Why Engstrom Could Surprise At Camp

Throughout the summer, we have heard stories in the come out in the media and say they believe Engstrom could play in the NHL next season. One of his biggest fans is RG Media’s Marco D’Amico, who often spoke on the Shaun Starr show about how much he truly loves Engstrom’s game as a prospect. It seems like he believes the Swedish defender deserves as much of a shot as anybody to make the team this upcoming season.

With how much he improved throughout the regular season in his first year in North America with the Laval Rocket, it’s understandable how much D’Amico loves Engstrom. Even the Rocket’s head coach, Pascal Vincent, was genuinely surprised by how much Engstrom improved throughout the whole season, which was mentioned in his end-of-season press conference.

The start of the 2024-25 season saw Engstrom be a healthy scratch at times because he was committing too many turnovers in the neutral zone. He was proving that he was a good puck mover, but he was a little careless and would try to do too much too early in his time with the Rocket. Thankfully for him and the Rocket, Engstrom learned to pick his spots much better when he carried the puck up ice. That’s not to say he doesn’t make the same mistakes he used to, but Engstrom is now a much smarter puck-moving defenseman. Once he was paired with David Reinbacher during the playoffs, he allowed Engstrom to play his game a little more freely. Reinbacher is the type of steady defenseman who plays physical and will always put defense first over offense. This means a more offensively inclined defenseman like Engstrom can take more risks when bringing the puck up.

While Engstrom is the type of defenseman who will make incredible plays by carrying the puck up, he will also make bad decisions with the puck from time to time. For that damage to be reduced, he needs a solid defensive partner by his side, which is where Reinbacher comes in. Not only that, but a partner like Reinbacher allows Engstrom to get into a position to be a better defenseman himself. At least, that’s what it looked like later in the season when playing with the former top 5 pick. It is possible that playing with Reinbacher and his much-improved defensive game occurring at the same time could just be a coincidence.

Either way, this past season showed that Adam Engstrom is a fast learner because going from a healthy scratch to one of the two most reliable defenseman on the team on both sides of the team.

A good comparison for Engstrom would probably be Mike Matheson, which is why if Engstrom does somehow blow management away at training camp and forces their hand, they would need to find a way to trade their veteran defenseman, as the similarity in their game could be a crutch for the Canadiens. Both defensemen play a risky style as puck movers who aren’t the most physical, which could lead to missing a serious element on the defensive side

The truth is Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson are part of the team’s core, and both have proven that playing with defensive first guys as their partners is the best thing for their games. That means the Canadiens would only have room for one other puck mover, which would go to Engstrom or Matheson. There is no room for both of them in the lineup over a long period of time to avoid defensive blunders.

The reality is Engstrom will probably start the year in Laval, but he will certainly get a few games in the NHL, especially now that Logan Mailloux, who is no longer in the organization, isn’t around to be among the first defensive call-ups. If Engstrom continues to improve at the pace he did last year, yet again, he will be an NHLer in no time.

Do you think Engstrom has a legitimate shot at making the Canadiens out of camp?