The Montreal Canadiens training camp will not begin until next week, but starting today, the team’s rookies are in town for their own training camp.
Well, they aren’t really in town anymore, as they gathered in Brossard this morning but have headed off to Buffalo. There, they will take part in the annual rookie showcase tournament, playing a trio of games against other teams top prospects.
The Canadiens have an incredible list of talent taking part in this year’s event. First round picks Juraj Slafkovsky, Filip Mesar, Kaiden Guhle, Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux are all in attendance at camp.
Mailloux is still dealing with an injury that forced him to miss the end of last season so he will not play in any of the games this week. The Habs first game is tomorrow night against the Sabres rookies, and another top prospect will be sidelined.
Joshua Roy is out with what the team is calling a minor hand injury and he will miss the team’s three games this week. The 19 year old is coming off a fantastic season in the QMJHL where he lead the league in scoring with 119 points in 66 games. He also had 23 points in 11 playoff games.
Roy then played in the summer World Juniors where he put up three goals and eight points in seven games, helping the team win a gold medal in a thrilling overtime in the final game.
Unfortunately, Roy won’t be able to join the team for the rookie tournament games this week. He is a highly skilled winger who obviously piled up points at the Junior level this season and was a key component in Canada’s gold medal win.
Still, the Canadiens rookie roster is filled with exciting young players and the games will be must watch for fans of the team.