Habs start getting serious at camp
Players into two groups: those with a real shot on the roster, and those likely heading for the minors
The Canadiens want to make it very clear that they didn’t make any cuts Wednesday, but it was equally clear that’s exactly what they did as the club divided the camp into two groups.
The main group of 27 (plus the injured Lars Eller) represents the players battling for the 23 roster spots on opening night in Toronto on Oct. 8. The other group, about 40 players when you factor in some injuries, participated Wednesday in what was unofficially the start of the Hamilton Bulldogs’ training camp in Brossard.
“We’ve had a plan all along,” coach Michel Therrien said. “We’re putting in a new system and we don’t have a lot of time for practice because we have six exhibition games. We had a good practice today and we won’t have another chance until Saturday.”
The main group includes the veterans from last season and high-profile newcomers like Kontinental Hockey League veteran Jiri Sekac, Swede Jacob de la Rose and 2014 first-round draft pick Nikita Scherbak.
“I’m happy to be with the NHL players,” said Scherbak, who is hoping to delay an inevitable return to the junior ranks.
Scherbak was traded this week by his junior team, the Saskatoon Blades, to the Everett Silvertips in exchange for goalie Nik Amundrud, a first-round pick in the 2015 Western Hockey League draft and a second-round pick in 2016.
Scherbak said nerves were a factor when he turned over the puck on his first shift Tuesday night against Bos- ton at the Bell Centre, a mistake that led to a Bruins goal. The Canadiens won the game 3-2 when Drayson Bowman scored with 48 seconds left to play.
“I didn’t have a very good first period, but I played better in the second and third,” Scherbak said.
Some of those Bulldogs players will be used as cannon fodder as the Canadiens play three exhibition games in four nights, starting Thursday when Patrick Roy’s Colorado Avalanche are at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., RDS, TSN Radio 690). And there is always the possibility of a surprise player, like Michael Bournival last year, making the Canadiens. But the split Wednesday separated the contenders from the pretenders.
When asked what players in the second group had to do to follow Bournival’s path, Therrien said: “Perform.”
When Bournival was asked what advice he would give to the players who were relegated to the second group, he said: “I would tell them to keep working hard.”
Sekac scored a goal Tuesday night against the Bruins and linemate Tomas Plekanec said his fellow Czech was living up to expectations.
“He handles the puck well and he has speed,” said Plekanec, who downplayed his role as a mentor to the 22-year-old.
“We spent some time together in the off-season and he asked me some questions, but he doesn’t need a lot of help,” Plekanec said. “The young guys today come in with more confidence than we did 10 years ago.”
Sekac made an impression on the first day of rookie camp when he reached Stage 14.5 on the beep test, a shuttle run designed to measure endurance. Plekanec, who reached Stage 12, said the feat has earned Sekac a nickname.
“He never stops running, so we call him Forrest Gump,” Plekanec said.
There are nine defencemen in the main group and that includes youngsters Greg Pateryn, Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi. Veteran Francis Bouillon, who is in camp on a tryout basis, is also with the main group, but Davis Drewiske — who has a one-way NHL contract paying him $650,000 — is in the second group.
Therrien is hoping to make the most of his high-end defence talent by resisting the temptation to use Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban together. Markov and Tom Gilbert looked comfortable against the Bruins, and Therrien said he will be keeping a close eye on Subban and Alexei Emelin Thursday night against the Avalanche.
Wednesday’s split of the roster wasn’t good news for a couple of guys who contributed to the Canadiens’ win over the Bruins.
Christian Thomas, who had a goal and an assist, is ticketed to start the season in the American Hockey League with the Bulldogs, and so is Bowman, who assisted on a goal by Sekac and then added the game-winner. Bowman, who played 70 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season — scoring four goals and adding eight assists — is at camp on a pro tryout. That means neither side has made a commitment and he’s auditioning for the entire National Hockey League.
Therrien offered a couple of injury updates Wednesday. Eller, who has been out with a lower-body injury, should practise with the team before the weekend. Michael McCarron is out with an arm injury suffered against the Bruins, but there are no broken bones and there’s no word on when he will return.
After Thursday’s game, the Avalanche and Canadiens will meet again Friday night in Quebec City.