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Habs Wrap: Game Changer Demidov, Top 40 Prospects, Laine

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MONTREAL — There’s always Montreal Canadiens content to absorb, but there are only so many hours in a day. 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 Toronto Maple Leafs were among the teams who were interested in defenceman Arber Xhekaj’s services.  Xhekaj went undrafted, which gave him plenty of options when it came to picking his desired landing spot. The Leafs reached out first, but Xhekaj waited for Les Glorieux to come calling.

The Montreal Canadiens are getting a significant influx of youth this fall, making for one of the most interesting Rookie Camps in years. [Canadiens Prospects With Most To Prove At Rookie Camp]

Now that Jordan Harris and Johnathan Kovacevic have been traded to new teams, some of the Canadiens’ best defensive prospects have a clearer line of sight when it comes to earning a permanent job in the NHL. Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, and Logan Mailloux, among others, will be fighting for the new job openings. [Canadiens Depth Chart: Trades Improve Defensive Prospect Odds]

Juraj Slafkovsky is working hard to add more mass to his frame prior to the start of the 2024-25 NHL season. The 6’3″ forward started to use his body to win puck battles with much more regularity to close out the past year, connoting that he’s starting to realize he enjoys a Clifford-The-Big-Red-Dog-esque size advantage over most of his opponents.

Tuesday

With the season opener just around the corner it’s time for the very first Montreal Canadiens prospect update of the year. Top European prospects such as Ivan Demidov, David Reinbacher, and Bogdan Konyushkov have hit the ground running, though they’re aiming for very different goals in the 2024-25 season. [Canadiens Prospect Report And Highlights: Demidov, Reinbacher, & Konyushkov]

It’s always fun to remember Carey Price had one of the most dominant seasons in modern league history when he took home multiple awards in 2014-15. The team’s leading scorer that season was Max Pacioretty, with 67 points. Statistically speaking, that was actually pretty good run support when compared to the rest of his career.


Juraj Slafkovsky was named the Player Of The Year in Slovakia, an award handed out by the very underrated former NHL player Marian Hossa.   Twitter user Lubi provided us with a translation of Slafkovsky’s comments, a rather generous contribution of her time and linguistic abilities.

Speaking of Slafkovsky, he seems poised and hungry to pick up where he left off last season, a very encouraging sign for all concerned.


We’ve already discussed Demidov’s fantastic shootout goal as he captained the Russian Under-23 team, but it’s so nice that we will look at it twice. Perhaps even thrice.

Wednesday

We’ve reached the top spot in our 2024 Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, which means it’s time to discuss Ivan Demidov’s incredible potential to become exactly what the franchise needs most; a player with game-breaking potential. Demidov will not have to do it all once he arrives in North America, but he will be counted upon to provide crucial offence once the Canadiens are ready to compete. [Canadiens Prospect Rankings: Ivan Demidov Is A Game Changer]

David Reinbacher will have an opportunity to earn a job with the Canadiens once training camp opens. He’ll be competing with defencemen such as Logan Mailloux, another right-handed blueliner with NHL aspirations.  [Canadiens Depth Chart: Trades Improve Defensive Prospect Odds]


Juraj Slafkovsky and Gabriel Landeskog share a very interesting stat line that gives us evidence of their offensive value and physical prowess.

Thursday

By the time Saku Koivu ended his time in Montreal he had earned a spot in the team’s top 10 scoring list, he became the longest tenured captain in team history, and also inspired a community with his philanthropy. In other words, he knows what it takes to survive in a pressure-filled market. Koivu briefly discussed what newcomer Patrik Laine will face with the Habs.  [Montreal Canadiens Top 5: Best Finnish Players In Team History]

We’ve reached the end of our 2024 Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, with freshly drafted forward Ivan Demidov nabbing the top spot over defenceman Lane Hutson. Make sure to check out the list and submit your own top 40 in the comments below the article!  [Montreal Canadiens Top 40 Prospects: The Final List & Fan Vote]

Carey Price was at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) to receive an honorary diploma alongside his mother, Chief Lynda Price. The former Canadiens starter played a fair amount of junior hockey in the region, and was given the diploma for his work on the ice, as well as in the community.

Finnish prospect Oliver Kapanen scored a nice goal for Timra IK in SHL preseason action while serving as the team’s first-line centre. As a reminder, Kapanen will attempt to earn a job at camp, but if he fails to make the team he will not report to the AHL. Rather, he will head back to Sweden to ensure he gets as much prime ice time as possible.

Friday

Top prospect Ivan Demidov scored the game-tying and game-winning goal for Russia’s Under-23 team as they faced his KHL club, SKA Saint Petersburg. It’s getting rather difficult to slow down the hype train in his case, especially since the Habs have not had a forward prospect of his calibre in a very, very long time.  [Top Canadiens Prospect Ivan Demidov Scores Great Goals]

Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is rumoured to be courted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pacioretty,35, has been slowed significantly by recent injuries to his Achilles tendon, which has mitigated much of his scoring prowess. That being said, he did earn 23 points in 45 games for the Washington Capitals last season, which means he could end up being a decent depth option for the Leafs if he manages to stay healthy.

According to Nicolas Cloutier, forward Juraj Slafkovsky has been hard at work this summer, and should arrive at camp in a little better shape than he did in previous seasons.

The Canadiens’ prospect pool continues to be among the best in the league. The last time we checked-in on these rankings, the Habs were third in the NHL. This time around, they jumped to second overall. Either way, it’s encouraging to know that it’s not just Canadiens fans who think the best is yet to come in Montreal.

Saturday

We’d like to apologize to all the Montreal Hockey Now community members for the lack of content Friday, but it did not seem appropriate to discuss prospects and forward lines once the tragic news of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew’s death was announced. Two families have been robbed of their loved ones because someone decided to risk other people’s lives and drive drunk, the ultimate selfish and destructive act. If a friend or loved one is considering driving drunk, please remind them there are families out there who do not deserve to be destroyed due to an idiotic decision. There’s always an option available to avoid such situations.

A GoFundMe has been put into place for Matthew’s family, with several players around the league contributing to the fundraiser, including Montreal Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau. You can donate by following this link.

Newcomer Patrik Laine played for two years alongside Gaudreau, and was among the many NHL players who expressed their shock and sadness on Friday.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Patrik Laine (@patriklaine)

Cole Caufield is one of many players of smaller stature that drew inspiration from Gaudreau’s elite hockey ability and his penchant for dominating as a 5’9″ forward in a league full of giants. As a reminder, Gaudreau was only picked in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, 104th overall by the Calgary Flames. He would go on to score 743 points in 763 games, defying the odds and opening the door to other small snipers around the hockey landscape.


Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent is quite familiar with Gaudreau, serving as his head coach last season in Columbus. Vincent put together a statement of condolence on behalf of the Montreal Canadiens organization.

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