Montreal Canadiens: Three Players Who Raised Their Stock In Training Camp

The Montreal Canadiens began training camp on September 21st with 72 players on the roster. It gave them enough bodies to put together three full NHL rosters with a few extra skaters still hanging around. Their nine goaltenders would have needed an entire dressing room themselves to spread out all that goalie gear.

Obviously they had to cut things down quickly, and they did, leaving them just a handful of more cuts to make before the regular season begins. Their first game that matters takes place next Wednesday, October 11th and they have to make their final decisions ahead of that contest.

They do have one last preseason game remaining as they will take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday evening. The team will have to use that game to get ready for regular season action but also make their final decisions on who will make the team this year.

There were many roster spots already sewn up before training camp, but also many young players turning pro this season for the first time who were looking to make good first impressions. That certainly happened, as a handful of younger players really made management stand up and take notice. Even with the door seemingly locked and a path to an NHL roster spot unavailable, some players really outperformed expectations over the course of training camp.

With six preseason games on the schedule, there was ample opportunity for players to put their best foot forward. A handful of younger players took advantage of the opportunity and greatly increased their stock, shooting up the organizational depth chart over the course of the past couple of weeks.

Let’s take a look at the three players who unexpectedly really stood out at camp and raised their stock within the organization the most during this year’s training camp.

William Trudeau

William Trudeau was a fourth round pick of the Canadiens in the 2021 NHL Draft. He played the following season with the Charlottetown Islanders of the QMJHL and put up eight goals and 44 points in 68 games before adding seven goals and 11 points in 14 playoff games.

He turned pro last season and earned a role with the Laval Rocket. Though there were several young defenders in the organization, Trudeau was able to carve out a big spot in the Rocket lineup for himself and became one of their most trusted defensemen throughout the season.

The 20 year old left shooting defenseman ended up leading Rocket defensemen in points with 27 in 60 games. He displayed a quickness and intelligence on the ice that allowed him to defend well by being in the right position and also transition the puck up ice in a hurry with his acceleration and speed.

Though he played well for the Rocket, he was overshadowed heading into this year’s Canadiens training camp. With other young players entering with higher pedigree like Kaiden Guhle, David Reinbacher, Jordan Harris, Logan Mailloux and Justin Barron, Trudeau was far down the list of players to watch when training camp opened.

However, he stood out in scrimmages, practices and preseason action and heads in to his second AHL season with the Rocket as a player that needs to be watched closely thanks to his strong training camp. He is yet to make his NHL debut, but that won’t be far off if he continues his strong play into the AHL regular season.

Emil Heineman

Emil Heineman was a bit of an unknown when the Canadiens acquired him. He was part of the Tyler Toffoli trade, arriving in Montreal with a first round pick for the Habs former sniper.

It had been the second time Heineman was traded at a young age as he was drafted originally by the Florida Panthers but traded to the Flames in the Sam Bennett trade. That kind of seemed like a red flag as he was 20 years old and already dealt twice, but the Panthers picked him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft for a reason.

That reason would be a unique combination of size and skill. Heineman is just over six feet tall and nearly 200 pounds, but also has great skating and a fantastic shot. All of these attributes were on display during training camp, and has kept him on the roster much longer than anyone anticipated before training camp began.

The Swedish winger arrived in North America late last season after his SHL campaign came to a close. He has eight goals and 15 points in 35 games in Sweden, but immediately caught fire when he landed with the Rocket.

He played 11 games to close out the AHL regular season, scoring seven goals and nine points. That was quite a debut for the young winger and he carried the momentum into training camp.

Heineman actually started camp on the team’s top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, so the coaching staff obviously saw something in him and wanted to see how he played in a great situation. He isn’t likely to start the regular season on the team’s top line, but he has played great in the preseason, taken advantage of his opportunity and will likely be one of the first forwards called up this season, assuming he doesn’t make the opening night roster.

No one would have guessed that just a couple of weeks ago.