Canadiens’ Bouillon proved size isn’t everything when playing in NHL
Francis Bouillon is only 5-foot-8 and was never drafted, but that didn’t stop him from playing 14 seasons as a defenceman in the NHL, which is remarkable when you look at how important size used to be.
Now, as a player-development coach with the Canadiens, Bouillon has to smile when he sees small defencemen like Victor Mete thriving in today ’s fast-paced NHL, where speed and the ability to move the puck quickly have become more important than size alone.
“I had a chance to play in what I call both leagues,” Bouillon said Thursday as the Canadiens opened their annual evaluation camp for young prospects. “I started in 1999 when there was a lot of holding and the play was more physical. Before I retired in 2014, I had a chance to play in the kind of new NHL with smaller players like Martin St. Louis, for example. The game was more about speed, and today it’s going more in that direction.
“Victor Mete was a big surprise,” Bouillon added about the 5-foot-9 defenceman the Canadiens selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft who made the team last season as a 19-year-old. “Everybody was expecting him to play for his junior team (the London Knights) and he made the team. It’s nice to see that. I guess we’re going to see more and more small players come in.”
Rob Ramage, the Canadiens’ director of player development, was 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds during his playing days as a defenceman after being the No. 1 overall pick by the Colorado Rockies at the 1979 NHL Draft. Ramage said the game has changed so much that defencemen no longer have to be big.
“It’s evolved in the last four or five years,” Ramage said. “(Mete) was drafted in the fourth round. He would be a first-rounder now, without a doubt. I mean look at the size of some of the defencemen taken this year. Not big guys. The game is so quick. We’re not excluding the little guys anymore.”
Ramage was hired by the Canadiens in July 2014 as a player-development coach and got to work with Me te when he was with the Knights. Ramage said he was very impressed by Mete’s “heart and soul.”
“I said this to our young guys yesterday: both (Mete) and Noah Juulsen, who finished the season (with the Canadiens), they were pros when I dealt with them in junior. You just knew. The way they carried themselves, their work ethic, zero maintenance. So Victor would have played when I played because of that character. I truly believe that. He’s smart. He’s just a smart player.”
So was Bouillon. You have to be when you’re a small defenceman.
Bouillon said attitude is also a key and the Canadiens prospects are wearing T-shirts at the evaluation camp that have “ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING” written on the back.
“It all starts from attitude,” said Bouillon, who played 11 seasons with the Can a di en sand three with the Nashville Predators, posting 32-117-149 totals in 776 games. “You want to be a good hockey player, it starts with the attitude. They all have different personalities, but you need the right attitude. If you don’t have that … you can have all the talent, but the attitude has to be there.
“It’s a long run,” Bouillon added. “It’s not like we’re going to draft you and tomorrow you’re going to play with the Montreal Canadiens. You got to go step by step, but at the same time, the attitude has to be there. You got to work hard. For me, I know even when I made it my first year to survive for that many years it’s a battle. You have to be at the top of your game. You have to be sharp at training camp, ready to go in good physical shape. “Attitude is really important.” More important than size, it seems.