Montreal Canadiens prospect Miguel Tourigny is focused on improving his defensive game with the Trois-Rivieres Lions.
After being cut from the Laval Rocket's camp in October 2022, Miguel Tourigny decided to pack up and head to Slovakia to play for Trencin Duclan. The Montreal Canadiens seventh round pick (216th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft decided to venture oversees and gain some new experiences as a pro instead of returning for a fifth season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
With Trencin Duclan, Tourigny collected 26 points in 44 regular season games and two points in five playoff games. At the conclusion of the season, he returned home with one-year experience in pro hockey.
Second Chance in Laval
In April, the 21-year-old signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract for this season with the Laval Rocket, hoping to earn a spot in his second opportunity.
All summer he trained in Brossard with the rest of the organizations prospects that were in the area in preparation for camp.
With the number of defencemen in the organization and additional off-season signings, the odds were stacked against Tourigny starting the year in Laval. He dressed for both Rocket exhibition games before being assigned to the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the ECHL.
"A bit upset," said Tourigny describing his reaction when he found out about being cut from Laval. He's not first or last player to feel upset about not making a team.
Time made him feel better and appreciate his home. "When I got to [Trois-Rivieres] guys welcomed me well. Right now, I'm just happy. The boys are nice and I'm near home too so it's pretty fun. I love it here but for sure I'd love to go up [Laval] but right now I'm waiting and doing good things here."
Improvement on His Defensive Play
The Victoriaville native's objective for this season is to get an opportunity to play with Laval. He's aware of the aspects of his play that needs to improve.
"Since I'm young, everyone tells me that my defensive zone (play) is awful. I've been getting better every day," said Tourigny candidly.
His coach Ron Choules has seen improvement in that aspect. "[Tourigny] has been really good and he's learned to play on the defensive side of the puck. He has a gift offensively, but on the defensive side of the puck he has a lot to learn and he's doing very well. I'm very proud of his commitment towards the defensive side of the game. We have put him on the penalty kill as well sometimes, and that's all credit to him."
Tourigny averaged over one point a game in his last three seasons in the QMJHL and has recoded 10 points in his first 10 games with the Trois-Rivieres Lions.
His path to the next level is by continuing to progress on the defensive side of the game.
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