Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent ran another intense practice with the Montreal Canadiens' prospects in readiness for the Prospect Showdown.

Pascal Vincent, the newly hired Laval Rocket coach in the AHL, held another practice in Brossard on Friday morning. The members of the media tried to get information out of him about who might play with whom this coming season, but he kept schtum about possible combinations. He simply stated it's too early to talk about that, adding that it's hard for him to evaluate all the players when he's at ice level. 

The practices have been filmed, though, and he will watch them to help him make decisions. When it comes to drawing his lines and pairing, Vincent says he asks for a lot of input from his staff to make the best decision. 

Hearing him talk about what the kids must do at rookie camp was quite refreshing. He essentially believes players at a rookie camp should try to stand out. If you just play a safe game and not take any risks, you may not get noticed, and that is counterproductive. This kind of talk must be music to the ears of players such as Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux. 

Florian Xhekaj is eager to make an impact in his first rookie camp since signing his entry-level contract. While his offensive game improved in his last year in the OHL, the younger Xhekaj is aware of what his role is likely to be in the big leagues, and he's ready for it. 

He got a taste of the AHL at the end of last season, playing three games with the Rocket, and he mentioned it's physically demanding to play against grown men, as they are a lot harder to move. 

Asked if his brother was helping him, Florian explained that Arber gave him some pointers and advice, having played in Laval himself last season. The one piece of advice that seems to have stuck with the young man is not to be afraid to make mistakes and play his game with confidence. 

It's not new for the eldest Xhekaj to help out his little brother, the prospects mentions that growing up, when they would play ball hockey, it would always end in a fight between them. While it always ended with him running back home and telling on him to their mother, he now says those beatings made him tougher, and that's why he can handle what he can handle now. However, He mentioned he was a good brother and did a lot for him. 

Being physical and playing in-your-face hockey is his type of hockey; that's how he likes to play. Lining up with Luke Tuch and Tyler Thorpe at practice was exactly the kind of line he could thrive on. Asked if playing with those guys would allow his line to have the right identity, he replied for sure with a big smile. 

It will be interesting to see if Xhekaj does line up with Tuch and Thorpe this weekend, and if he does, fans at the Bell Centre could be in for some very physical play. Considering how much Habs fans immediately took to Arber's physical and rough kind of play, it's safe to expect they'll give a warm reception to the youngster if he walks in his brother's footsteps. The best thing is though, he won't have to play a role, that's exactly the kind of hockey he likes to play.

This weekend's matinee games will both be played against the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects and shown on RDS at 1:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. You are not dreaming; hockey is right around the corner, and we can all smell it...

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Canadiens: Rookie Camp Day 2
Canadiens: Rookie Camp Day 1

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