“I Tried to Move On” – Justin Barron

With four rookies on the Montreal Canadiens’ defensive squad this fall, Justin Baron was the biggest loser during training camp as the doors seemed wide open for him.

The Colorado Avalanche’s first draft pick in 2020 clearly wasn’t happy about being demoted to the Laval Rocket on October 10th.

Above, see defenseman Justin Barron’s interview with journalist Louis-Andre Lariviere.

The Nova Scotian must feel that the NHL hack is a rock in vain. After all, he couldn’t find a spot in the high-profile defensive brigade that drafted him 25th overall before he was traded to the Habs. History repeats itself in Montreal.

“It was disappointing,” he told TVASports.ca after Tuesday’s practice at Place Bell, his 21st birthday. It’s part of the job. I’m trying to work on my game to allow me to be the first to be called out.

In this endeavor, nothing is more important than how he responds to failure. Psychology-focused coaches insist this idea is very modern.

After the dust settled, Barron showed plenty of intensity and some of his colleagues were impressed with the way he turned disappointment into a positive experience. Both on and off the ice.

Despite his low spirits causing a slow start, Barron rolled up his sleeves and put on his work boots. He is the most productive Rocket defender after 15 games, with eight points.

He explains, “I tried to turn the page fairly quickly. Here I work in all kinds of situations, on special teams and have a lot of ice time. I focus my energies on helping the team win games.”

“He’s shown here on the best of behavior,” says Anthony Richard. From the start, he was our best defender. You can see why he was picked in the first round. He’s good at snowboarding for a big guy.”

Prove your worth

Barron had an ordinary camp with great moments, nothing more. If CH decided to keep him, perhaps he should have watched the meetings on the press bridge rather than have the responsibilities offered to him by head coach Jean-Francois Holly.

However, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound defender makes it look like he’s playing to prove his worth to the big club. Shakespeare’s language is a popular expression chip on his shoulder It illustrates the context in which a first-round pick failed to reach the NHL.

“It’s definitely frustrating. I felt there was a good chance of breaking through the formation. There are many positions available,” he admitted, making it clear that he doesn’t ruminate.

Image credit: Joël Lemay/QMI Agency

“At the end of the day, feeling sorry for myself won’t do me any good. Like I said, I moved here. The coaching staff are great and the players are good to me.”

The only thing missing for Barron and the Rockets are wins. The team is among those who have scored the most goals so far in 2022-2023. One factor that explains his record is that Laval lost seven games by one point.

“We’ve got a good group here. We haven’t had the results we wanted lately. We’ve been in very close matches and we have to tighten up a few things to overcome this bad correction.

“It’s an ordeal at the start of the season and I think we’ll come out stronger in the second half of the season.”

intensity and competition

Baron also finds that with the core of the players, Rocket makes an excellent team despite what their track record indicates.

“The level of competition is very high here. Our strikers are not very fit, but we are very competitive and put pressure on other teams for 60 minutes.

“It gives us a chance in every game. It makes games so much fun with this entertaining style of hockey.

Finally, as the Rocket (4-8-3) tries to take off, the players are unconcerned about the sudden start of the big club season on the other side of Interstate 15.

Photo credit: Thierry Laforce/QMI Agency

“They’ve played really well (after 17 games). I know it was very disappointing last year and we’re happy to see the guys win,” Baron said.

Barron also says he appreciates visits from his parents who live in the Halifax area: “They live 10 or 11 hours’ drive from here. They come to see me play a few times,” concludes the person who was entitled to visit them, Thursday evening, for his birthday.