‘I CAN PLAY CENTRE’
Habs’ Drouin is flexible
The start of the Canadiens’ training camp is still three weeks away but newcomer Jonathan Drouin already has the answer to what figures to be the most pressing question of the pre-season.
Drouin has been touted as a possible solution to the gaping hole at centre and, when he was asked Monday which position he prefers, he offered a reply designed not to fan the flames of controversy.
“It doesn’t matter to me, I’ve been playing all over the place,” Drouin said prior to taking the ice at an Octagon training camp session at Lower Canada College. “In the past few years, I’ve played left, right and a little bit of centre, wherever they want me, I can definitely
I’ve been playing all over the place . ... Wherever they want me, I can definitely play centre. I played a full year there in junior.
play centre. I played a full year there in junior. I’m definitely not going to be nervous if that’s where they want to use me.”
While general manager Marc Bergevin still has an ace — or maybe a one-eyed jack — up his sleeve to play before opening day, a lot of fans are anticipating a stacked line with Drouin, Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty in whatever alignment coach Claude Julien finds a level of comfort.
Drouin said he hasn’t made Galchenyuk’s acquaintance but he has spent a fair amount of time with Pacioretty, who decided to stay in town this summer as he and his growing family settle into their new home in Westmount.
“There are a lot of Montreal guys around here during the summer and we work out and spend time together off the ice,” said Drouin. “I trained a lot with Max and we talked about little details and how it’s going to go. In the past two years he’s been in and out of Montreal during the summer and I’ve seen him on and off the ice, but it’s not the relationship we have now.”
Drouin, a Ste-Agathe native who played midget hockey for Lac St. Louis, has spent previous summers in the city but he said things have changed since the Canadiens acquired him from Tampa Bay in a trade for defence prospect Mikhail Sergachev.
There has been more interaction with fans, he has done a video for Habs TV and the selfdescribed tennis fan received the VIP treatment at the Rogers Cup.
The Octagon is a yearly effort organized by agent Allen Walsh. It features players represented by Octagon as well as some invited.
Monday’s session featured the North American debut of Czech defenceman Jakub Jerabek, who signed as a free agent from Podoisk Vityak in the KHL. The 26-yearold had five goals and 29 assists and the challenge for him will be to adjust to the smaller ice surface and the more physical style.
By his own admission, he’s “not so big,” but he said his strength is moving the puck and playing well positionally. He said his goal is to play in the NHL but he’s willing to serve an apprenticeship in Laval.
Also on hand Monday was goaltender Zach Fucale, and he said he’ll be happy to play in Laval, which is a short drive from his hometown of Rosemère. He’s coming off a solid season with Brampton in the ECHL and will be battling Charlie Lindgren and CHL goaltender of the year Michael McNiven for ice time.