Updates on Day 1 of the Canadiens Rookie Camp

Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent will be in charge of running the camp over the next few days. He was asked about what he expects from Ivan Demidov at the camp. He mentioned that he understands how amazing Demidov is as a player, but the goal over the next few days is to teach the young Russian forward the non-flashy fundamentals, such as having a good stick and strong positioning of the body when he doesn’t have the puck, to help him develop into an even better 2-way player. Vincent essentially wants to help make sure that Demidov has all the skills to be a superstar in the league, both on offense and defense. 

For a 19-year-old Russian forward, Demidov’s defensive game is already really good, but it could use some more work to help him get to superstardom in the future. If Vincent and his development staff can instill some more good habits into Demidov’s game, he can help him become more of a complete player than just an offensive superstar. Although Demidov is the type of player who can already make reads a step or two ahead of the average player, he is bound to figure it out through reps in practice and in real games. It will be interesting to watch him dominate at Rookie Camp with peers of his own age.

Another storyline to follow is how goaltender Jacob Fowler will perform at his first pro hockey training camp. After dominating in the NCAA at Boston College last year, he turned pro and played solid down the stretch with the Laval Rocket. Deemed as the future starter of the Montreal Canadiens, at this Rookie Camp, as well as the official Training Camp, we will get to see just where he truly is as a goaltending prospect. If he performs well, he can give Habs fans a lot of faith in him as the future netminder of the team, but at the same time, a rough camp could give fans serious doubts about his abilities.

Speaking of goaltenders in the Canadiens organization, newly drafted netminder Arseni Radkov was asked about what Alexander Zharovsky is like as a player. Radkov had great things to say about the Habs’ early 2nd Round pick. He claims that Zharovsky plays a very similar game to Datsyuk with his silky hands and couldn’t understand how a player that skilled would fall out of the 1st Round. As we saw in the Canadiens behind-the-scenes draft video, neither could their scouting staff, who apparently had Zharovsky in the teens on their official draft list. While Zharovsky can’t be at this year’s rookie camp, it’s good to know how his peers, such as Radkov or Demidov, view the silky winger. 

Over the next few days, we will get to see how the prospects look at practice before they face the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre on Saturday at 7:00 pm ET.

Is there a storyline that you are very interested in following during the Habs Rookie Camp?