Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Standing Out At Rookie Tournament

Juraj Slafkovsky

You would expect the number one overall pick from the most recent NHL Draft to look good at a rookie tournament. However, a rookie tournament isn’t just 18 year olds, so it is a bit of a test for a promising young player with a bit of a target on his back.

Slafkovsky, showing up at rookie camp at 6’3″ and 238 pounds, certainly passed his first test on Wednesday night. It wasn’t that he completely took over the game, but he showed a lot of little things that he wasn’t really given credit for when drafted.

When the Habs chose Slafkovsky first overall many of the words used to describe him were: Big. Mature. Physical. Experienced. Well, there is no denying any of those, but Slafkovksy showed off a lot more speed and skill than he was ever really hyped for since the draft.

In this clip, Slafkovsky comes from well behind the Sabres defender to blow past him, get possession of the puck, turn and fire a quick pass to Mesar who scored a shorthanded goal. The burst of speed is one we weren’t told to anticipate from the big first overall pick.

Slafkovsky spent the first game of rookie camp just showing off skill that we didn’t know he had. Sure, you expect a first overall pick to be skilled, but he was hailed as this big, brawny Milan Lucic type who just runs over people and works hard. But he has some slick hands and demonstrated them regularly against the Sabres.

It was just a rookie camp game against other rookies and prospects who won’t even be rookies for a couple more years. But Slafkovsky showed he is all the things we were told (big, physical, strong) but also added a few more adjectives to the list, like smart, skilled, slick stickhandler, good setup guy, and fast.

Filip Mesar

Another first round pick from the 2022 NHL Draft, Filip Mesar has looked great in two games so far as well. Again, you would expect a first rounder to show off some skill, but Mesar was a bit of an unknown who has shown a lot of skill in a couple of games.

He has proven to be very skilled with the puck on his stick and can create offence off the rush with a little deception, slick stickhandling, a quick read and a nice pass.

He was also on the penatly kill and showed he can put a puck in the net if he is given a little open ice in the offensive zone.

Mesar was out on the power play against the New Jersey Devils, and was able to start off, and then finish this play. He makes a quick pass before cutting through the middle of the slot and finding some open ice. When he gets the puck, he quickly snaps it home.

Mesar is apparently destined for the OHL this season, but he has shown a lot in a pair of rookie games. He is likely going to get a long look at the Habs main camp before they ultimately decide on where he will begin the season.

Owen Beck

Owen Beck was drafted with the first pick of the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft. He headed into this rookie camp with a lot less fanfare than Slafkovsky or Mesar who were first round picks, but it has been Beck who has looked better than anyone so far in rookie camp.

Beck is known for his defensive game than his offence, and he has shown that ability so far with the Canadiens in camp.

Of course, Beck did score 21 goals and 51 points in 68 games for the Mississauga Steelheads last season. That shows he does have some offence to his game as well, and he hasn’t been shy to show it off this week at all.

Beck showed an incredible burst of speed against the Sabres to break free from a couple of defenders and go in alone on the goaltender. He didn’t waste his chance as he deftly stickhandled, pulled the puck back to his forehand and roofed it just under the crossbar.

Beck got another chance against the Devils, thanks to a turnover forced by Riley Kidney, and he made no mistake. Once again he showed some incredible hands to deke around a defender and then fired the puck into the net.

As the 33rd overall pick just a couple months ago, no one really knew what to expect from Beck. However, Beck has really put himself on the prospect radar with the Habs already with an incredible showing so far in rookie camp. He is definitely a prospect to keep an eye on today agains the Senators and into the main training camp next week.

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