Canadiens: Three Battles to Watch For The Remainder of Training Camp

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The Montreal Canadiens began training camp over a week go and with so many players with NHL experience on the roster, it wouldn’t have been difficult to guess at least 20 of the 23 players that will make up their opening night roster.

We have seen them play just two of their six preseason games so far, but nothing has really shifted this line of thinking from day one of camp. We haven’t seen anyone unexpectedly steal the spotlight and look like they are ready to suddenly steal a top nine forward spot away from a veteran.

We also haven’t seen a veteran struggle to the point it looks like they may surprisingly find themselves on waivers and lose their job to a rookie.

Some things are pretty much set in stone already. Carey Price and Jake Allen will be the team’s two goaltenders and Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli, Cole Caufield, Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans and Joel Armia will be the team’s top nine forwards. This is pretty much what we would have guessed from day one, especially once we found out Mike Hoffman was going to miss the beginning of the season.

So much for a drama filled training camp.

There are a couple of battles to keep an eye on in the coming days as the players skate in their final four exhibition contests. There are no first line roles up for grabs, and we know what the goaltending tandem will be at the NHL level, but there are a few things to watch for in the coming days.

Let’s take a look at the three biggest battles going on in camp and what we should be keeping a close eye on over the final four exhibition games before the 2021-22 season begins on October 13th.

LAVAL, QC, CANADA – MARCH 13: Michael McNiven (Photo by Stephane Dube/Getty Images) /

Michael McNiven vs Kevin Poulin

Like I already said, there aren’t a lot of major roles up for debate, even this early in training camp. We know what the top line is and likely what the top three lines are and there is no question that the goaltending duo is set in stone.

The defence, well that depends, but we will get to that in a minute.

Once the 23 man roster is selected, and everyone else makes their way to either the Laval Rocket, their respective Junior team or back overseas, the Rocket will have one really difficult decision to make in goal.

We know Cayden Primeau will be their starter after he took the starter’s role last year and was playing really well down the stretch. But who will be his backup?

Either Michael McNiven gets to stay in the AHL for good, or veteran Kevin Poulin steals the role.

McNiven is a 24 year old who played 13 games with the Rocket last season and had decent numbers. He remains an interesting prospect who hasn’t been given a consistent place to play so it would be great if he could serve as Primeau’s backup and play 25-30 AHL games this season.

He will have to beat out 31 year old Kevin Poulin for that role.

Poulin has bounced around European pro leagues the past few years and has returned to his home province to either play for the Laval Rocket or the Trois-Rivieres Lions of the ECHL. He has played 192 games in the AHL and has 50 NHL games under his belt, so he certainly has the edge in experience, but do the Rocket need a 31 year old backup?

It will be interesting to see which one of McNiven or Poulin gets to start the year in the AHL and which one becomes the first starting goalie in Trois-Rivieres Lions history.

Apr 6, 2019; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens center Ryan Poehling. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports /

Ryan Poehling vs Cedric Paquette

Okay, this one is at the NHL level, but it is the 12th forward spot. I already named the top nine forwards and I’d be shocked if Artturi Lehkonen and Mathieu Perreault were no also on the ice to play the first game of the regular season.

That leaves one spot up for grabs and it will be up to Ryan Poehling to prove he deserves it over Cedric Paquette.

Poehling was a first round pick in 2017 and has a couple dozen NHL games of experience. He played last year with the Rocket and was terrific, scoring 25 points in 28 games and playing a tremendous defensive game as well.

It will be up to him to show over the final few preseason games if he can bring that two-way game to the NHL.

If not, the job will be Paquette’s who is a serviceable veteran that would fill the role just fine. The 28 year old could step in an win face-offs, play a reliable defensive game and kill penalties. He won’t add much offence as he scored eight points in 47 games last season.

It is Poehling job to win, which would push Paquette to 13th forward, but if Poehling doesn’t play well in the next four games, he could find himself in Laval to begin the season.

Feb 10, 2021; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Alexander Romanov Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

Alexander Romanov vs Kaiden Guhle vs Mattias Norlinder vs Joel Edmundson

No one would have debated with you if you suggest the Canadiens defence pairings would be Joel Edmundson with Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot with David Savard to begin the season.

However, that is not how they lined up on opening day of training camp and Edmundson doesn’t seem to be progressing from whatever injury he is dealing with at the moment. If Edmundson can’t play to star the regular season, things are wide open on the blue line.

Alexander Romanov has been playing with Petry on what would be the team’s top pairing. Instead of Chiarot and Savard being paired, each of them have a youngster by their side. Savard has been playing with Kaiden Guhle and Chiarot was with Mattias Norlinder until he was sidelined with an injury. He has since been replaced with Sami Niku.

I can’t see both of Guhle and Norlinder making the team to begin the season, but if Edmundson’s injury lingers then one of them could very well be on the ice in the regular season opener.

Even if Edmundson does return soon, there is a chance the team looks to balance out its defence pairings by putting Petry, Chiarot and Savard on different pairings. This would open up a top four spot for Romanov or either Guhle or Norlinder to steal. It would also make it easier on Guhle to play third pairing minutes if he had a veteran like Savard as his partner.

Whether Edmundson returns soon or not, but especially if he doesn’t, it will be interesting to see what the defence pairings are on a daily basis.

The safe bet is:

Edmundson Petry

Chiarot Savard

Kulak Romanov

But an interesting option could be:

Romanov Petry

Edmundson Chiarot

Guhle Savard

The coaching staff will likely find its way back to the safe route, but the way the defensemen are being utilized in camp is starting to make me wonder if they will give Romanov a more prominent role this season.

It’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Next. Edmundon injury could open door for young D. dark

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