Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Kent Hughes, Justin Barron, William Lagesson, Ben Chiarot, Jordan Harris, Sean Farrell, Blake Biondi

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | MONTREAL, QC. — This is your one-stop destination for your Canadiens news capsule. Here are your Habs Headlines!

Welcome New Additions

On Wednesday, two newly-acquired Canadiens, defencemen Justin Barron and William Lagesson, attended their first practice in Habs colours at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

Barron is appreciative for the opportunity to grab a spot in the Canadiens lineup. “I realized that I was very close to the NHL. But there is a ton of depth in the Avalanche. I think I’ll have a better chance of playing in the NHL here than in Colorado,” said Barron.

At this juncture, it’s unclear when the 20-year-old will play. “His game will dictate the plan,” said Marty St. Louis. “He has the opportunity to learn our game concepts and it will help him for next season. It’s up to him to seize his chance, to show us what kind of player he can become.”

Barron will wear sweater number 52 last worn by Bud Holloway and popularized by Craig Rivet.

At 26-years-old, William Lagesson is at a different point in his hockey career. Lagesson has averaged 12:20 in ice-time in 30 games with the Oilers this season. The native of Goteberg, Sweden is looking for additional playing time to help build confidence.

“I just want to play regularly and get some more confidence,” said Lagesson. “What I’ve got to improve a little bit is my offensive game, join the rush a little bit more and make some plays. That will come if you play some minutes, but you can’t forget what brought you to the NHL, and that’s being a good defender, so that’s got to be my main focus.”

Lagesson will wear number 84 last worn by Guillaume Latendresse.

https://twitter.com/CanadiensMTL/status/1506651537598304265

Frozen Four

The NCAA regional hockey tournaments begin on Thursday with 16 of the best teams in the United States facing off to determine the participants in the Frozen Four.

Canadiens fans will have seven prospects to follow during the regional tournaments.

Northeastern University: Jordan Harris (3rd round 2018) and Jayden Struble (2nd round 2019)

University of Denver: Brett Stapley (7th round 2018)

Quinnipiac University: Ty Smilanic (3rd round 2020 )

University of Minnesota: Rhett Pitlick (5th round 2019)

Harvard University: Sean Farrell (4th round 2020)

University of Minnesota Duluth: Blake Biondi (4th round 2020)

The Frozen Four championship takes place from April 7th to 9th at the TD Garden in Boston.

Injury Update

On Wednesday, several Canadiens players were absent from practice. Jonathan Drouin and Nick Suzuki each took a maintenance day. Brendan Gallagher has recovered from a non-COVID illness but is still suffering from a lower-body injury. Carey Price remained at home with a non-COVID illness.

Here is the Canadiens current injury list:

Kale Clague (upper-body)
Brendan Gallagher (lower-body)
Ryan Poehling (upper-body)
Tyler Pitlick (undisclosed)
Carey Price (knee)
Shea Weber (multiple injuries)

THURSDAY’S GAME: FLA @ MTL

The Montreal Canadiens host Ben Chiarot and Claude Giroux on Thursday as they each make their debuts for the Florida Panthers.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. on March 24th at the Bell Centre.

Watch for our full game day preview available on Wednesday afternoon. Post-game we will publish a comprehensive game recap.

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