Adam Nicholas Is a Secret Weapon for the Habs

Cowan mentioned how Nicholas has probably spent more time on the ice with the Habs’ top prospects than anyone, helping them improve and fine-tune their games. He mentioned how he has seen Nicholas on the ice with the players every single time he heads to Brossard to watch the Canadiens skate and hold their summer practice sessions. 

Last Thursday, Nicholas was specifically working with the Habs’ last two top 5 picks in David Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov, even after the other players left the ice. Overall, this is a great sign that the Canadiens have such a committed Director of Hockey Development that he’s willing to skate every day with the prospects at the facility to help them improve their game all summer long, as is the case with Demidov, who seems to never skip a day on the ice. With that being said, this commitment that Nicholas puts into the players will only pay off more when the season starts.

According to Cowan, nobody loves their job as much as Adam Nicholas, who has been such a big part of the rebuild. He mentions how he has so much passion and knowledge for the game of hockey, which he passes along to the young players in the organization.

Not only does Nicholas help players on the ice directly, but he has been continuously working with Habs’ former 1st overall pick and power forward Juraj Slafkovsky via video calls throughout the summer. Slafkovsky also stated in his interview with Anthony Martineau from earlier this summer that working with the videos that Nicholas sends him has been some of the best help he has had during his off-season training sessions that he is doing overseas.

It already seems that Nicholas’ work has paid off as he’s helped Slafkovsky become more of a power forward by working with him closely over the last few seasons. If he continues to work as closely as he has with the team’s top players, he could be a major part of the next team that wins a Stanley Cup in Montreal with the core group he has helped build over the last few years. 

There is no question that Nicholas’ work helped the Habs make the playoffs last season, as he worked closely to make Lane Hutson become a more elusive player over the last year. So with Slafkovsky, Hutson and now with Reinbacher and Demidov, Nicholas is currently doing the work needed to help these players become the best version of themselves that they can be.

It will be interesting to see how much Reinbacher and Demidov have improved when training camp starts, but they definitely should be better versions of themselves when they hit the ice for the real games, thanks to Nicholas.

What are your thoughts on Adam Nicholas’ work so far?