Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Rookie Camp, Mattias Norlinder, Kaiden Guhle, Jan Mysak, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Gianni Fairbrother, Xavier Simoneau, Jesse Ylonen, Jonathan Drouin

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens rookies travelled down to Ottawa on Saturday afternoon to face the Senators rookies. Montreal had a 3-2 lead with 5:23 remaining before allowing two goals and hand Ottawa a 4-3 victory.

“It was a little sloppy, I think our moving the puck needs to be a little bit quicker. I thought our regroups can be much faster, and less defenceman to defenceman [passing], more quick ups. I liked our forecheck, I thought we were on the puck at times and created some loose pucks. Defensive zone coverage could probably be a little bit better,” Jean-Francois Houle said after the game.

Mattias Norlinder, William Trudeau, and Jan Mysak scored Montreal’s goals. “It was a nice feeling wearing your home town jersey of your favourite team growing up,” Trudeau said.

The two teams will face each other again on Monday at 4:00pm eastern time at Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

Norlinder Struggled on D

Defenceman Mattias Norlinder has a lot of attention on him. The 21-year old has played 45 games of professional hockey in Finland since last season. After his first practice on the smaller North American rink, Norlinder felt comfortable on the needed adjustment.

On Saturday, Norlinder struggled on the ice without the puck. In the second period, the defenceman wasn’t able to hold the puck at Ottawa’s blue line, and that allowed Matthew Wedman to score a shorthanded goal on a breakaway.

Norlinder made up on his blunder by intercepting Shane Pinto’s pass and scoring in the final minute of the second period. The defenceman was relieved that he was able to get that goal back for his teammates.

“He shows a lot of poise with the puck offensively. I think defensively, he needs to improve a little bit on his urgency to win battles, but that’s something we’re going to work with him continuously,” Houle said.

Guhle Shines

Kaiden Guhle made his presence felt throughout the contest from his defensive play, and his physical presence. The coach used the defenceman on the power play, and the penalty kill.

“He was good. He’s a really good skater, you can tell when he carries the puck. A couple of times he rushed the puck up the ice, and did some good things, a couple of good shots,” Houle said.

“I think he’s an excellent defenceman. We see it at practice at the Bell Sports Complex, and we saw it on the ice today, it’s very hard to beat him one-on-one. He always has a good gap, the puck might pass him but the player will always stay in front of him. He’s a good skater, and makes good first passes, and he’s a really good player,” Trudeau said on Saturday about the organization’s first round draft pick in 2020.

Guhle dressed for three games with the Rocket last season before returning to play with Prince Albert in the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Noticed by Coach

Jan Mysak made his professional hockey debut last season by playing 22 games with the Rocket, while the Ontario Hockey League was shut down. He scored only two goals during that time, but left a good impression with the club.

On Saturday, the 19-year old continued where he left off. “Mysak won three faceoffs at the end of the third period that gave us the chance to tie the score. He was one of our good players,” Houle said on Saturday.

“I got the Montreal Canadiens jersey on my body for the first time so it was exciting,” said the Canadiens second round draft pick in 2020.

Houle also appreciated the work of Mysak’s linemates Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Joshua Roy. “I liked that line a lot. They generated offence and were intense on the forecheck,” said the coach. The coaches rewarded Harvey-Pinard by naming him captain for being vocal in the dressing room and a model for his teammates.

Houle liked Mika Cyr‘s versatility playing on the wing and down the middle. The 22-year old was invited to the camp by the organization. Cyr last played for the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats in 2019-20.

Gianni Fairbrother caught the coach’s attention by being aggressive and physical. Fairbrother dressed for three games with the Rocket last season before joining Everett in the WHL.

Houle also singled out Xavier Simoneau for his net front presence on Saturday. The Canadiens sixth round draft pick obtained several scoring chances during the game, but unable to put the puck in the net.

Ylonen Not Vaccinated

LaPresse reported on Sunday that Jesse Ylonen isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19. The information was confirmed by a spokesperson from the organization. There’s no indication whether the prospect intends to get the vaccination before the start of the season.

The American Hockey League (AHL) hasn’t announced COVID protocols for the upcoming season. In the National Hockey League (NHL), there are strict protocols for unvaccinated players.

There’s currently no exceptions granted by the Canadian government to the NHL for unvaccinated players. This would mean that any player travelling to Canada from the United States that isn’t adequately protected, will need to quarantine for 14 days. Under those conditions, Ylonen would likely not play in Laval’s 22 matches in the USA.

Waiting on Drouin

With the Canadiens main training camp beginning on Wednesday, a lot of attention will be on Jonathan Drouin. The Canadiens forward hasn’t spoken publicly since taking a leave of absence on April 29th.

An exclusive television interview with RDS’ Chantal Machabee originally planned for Monday night has been deleted from the network’s schedule. There are reports that Drouin will instead speak to Machabee and TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie in separate interviews on Monday. A public appearance would allow Drouin, the organization, and fans to move on from this situation.

“I hope that he has his best season in terms of health and hockey, and he’ll shows his talent and love for hockey in Montreal. Only from the way he’ll play on the ice, we’ll feel his passion for the sport,” Jon Goyens told the Journal de Montreal. Goyens coached Drouin for two years with the Lac St.Louis Lions in Midget AAA. ”

Former Canadien Stephane Richer struggled to handle the pressure of playing in Montreal during his career. “I hope he says it all. Even if it hurts. Even if, sometimes, it can be embarrassing, it becomes a complex. You have to talk. Quebeckers, we know, as much as we can be mean, we can understand everything and forget everything. He didn’t ask to be home for a month and a half. He couldn’t function anymore,” Richer told LaPresse on Saturday.

Habs on TV

On Thursday, TSN announced its Canadiens broadcast schedule for the upcoming season. The network will broadcast five pre-season games, and 50 matches during the regular season. Sportsnet will carry the remaining 32 regular season games and playoffs. In the United States, the Canadiens will appear twice on ESPN+, and two times on TNT.

In French, RDS will broadcast six pre-season games and 60 in the regular season games. TVA Sports will carry the remaining 22 regular season matches and playoffs.

Canadiens Connection podcast

Current Habs topics were discussed on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen, share and subscribe!

By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2021 Rocket Sports

===