Habs invite blue-liner Després to camp on professional tryout
The Montreal Canadiens announced Thursday that they have invited defenceman Simon Després to take part in their training camp on a professional tryout.
The 26-year-old native of Laval spent the 2017-18 season in the Kontinental Hockey League with Bratislava Slovan, where he had four goals, seven assists, a minus-13 rating and 84 penalty minutes in 44 games.
A native of Laval, Després was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (No. 30 overall) in the 2009 NHL entry draft. In 193 career NHL games with the Penguins and Anaheim Ducks, the 6-foot-4, 218-pounder has six goals, 43 points, 150 penalty minutes and a plus-31 rating. Després’ best season came in 2014-15, when he had three goals, 20 assists, 86 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating in 75 games with Pittsburgh and Anaheim. He also one goal and six assists in 29 career NHL playoff games.
Després was the subject of a Gazette Amateur Athlete of the Week profile in March 2007 when the 15-year-old was a member of the Rousseau Sports de Laval-Bourassa team in the Quebec Triple-A league. He drew scouts’ attention with a powerful and accurate shot, strong stickhandling, skating ability and poise with the puck.
His Laval-Bourassa coach, Martin Daoust, praised Despres’ work ethic despite his dominance in the league that season when he had eight goals and 31 assists in 42 games. “He knows what it takes to make it,” Daoust said, “and he will.”