After facing their medical and physical tests yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] hopefuls were put through a challenging first practice by Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent. The players hit the ice at 10:00 AM sharp, and some were still on the ice at midday. While the day started relatively easily with a few minutes of players taking breakaway shots on the goalies at both ends of the ice, the intensity soon went up after a whiteboard session in which the coach explained what they wanted the players to focus on for the day. Active sticks, poke checks, and combativity —it might just have been rookie camp drills —but for these players, a lot is riding on their performance, and it showed. Canadiens: Rookie Camp Coaches Rave About Florian Xhekaj [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-rookie-camp-coaches-rave-about-florian-xhekaj] Canadiens: Episode Five Of The Rebuild Will Hit You Right In the Feels [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-episode-five-of-the-rebuild-will-hit-you-right-in-the-feels] Canadiens Get Big Praise For Major Trade [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-get-big-praise-for-major-trade] A few players stand out, notably Ivan Demidov, who outperformed Simon Lavigne in a one-on-one drill. The Russian then cut to the inside and scored a beautiful goal on Jacob Fowler. It makes no doubt whatsoever that teams who let Demidov get a breakaway on them will regret it. He scored a few goals that showed just how skilled a player he is. David Reinbacher also seemed in great shape, and anyone who wondered if he would play differently after his knee injury and surgery can rest easy. The youngster is all in, and his skating is on point. Israel Mianscum can attest to that as the Austrian flew by him in a one-on-one drill. On Wednesday, Vincent had told the media that he was eager to see how a player like Demidov could apply the defensive concepts that would be taught at camp, but that comment applied to every player, really. For quite a few drills, players had to start by dispossessing a coach with a sticklift before feeding their teammate and joining in the attack. For those who are already lamenting coaches wanting to denaturalize an offensive talent like Demidov, this is not what that is. Any player will be much more efficient on the ice if he plays both ways. Just think of the work Martin St-Louis did with Cole Caufield, it’s just like that. No matter how talented a player is, his odds of producing get even higher if they are efficient on the other side of the puck. Unlike last season, the rookies were forced to take a break midway through the practice to allow the Zamboni to do its job. Last year, the players went to the other rink, but that wasn’t possible this time around; the other ice was hosting the Canadiens’ veterans, who were all hard at work. Throughout the drills, players skated with various linemates, which might indicate that Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Florian Xhekaj, Filip Mesar, and Luke Tuch were all wearing white jerseys. At the same time, Owen Beck, Vinzenz Rohrer, and Tyler Thorpe were sporting red jerseys. It will be interesting to see if that stays true for Friday’s practice which is also scheduled at 10:00 AM at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News.
