The Montreal Canadiens made nine selections at the 2023 NHL Draft and then quickly pivoted to their annual development camp.
There were 37 players invited to their camp and they all assembled in Brossard at the Bell Sports Complex on July 1st. The players took part in off-ice medical assessments and testing on the first day of camp and then hit the ice for the final three days.
They skated in three separate groups on Sunday and Monday, with the five goaltenders, 13 defensemen and 19 forwards all taking the ice at different times for on-ice skills development and training. The camp was run mostly by the AHL’s Laval Rocket coaching staff headed by J.F. Houle.
The development camp ended yesterday with the players split into two separate groups for a team scrimmage. They played two 25 minute periods of four on four hockey which led to some incredible display of skill and skating among the participants.
Considering it was development camp, these players are a few years away at least, from being regulars at the NHL level. These are the youngest prospects in the system so we can’t really expect any of these players to steal a roster spot during training camp and make the opening night roster. A few of them, like Xavier Simoneau and Logan Mailloux could shine at training camp, but even then a little more time in the leagues below the NHL would benefit all of these players.
Which really begs the question, where are all 37 of these players going to end up next season? We are talking about nearly two full rosters worth of players that will all be below the NHL level. So, where are these players going to play in 2023-24?
Let’s take a look and see where all of the players at Canadiens development camp are going to end up when the puck drops next season.