2024 Canadiens Development Camp Scrimmage Recap

The Montreal Canadiens finished their development camp with a scrimmage on Friday morning. Some players turned heads all week in practice, but the scrimmage allowed fans to see Michael Hage and the other prospects in game action for the first time.

Team Red

• #45 Sam Harris
• #53 Joshua Nadeau
• #60 Florian Xhekaj
• #78 Vincent Collard
• #88 Michael Hage
• #90 Alexander Zetterberg
• #92 Charles Savoie
• #96 Filip Eriksson
• #44 Bronson Ride
• #46 Francesco Dell'elce
• #59 Rasmus Bergqvist
• #68 Owen Protz
• #97 Simon Motew
• #95 Jacob Fowler
• #39 Mikus Vecvanags

Team White

• #34 Tyler Thorpe
• #36 Ben Merrill
• #42 Jules Boilard
• #57 Justin Larose
• #61 Felix Gagnon
• #62 Owen Beck
• #76 Logan Sawyer
• #86 Connor Arseneault
• #65 Luke Mittelstadt
• #73 Francois-James Buteau
• #75 Emanuelson Charbonneau
• #85 Matthew Biotti
• #37 Quentin Miller
  

SCRIMMAGE FORMAT:

• A six-minute warmup period
• Two 25-minute periods played 4-on-4 with non-stop time
• Two minutes of stop time to end each period
• One game per period, with the score reset to 0-0 at intermission
• Each penalty will result in a penalty shot

Game Notes

1st Period - 22:13

Jacob Fowler gets tested early on a breakaway after a poor turnover by the red team. He denied Larose on the breakaway and then stopped the follow-up opportunity.

1st Period - 20:38

Sam Harris gets the red team on the board with a nice goal in front. Harris has been one of the most impressive players in camp.

1st Period - 15:38

Arseneault ties the game up with a squeaker through Fowler's five-hole.

1st Period - 14:00

Hage and Harris got a shift together and looked dynamic. Harris has great speed and Hage was able to find him well. The pair complement each other well.

1st Period - 13:23

Thorpe snipes one on Fowler to give team white a 2-1 lead. Fowler has been under siege for most of the game and has looked impressive.

1st Period - 7:30

Nadeau with a snipe to make it 2-2. The under-sized talent puts up points wherever he plays and he showed why with this shot.

1st Period - 3:10

It may not be long before we see another Xhekaj in the Canadiens lineup. Florian has the speed, skill, and forechecking ability to factor in on the Habs fourth line sooner rather than later.

2nd Period - 23:00

Florian Xhekaj scores his first of the day. He may be the most impressive player in this game, so far. He has some skill to go with his size and toughness.

2nd Period - 20:05

Michael Hage wows the fans with a beautiful goal off the rush! Hage has an impressive wide base that he uses to keep pucks away from the defense and get up ice deceptively quick. He reminds me of Jack Eichel when skating with the puck.

2nd Period - 19:20

Hage sets up another goal from Sam Harris on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play. An impressive shift and budding partnership for the pair.

2nd Period - 18:20

Harris with another goal! A breakout performance for the National Champion from the University of Denver.

2nd Period - 16:00

Josh Nadeau shows his scoring touch again. He looks impressive in spurts but is getting pushed around quite a bit, which is a concern and why he hasn't signed an NHL contract. The league keeps improving; unfortunately, there may not be a spot for Nadeau. He will sign a pro contract after college, but it'll be a long road to the NHL.

2nd Period - 11:40

Hage goes on another beautiful rush and rings a hard shot off the crossbar. The Canadiens may have something special here with their second pick in the 2024 first round.

2nd Period - 9:30

The team announced that Owen Beck wouldn't return to the game with a lower-body injury.

2nd Period - 7:20

Tyler Thorpe is an interesting player out of the WHL. He has some bite in his game and isn't afraid to get to the dirty areas. He also showed some good skill in parts of the game.

2nd Period - 4:40

Xhekaj with another nice goal off an individual effort to power to the middle of the ice and snipe one past Jacob Fowler.

It's hard to take too much away from a development camp in the middle of July. However, the early returns are that the Canadiens' future looks very bright. Michael Hage, Sam Harris, Florian Xhekaj, and Jacob Fowler all had great performances. Josh Nadeau is also a player that may get a look down the road when his college career