Just like The Hockey News last week, NHL.com has included the Montreal Canadiens in its first power rankings of the new season. Where did the Habs land in those rankings? Two spots higher than on THNâ€s rankings, in 14th place.
Journalist Jean-Francois Chaumont writes that the rebuild is now a thing of the past for the Canadiens and that they are ready to make another push for a playoff appearance. For him, the summerâ€s new arrivals will be key to the Habs’ fate this season. Montreal edged both the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers, who finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
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Given how well the Canadiens did in the preseason, this is not surprising. Although the Habs did have one game where they came out flat and didnâ€t put in the appropriate level of effort, they bounced back, and Ivan Demidov has been a standout in every game or scrimmage he has played in.
The young Russian has demonstrated that he can confound opponents with his ability to create space and time for himself through twists and turns. Heâ€s also shown that even if he doesnâ€t have either, his deceptiveness can allow him to try a pass that very few players would attempt and even fewer would succeed in making. Looking one way, he can send a picture-perfect pass to the other side of the ice without breaking a sweat. His presence on the power play should really have a significant impact on the special team unit’s success rate.
As for Zack Bolduc, he has impressed with both his speed and defensive play since the start of camp. Heâ€s the perfect player to deliver the kind of play Martin St-Louis was after; heâ€s intense at both ends of the ice, and he worked on his defensive play in his rookie season, and it shows.
Noah Dobson made a good impression in his first preseason game, but unfortunately, he had to leave the second game with a minor groin injury. Judging by what weâ€ve seen at practice since then, though, itâ€s likely that he will suit up on Saturday for the Canadiens†last preseason game.
On top of the new arrivals from outside the organization, I feel itâ€s important to mention the performance of Oliver Kapanen, Owen Beck, and Florian Xhekaj at camp. The three managed to see the Habs camp through the end, and whichever final decision is made by St-Louis, they can all be proud of their performance and how they handled themselves.
Right now, Kapanen appears to be the likely choice to stay with the team for the start of the season, but Beck and Xhekaj wonâ€t be far behind on the call-up list if injuries start to complicate matters for the Habs. Beck has lost out to Kapanen because of the Finnâ€s better offensive game and readiness. The coach says he played a mature game and has taken a step in the right direction last season. As for Xhekaj, thereâ€s still room to improve his defensive reads, but he has shown that just like his brother, he can bring some grit and sandpaper to the lineup. After the Washington Capitals and Tom Wilson roughed up the Canadiens in the playoffs, itâ€s a relief for the organization to see that they have a player who could eventually become their version of Wilson in their ranks in the younger Xhekaj.
On the blueline, Adam Engstrom has also shown interesting flashes, and he, too, saw the camp to the end, but the fact that Dobson and Kaiden Guhle dealt with injury helped in that respect. The 21-year-old Swede has developed very well in his first season with the Laval Rocket last year, but he can still use some seasoning and needs a lot of ice time, which he wouldnâ€t get now with the Canadiens.
For a second camp in a row, David Reinbacher didnâ€t end camp the way he would have liked since he sustained an injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still, the injury is much less severe than the knee injury he suffered last season, and heâ€s only been ruled out for four weeks. However, even if he hadnâ€t been, heâ€s not ready for the NHL yet. The game was clearly coming a bit too fast for him in exhibition games. He needs to work on making decisions faster with the puck if he is to meet the lofty expectations the Canadiens have in him.
Still, the Canadiens have been impressive enough at camp to find a berth in the NHLâ€s Super 16, and itâ€s fully deserved. St-Louis wanted a more intense training camp that would see his men be ready for the season start on October 8, and thatâ€s precisely what he got.
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