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Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Camp Notes: Guhle And Dach Make Their Mark

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Kirby Dach

Brossard — The Montreal Canadiens held their final intrasquad game at training camp, a perfect opportunity for players on the cusp to make an impact prior to the start of preaseason.

Smart and Skilled

As has been the case throughout his entire career, the smooth-skating Kaiden Guhle made the most of his opportunity, securing his spot as the top contender for one of the vacancies on defence.

If Guhle is to make the lineup and stay on the roster for the remainder of the season, he must prove to the coaching staff that he has NHL-level decision-making. And that’s exactly what he did.

As per usual, his skating shone brightly, as he joined the play on several occasions, but more importantly, he did so at the most opportune times. But even when there was a forward covering his position during a pinch, Guhle still displayed his fantastic defensive awareness by turning on the jets and neutralizing the threat before the opposition reached a high-danger scoring area.

The preseason will determine whether Guhle maintains his grip as the best defensive prospect at camp, but, given how well he’s played so far at training camp, it’s hard to picture a situation where his maturity and stoicism fail him.

As it stands, there’s a very healthy chance Guhle finds himself on the Montreal Canadiens’ blue line on Oct.10.

Kirby Puck-ett

Newcomer Kirby Dach has slowly, yet surely shown why Kent Hughes was interested in his services. The young centre seems to have all the tools needed to eventually turn into an impact player at the NHL level.

On Saturday he made the most of his 6’4″ frame, creating havoc in front of the net as well as creating scoring opportunities for his linemates, which was something we did not see on Friday.

His puck protection was on point, an encouraging sign seeing as he had the tendency to lose the puck with a little too much ease in prior scrimmages.

Dach also displayed the type of skating you would never associate with a player of his size. He’s not a good skater for a big guy. He’s a good skater, full stop. This allowed him to generate a bevy of controlled entries into the offensive zone, a trait that will serve him well as he tries to write the next ochapter in his young NHL career.

It’s starting to become apparent why Jonathan Toews was so upset about the trade.

Better Late Than Never

Jan Mysak had a relatively quiet development camp, a relatively quiet prospect challenge, and prior to today’s action, a very quiet training camp. He will be bound for the Laval Rocket this season, and, if he’s to make an impact with the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, he must find a little consistency in his game.

That’s not to say he doesn’t possess the type of skillset that will not translate to the professional game, but he does have to improve upon his timing, both when it comes to driving the play up the ice as well as anticipating where his linemates will be.

On Saturday Mysak finally found his rhythm, displaying the same type of skill that served him well last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Lavallagher 3.0

We already know Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Xavier Simoneau will drive their opponents crazy this season in the AHL, and now we can add Anthony Richard to the list of annoyingly effective players in Laval.

His work ethic and skating allows him to cause havoc on the forecheck, but what’s more, he does so without crossing the line, mitigating the times his team will have to face shorthanded situations.

Get your tickets to the Pest Show in Laval now, ladies and gentlemen. It’s going to be fun.

Heine…man!

We don’t know exactly where Emil Heineman will play this season, but we do know he is likely to score a bevy of goals with his NHL-calibre shot.

However, he needs to show the organization he can do more than just score goals.

He delivered on Saturday, displaying great puck protection as well as fantastic awareness on the ice. He also showed off a decent amount of speed, which will go a long way in convincing management he’s more than just a heavy shot.

The Canadiens return to action tomorrow at 3PM EST for their annual Red And White game at the Bell Centre.