The Montreal Canadiens training camp will begin next week with plenty of questions to answer. The plethora of veteran forwards need to be sorted out and the lack of experienced NHL defenders will make for interesting decisions on the blue line.
We know the goaltending duo will be Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault, but Cayden Primeau is going to come to camp looking to show he is NHL ready as well.
Before all of that, the team is taking part in a rookie tournament this week. They have already played a pair of games, a 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres rookies on Wednesday night followed by a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
Wins and losses aren’t likely to matter much in the regular season for the Canadiens this year, so wins and losses really don’t matter at the rookie tournament. It is slated to be a rebuilding campaign for the Canadiens, so the focus will be on the younger players developing and improving throughout the year, no matter the results in the standings.
That all begins now, as the rookie tournament is the first chance management, and fans, have to see the youngest players in the organization compete. It isn’t a playoff atmosphere or anything like that, but it is a good opportunity for prospects to give a good first impression to their new, or new-ish at least, organization.
A couple of players have really stood out for the Canadiens in the first two rookie games. For the most part, it has been players you would expect, but a lesser known prospect in the system has really stolen the show so far.
Who has looked great in the first couple of games? Let’s count down the three players that have been the most impressive so far for the Canadiens in their rookie tournament.