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Canadiens Wrap

Canadiens Wrap: Prospects Moving, 2024 NHL Draft, Slafkovsky

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Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck

MONTREAL — There’s rarely a dull moment when it comes to Montreal Canadiens hockey, but it’s not always possible to stay up to date with every breaking story. On Sundays, we recap the most exciting and relevant NHL news stories that you may have missed throughout the week so that you can stay in the Canadiens loop.

 

Monday

  • The Montreal Canadiens managed to put together one functional line when Juraj Slafkovsky was placed on a trio Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield. It’s an encouraging start, but given all the other question marks in the lineup, you’d be hard-pressed to suggest there isn’t still a lot of work left to do before we can consider the forward situation in the NHL to be healthy.   [Canadiens Checklist: State Of The Rebuild – NHL Forwards]

 

  • Legendary hockey announcer Bob Cole passed away last week, leading to a flood of tributes for the long-time voice of Hockey Night in Canada. Fellow Canadian Tim Thompson created a fantastic montage to honour the man from Newfoundland who marked hockey in so many ways.   [Canadiens Videos: A Great Tribute For The Legendary Bob Cole]

 

  • Michael Pezzetta is a tough customer on the ice, but he’s also one of the nicest players in the league. It comes as no surprise that he’s trying to raise money for children battling cancer. [CanDonate Hair – Michael Pezzetta]

Tuesday

  • Several Montreal Canadiens prospects are expected to take the next step in their hockey careers next season. Take a closer look at where players like Owen Beck, Filip Mesar, and others will end up in 2024-25.   [Montreal Canadiens Prospects Set To Join New Teams]

 

  • The Seattle Kraken fired their head coach, Dave Hakstol, on Monday. This means Martin St-Louis is now one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NHL, and though he entered the job without much experience, he has grown with the group of players who are expected to play a crucial role in the team’s rebuild. On top of gaining the respect of his players, he also has the trust of the fanbase, and most importantly, Canadiens management.    [Canadiens Head Coach St-Louis One Of Longest Tenured In NHL]

 

  • The Habs finally released some original content on Monday, a quick video showcasing Lane Hutson’s first NHL game.

  • Juraj Slafkovsky is set to get underway at the World Championships, which are taking place in Czechia. He’s expected to be in the lineup as Slovakia faces Poland on Friday.

 

Wednesday

  • The Montreal Canadiens are in need of elite skill and goal-scoring in the organization, and few players available in the 2024 NHL Draft fit the bill quite like Berkly Catton. The 18-year-old was a dominant force in the WHL this season for Spokane and possesses one of the most elite offensive skill sets in this summer’s class. Naturally, Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes and his team have been monitoring him throughout the season, as he could be the dynamic offensive player needed to complete their young exciting core. MHN spoke to the incredibly talented forward, who is expected to be among the first names called at the upcoming draft.   [MHN Interview: Berkly Catton To Be a Top Canadiens Draft Target This Summer]

 

  • Juraj Slafkovsky has not yet arrived in Czechia to take part in the 2024 World Championship for Team Slovakia. He’s still in Montreal, where he will undergo ‘medical procedures’ before he joins his countrymen. Fortunately, it does not seem like it’s a serious issue. [Canadiens Juraj Slafkovsky To Undergo Medical Procedures]

 

  • Prospect Vinzenz Rohrer is now a Swiss Champion, as his team, the Zurich Lions, captured the NL Championship title on Tuesday.

  • Speaking of prospects, goaltender Yevgeni Volokhin was named the top goaltender in the MHL this season. The 2023 fifth-round pick had a 22-4-4 record, a 1.57 goals against average, and a sparkling .938 save percentage. His work in the playoffs was even more impressive,  as he maintained a .954 save percentage in seven games.

 

Thursday

  • The Montreal Canadiens expect to take a big step forward this summer. Given the salary cap situation and their tradeable assets, the summer of 2024 is building up to be one of the most crucial stages of the rebuild. Everyone knows the team needs more stars, but they also have to improve their underlying numbers by leaps and bounds if they’re to compete with some of the best teams in the NHL. There’s a strong correlation between maintaining strong possession numbers in the regular season and success in the postseason.  [Lessons The Montreal Canadiens Can Learn From Playoff Teams]

 

  • If the Montreal Canadiens are indeed aiming to be in the playoff mix for next season, they have quite the summer ahead of them. It’s important not to repeat the mistakes of divisional rivals like the Ottawa Senators, who jumped the gun at the first glance of success and sacrificed prime assets only to fail to make the playoffs for the last seven successive seasons. If the goal is to improve, here are the biggest areas of concern heading into the NHL draft in June 2024. [Biggest Questions for Canadiens Headed Into 2024 NHL Draft]

 

  • Owen Beck is the lone Habs prospect still participating in the OHL playoffs. The cerebral centre scored his fourth goal of the playoffs on Tuesday night, pushing his playoff production to four goals and nine assists in 15 games.

  • Fellow prospect Jacob Fowler is not as close as Beck when it comes to being ready for professional hockey, but he still looks forward to the day he can don the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.

 

Friday

  • Our Montreal Canadiens ‘State Of The Rebuild’ series continues with a closer look at the goaltending situation going forward. Both Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau have shown enough potential to hold the fort, leaving the Habs with many more options from a salary cap perspective.  [Canadiens State Of the Rebuild – Current NHL Talent – Goaltenders]

 

 

 

  • Check out this Juraj Slafkovsky fan art by our very own Annik Lemire.

 

Saturday

 

  • Defenceman Kaiden Guhle will represent his country at the World Championship. Team Canada is sending a relatively strong roster, but it may not be able to handle a stacked American lineup, which includes Habs sniper Cole Caufield.

 

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Dana

It will be interesting to compare celebrini with Bedard. Guhle will get a chance to shine.

Likewise we will see Hagens and Mckenna lead their teams in the golf medal game. Iginla has looked excellent at tge tournament, looks like a big game player so today should be interesting . Cole Hutson has 10 points in 7 games for the US so Canada will have to be alert when he’s in the ice.

So much great hockey right now.

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Tyrone

Normally I’m happy to see our guys gain valuable experience in the WC, but I do have to say that I am a bit concerned about Guhle and his knees. He’s already had a lot of issues with them at such a young age, and an injury at the WC is not unheard of. I believe Tavares destroyed his knee there one year and missed a lot of time with the Islanders the following season. I’d hate to see that happen to Guhle. Although, I guess it would create an opening for Hutson right away in the NHL.

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