Canadiens: Young Montreal Canadiens players will have a chance to shine in Buffalo

Laval Rocket coach Jean-François Holly, who will coach Buffalo’s rookie Canadians, is looking forward to seeing the organization’s young players.

For many, this will be the first opportunity to wear the Hab colors and a great opportunity to show what they can do and who knows, maybe cause an upset, like Arber Xhekaj did last year.

“There are always surprises in the rookie camp. It is nice for the fans to see the youngsters develop. They are nervous. It is not an easy tournament mentally. The players want to perform very well, but we want them to play with their heads free. It is a very long summer, but the players are here.” Indeed. Jean-François said in a meeting with the media: “They arrived in great condition and I am sure they are prepared.”

The young Canadians will play their first game on September 15 against a young Buffalo Sabers team. For this occasion, the employees on the bench do not intend to be too demanding.

“We don’t give them a lot of structure, we let them play and the managers evaluate them. As a coach, you always want to have a structure and the players to be on the same page, but here you want to see everyone’s character. I want to try to put the players in the right chair so they can Show themselves. »

The important thing, like the big clubs, is the development of the players. Victory or defeat, management wants to see them having fun and giving their all in order to create internal competition.

“It’s always important to have internal competition, it raises everyone’s level. We have a lot of young people knocking on the door and that’s a good thing.”

Nice skewer

Martin Laperrière, Houle’s assistant at Laval, is also taking this opportunity to get to know the players.

“We’ve seen them a little bit in the development camp, but it’s interesting to get to know them as individuals and see what they can do on the ice. They’ll be playing against other teams, and the intensity of the opposition will get tougher, and then we’ll see how they react.”

He has been following the activities of his childhood team for a long time, and in his opinion, he has never seen the Canadiens’ prospect bank so well equipped.

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A young and predictable team in Laval

This bank of prospects will bring a significant change to the Laval Rocket squad with several players who will be finishing their junior or university training, as well as European youngsters who will be crossing the Atlantic.

“We know we’re going to be young at Laval. I think we’ve surrounded the young guys well with good veterans. It’s about preaching discipline and developing them well so they’re ready when they’re called up to play in Montreal,” said the Rocket pilot.

Despite his young age, he firmly believes that his team will be able to perform well in the game. The progress will be significant. We want to develop in a winning environment, and making the playoffs is good for young people’s development. »

After the game against the Sabers on September 15th, the Canadiens will face the Boston Bruins on the 16th and then end the tournament against the Young Senators in Ottawa on the 18th.

These three meetings will be featured on RDS.ca.