still attending rookie camps, but he has a wealth of pro experience compared to the rest of the attendees. If there were captain’s named at camps like this there is no question Ylonen would be top of the list.

The Canadiens are deep on the wings, with Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallager, Josh Anderson, and one of Joel Armia, Tyler Toffoli or Mike Hoffman depending on the lines, ahead of Ylonen on the right side of the depth chart. But, with his defensive awareness and offensive production, Ylonen will be on the short list of call ups when injuries strike at the NHL level.

A lot of fans might think Mattias Norlinder belongs on this list, but with his contract in Sweden running through the 2021-22 season, I think the Canadiens will elect to send him back to the SHL before the NHL season begins to allow him one last full season of development before giving him a great opportunity to make the Canadiens in 2022-23.

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