Montreal Canadiens Training Camp: Kapanen Shines on Day 2
The Canadiens hit the ice this morning in Brossard for the first (official) on-ice session.
Karine Hains - The Hockey News - Montreal Canadiens Training Camp: Kapanen Shines on Day 2Before the first practice of the Montreal Canadiens camp got underway, Jacob Perreault jumped on the ice with coaches Paul Byron and Adam Nicholas. The former Anaheim Ducks' 27th overall pick was acquired last season in return for Jan Mysak. His early presence on the ice likely means he's dealing with an injury. The team announced that Kaiden Guhle had his appendix removed and would be re-evaluated in seven days, making everyone in attendance think, "Here we go again."
Reporters were also handed out new roster sheets with updated heights and weights. The biggest change is that Juraj Slafkovsky is five pounds leaner at 225.
Meanwhile, Cole Caufield, Alex Newhook, and Slafkovsky took part in media day with Kevin Raphael on the team's social media. A first group of players, forming Team 3 practiced under the watchful eye of the coaches. NHL players Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans, and Joel Armia wore white, while Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson, and Joshua Roy were all sporting red. That might hint at what the bottom nine will look like. On the backend, Mike Matheson, Adam Engstrom, David Reinbacher, Zachary Hayes, Chris Janric, and Simon Motew were on Team 3. Cayden Primeau and Hunter Jones were the goaltenders.
Practice included several odd-man rush drills and a two-on-two in the defensive zone exercise. The team was split in two, and Martin St-Louis was in charge of the group, which included Reinbacher and Engstrom, who were paired for most drills.
The day's scrimmage pitted Teams 1 and 2. On one side, the first line as we know it from last season, with Caufield, Suzuki, and Slafkovsky, and on the other side, what most believe will be the second line, with Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, and Alex Newhook.
It wasn't the first line that stole the show for Team 1, though. It was Finnish center Oliver Kapanen, who just seemed to be everywhere on the ice. Not only did he score a pair of goals in the first half of the game, but he showed himself to be very efficient on both sides of the puck. He broke up plays, found the right lanes to put the puck on net, and had a nose for finding space on the ice as well.
Still on Team 1, Lane Hutson, who was skating alongside Justin Barron when the puck dropped on the game, was very active. As we've already seen, he danced at the blue line and joined the attack whenever possible. There were a couple of times when he did, and Slafkovsky seemed surprised to see him in his position, but generally, the decision-making was good.
It took some time for the first line to get going, but Caufield did find Slafkovsky with a cross-ice pass right in front of the net, which the Slovak converted to seal the deal and give Team 1 a 4-2 win. The hulking forward looks set to pick up right where he left off, cleaning his path on the nice and going into heavy traffic.
On the white side, Arber Xhekaj was quite visible, registering an assist in the first half of the game and joining the attack as well while still bringing a physical edge to his game; ask younger brother Florian, who he dispossessed along the boards after a bit hit. Still, Florian had the last laugh, being on the winning side and scoring his team's third goal. Laine, who was skating in his first Canadiens scrimmage, showed flashes of his talent, but he spent most of his puck possession time on the outside rather than trying to get to the dirty areas.
Dach gave everyone a scare when he was clipped in the face and came back to the bench hunched over, but thankfully, it was nothing serious. His linemate, Newhook, was on the receiving end of a Hutson check and seemed surprised at how big the hit was. Luke Tuch also spent the day throwing his body around and made sure to be noticed.
Post game, Caufield was once again asked about Johnny Gaudreau, he described how special and all happy he always has, adding that he was someone he would aspire to be like. About playing in Montreal and seeing his name everywhere with kids wearing his jersey, the diminutive winger said that's special as well, and he never wants to leave this city. On Hutson, it was clear that the sniper was impressed with the ease with which he was finding his teammates on the ice and how tenacious he was with the puck and without it.
Slafkovsky mentioned he was glad there were fewer players at camp this season, and he started right away with his usual line:
We had this and this was working last year. So it's nice that we keep this.
He added that he would gladly play wherever he was put, however, as it's not his decision, and all the top-six and top-nine players are great on the team. Team captain Suzuki also mentioned that he would like to play with his usual line as much as possible since there aren't many opportunities to get going before the start of real games. We'll wait and see if bench boss St-Louis will have heard their plea.
The action will resume tomorrow at 10:00 AM in Brossard, where Team One will be practicing, while Team 2 will battle it out with Team 3 in a scrimmage starting at 11:15, comprising two 30-minute periods. As always, the CN Sports Complex is open to the public, and even though today was a weekday, plenty of curious fans were watching the proceedings.
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