Montreal Canadiens: Three Prospects With Something To Prove At Rookie Camp

The Montreal Canadiens training camp will begin soon. We have the annual golf tournament coming up on Monday as all the Habs players will gather in the city for the first time.

From there, we will see rookies get together on Wednesday as they prepare for the team’s annual rookie camp. These players will partake in physical and off-ice testing on Wednesday before heading to Buffalo to take part in a rookie tournament on Tuesday.

Habs draft picks, free agent signings and invitees will play three games over four days against prospects from the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres as they gear up for the team’s main training camp. Or, at least they hope to be heading to the team’s main training camp.

Not every player in the rookie tournament will head to Canadiens camp afterwards, but many will get the invitation. In total, there are 27 players heading to Buffalo to play in the tournament. This includes 15 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders.

Of the list, there are some players like Joshua Roy and Sean Farrell who are just turning pro and you kind of know they are going to get a good look at training camp and will likely play a big role with the Laval Rocket in the AHL to begin the season.

Other players like Noah Laaouan and Christopher Ortiz are likely ticketed for the ECHL if all the Habs defenders are healthy to begin the season.

There are also a handful of players that we don’t really know what to expect from this season. These three players really do have to show something at this rookie camp to catch the attention of the Habs brass and ensure they get a longer look at main training camp and get into a few exhibition games to show what they can do.

Otherwise, if they struggle against rookies next week, they could find themselves falling so far off the Habs organizational depth chart that we don’t really hear much from them again.

Jan Mysak

Jan Mysak is a player who once appeared to have a really bright future. He was a second round pick of the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL Draft after scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 22 OHL games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The 2020-21 season was an odd one for him as the OHL shut down due to Covid and never got going. Mysak played 22 AHL games with the Rocket, scoring two points, and also had an 11 game stint in Czechia’s top pro league. He didn’t pile up offense, but looked comfortable defensively playing pro as a teenager and it was thought it would do nothing but help his long term development.

He returned to Hamilton the next season and helped them win an OHL Championship. Mysak scored 34 goals and 64 points in 61 games which gave him 49 goals in 83 career OHL games.

Last season Mysak turned pro, for good this time, but struggled with the Rocket. He scored five goals and nine points in 40 games, but failed to earn a regular role with the team. It was hoped his previous pro experience would allow him to settle in quickly last season with the Rocket and that was just never the case.

Now, he has to show he is a step above other rookie camp players and ready to take on a big role with the Rocket. Otherwise, he could slip into the abyss and get passed over by several new pro players like Roy, Farrell, Filip Mesar and Riley Kidney. If that happens, Mysak could be a roster filler in no time and back in Europe playing pro before long.

Ty Smilanic

Ty Smilanic was acquired from the Florida Panthers as part of the Ben Chiarot trade two seasons ago. He arrived with a first round pick, and a fourth round pick as well as the Panthers were looking to load up for a long playoff run by adding bulk to the back end.

Smilanic looked like a decent addition to the prospect pool at the time. He had a solid freshman season at Quinnipiac under his belt when he scored 14 goals and 21 points in 29 games and he got off to a decent start to his sophomore season in 2020-21 before the trade.

But thing came to a screeching halt with Smilanic’s development around the time of his trade to Montreal. He struggled in the second half of his second college season and then chose to transfer schools ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Smilanic moved to Wisconsin, where Cole Caufield developed for two seasons, and played his third NCAA campaign with a new system that is more designed for offensive creativity. Instead of blossoming in this system, Smilanic scored just one goal and two points in 14 games and took some time away from the game of hockey.

Smilanic was surprisingly listed on the rookie camp roster, because it was believed he would be returning to Wisconsin and therefore not eligible to participate in the team’s rookie camp. It seems he chose to leave college early in order to pursue a professional contract.

There are no guarantees for Smilanic with the Canadiens, and he will have to show he is among the best players in attendance to catch the attention of Habs management. If he can’t do that, he may disappear off the Canadiens radar in a hurry.

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