As we near the end of Phase 3 training camp, here are a collection of thoughts and musings I’ve saved for this Montreal Canadiens notebook.
Xavier Ouellet’s confusing situation
Even without any confirmation from the Canadiens or the NHL, we obviously knew Xavier Ouellet’s absence from Phase 3 was due to something COVID-19 related. But it was quite a peculiar situation that he described when he met the media on Thursday.
The 26-year-old defenceman had been participating in Phase 2 informal skates and testing negative every day. Suddenly, on the eve of camp, he tested positive.
Ouellet then explained that he went back for testing two days later and tested negative. He added that he’s tested negative every day since, but due to NHL and team protocols was kept isolated as a precaution from Sunday of last week to Wednesday of this week.
"It was confusing and frustrating," the defenceman said several times, adding that he’s not even sure he had coronavirus given that he didn’t experience any symptoms at any point.
Ouellet speculated that perhaps he had the illness at some point in March — asymptomatic then — and that’s what produced a positive result last week. He added that he tested positive for antibodies, too.
Anyways, Ouellet resumed practising on Wednesday and looked quite comfortable on Thursday.
Canadiens coach Claude Julien also hinted at using him at some point, which wouldn’t be altogether shocking when you consider Montreal’s (lack of) depth on defence.
I suppose it helps that Ouellet finished the year with Montreal after serving most of the season as captain of the AHL’s Laval Rocket. That he has over 170 games of NHL experience is a plus, too.
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How Canadiens will bring fans into bubble
I had a fascinating conversation with Shauna Denis Wednesday.
For those of you who don’t recognize the name, Denis is the director of content strategy for the Canadiens and, following her hockey career with the McGill Martlets, she joined the organization 12 years ago.
I wanted to know how the Canadiens intend to bring fans inside the bubble with them and what was most fascinating to me was her emphasis on creating that bridge between players and the fans, but not in the way we traditionally think about it.
Denis and her team have always focused on creating content for the fans, but now the times are calling for them to have the fans create content for the players.
"How can we show the players this fan base that’s so passionate is still there and cheering?" she asked, rhetorically. "It’s virtual right now, but the passion hasn’t dwindled."
One initiative they ran over the last two weeks was to have a large television present rink-side in Brossard, one displaying tweets from fans encouraging the players as they practised.
"Stuff like that is just little touch points that allows us to show the players the fans are there," Denis said. "Things like Q &A on Instagram — we did a lot of those during the pause, and I think the fans appreciate having a direct pipeline to players, which they don’t necessarily get all the time. It’s just a lot of things like that where there are little ways you can see an insider look at what guys are doing."
She’s hoping to coordinate a virtual send-off for the team before they depart for Toronto next week.
"To be determined if it actually happens — and we’re working with the airport to make it happen — but you know how sometimes when players are leaving for the playoffs fans will show up with signs? Obviously you can’t do that now, so we’re trying to figure out how to get a screen there so that when players are getting onto the plane fans can be there on Zoom with signs and messages," Denis explained. "It’s something small, but it’s those little wins that you’re looking for, ways for fans to feel connected and players can feel a real interaction."
What can we expect in that regard once the Canadiens are in the bubble?
"To me, it’s the bubble tours we’re planning with guys," said Denis. "A few players have already agreed to give us a look at, I don’t want to call it a day in the life, but kind of a behind-the-scenes look at how they’re spending their time.
"What’s fun about the content we’re able to produce is it gives you an idea of lifestyles, personalities. You know how different they all are, and the more you get to know them, the more you like them. So I want to see: how are they spending time? What are they doing that’s interesting or different but also relatable for fans? Everything you could look at. You’re obviously never going to play hockey like the Montreal Canadiens, but there’s a lot of things off the ice that make them extremely relatable, which I think, especially now, since the pandemic started, everyone says we’re all in this together but you do realize that even though we do live different lives and lifestyles there’s a lot that kind of unites us. So those are the things I’d like to do.
"There’s a lot of storytelling that can come out of this. … Sports and our industry in general, sports entertainment — people want this content because they want this sense of normalcy. They want to feel like things are kind of getting back to normal, so for as much as we’ll focus on what’s different, it’s also sort of like what’s the same? Let’s get that passion out there, let’s share the emotion of the post-season as much as we can."
The Canadiens will send one cameraperson who will act as a jack of all trades for their content delivery.
"He’ll be on the bench for practices, he’ll be in the tunnel," Denis explained.
"You’re not getting a full dressing room access, but I know the NHL will announce it soon that they’re planning to do heavy coverage as well. But you’re going to see a lot of what goes on in and around the arena on practice days and before games. During games, too. I’m super interested to see what that’s going to be like as much as anyone. We’re going to have to be adaptable and flexible. So far, all our plans have been approved and we’re following NHL return-to-play protocols and all that stuff, but I think you have to be malleable in this kind of a setting. But from what it seems like, we will have the access to do what we need and mic players up at practice and all that. A huge priority is safety, so obviously we have all the disinfectant equipment and different mic sets and everything is going to be done in the safest way possible. You’ll get full access to the hockey components."
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Tweet Tweet
I don’t know about all of you, but I think the Canadiens’ Twitter account started to take on a different tone some months back. A more hip tone.
This was the tweet that signified it for me, after the Carolina Hurricanes insisted on wearing their red uniforms at the Bell Centre:
Mauvaise nouvelle : L'équipe en rouge a perdu au Centre Bell ce soir.
Bonne nouvelle : On était en blanc.Bad news: The red team lost at the Bell Centre tonight.
Good news: We were wearing white. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/SAcUlJs5gN— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 14, 2018
Denis said the account is run by three multi-talented people: Steven Nachay acts as the main voice, and Florence Labelle and Thibault Deneufbourg sub in.
She also mentioned that owner Geoff Molson has had a big influence in encouraging her department to loosen the brand up a bit.
"It starts with Geoff," Denis said. "Basically the idea was that we’re a 100-year-old sports team, but we don’t have to sound like we’re 100; that it was OK to be edgy. Actually, I wouldn’t say edgy, because that’s not our vibe. I would describe our accounts as like we’re kind of like the NHL’s cool dad. We’re never going to be the hippest, and we’re not going to be edgy nor are we ever going to say anything about other teams. But we’re in on the joke and we get it and we’re just the cool dad."
I think that’s fitting.
Jordan Weal could play a bigger role than expected
Given that the Vancouver native was a frequent healthy scratch and only appeared in 49 of Montreal’s 71 games this season, it was nearly impossible to figure out where he stood before arriving at this summer’s camp.
But the ambiguity was resolved within a couple of days — especially after top-line centre Phillip Danault was forced to skate with an isolated group including Ryan Poehling, Cale Fleury, Victor Mete and Cayden Primeau. That Weal was skating in Danault’s spot next to Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar suggested he wasn’t so much battling for a job as he was battling to keep one.
That he was an early regular on the power play and continues to be one now all but confirms it. And you think about that one aspect of play and it makes you realize how important he might actually be.
To start with, it’s always good to have a right-handed centre option. But there’s also this:
"One thing we know about Jordan is when he’s got the puck on his stick he makes things happen, and that’s what we liked when he first came here and we still like to this day," said Canadiens coach Claude Julien on Thursday. "It seems, with the puck, he does a lot of good things, and we’ve talked to him more about his decision making without the puck—where he goes, etc. And they’re not humongous deficits but things that in the playoffs are going to become really important.
"So right now he’s come here, he’s in good shape, he seems to be feeling good about his game and we’ll see where it all comes out. But definitely he has an opportunity to play a pretty important role. You watch him on the power play and today in the scrimmage — how he can carry the puck and get it in the offensive zone. He’s really good at those kinds of things. So he’s got some really good assets, and hopefully the other stuff we can kind of control as best we can here and make him a real decent player for us."
The question remains as to where Weal will lineup at five-on-five. Fourth-line centre seems like a good bet.
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What does that mean for Jake Evans?
It was as Montreal’s fourth-line centre that Evans made his mark over the final 13 games before the NHL hit the pause button.
What’s become clearer and clearer as this camp has rolled along is that Evans will likely be on the outside looking in when things get started in his hometown of Toronto. Not that anyone should consider that some kind of indictment of his performance to date.
"What I said from the get-go is I saw the growth in this player the last two years that he’s been here with our organization," said Julien on Thursday. "I really think he’s a smart player. He’s got really good hockey sense, he reads the play well, he catches on quickly. You tell him something once, he gets it. So you know you’ve got those kind of players who have been around the league. I guess an example is like a (Jay) Pandolfo when he played with New Jersey (from 1996-2010) — not a guy that really stood out but was really smart and you could rely on and lean on him. And I think down the road, if Jake continues to progress the way he is, that’s the kind of player he’s going to be; a guy that you’re going to be able to lean on and trust and respect the work that he does. He’s on the right track. He’s still a young player, but I like what I’ve seen from him, and he’s here because we see a future for him. We see a need for him down the road in the playoffs, whether it’s the start of them or it’s in the middle of it. The guys that we’re going to bring with us are guys that we feel can jump on our lineup if need be."
The Finns are ready
I’ve thought a lot about Joel Armia’s path to breakout performances over the last two seasons and I think he was always destined to become the player we’ve seen in Montreal — a strong, heady, offensively gifted and, at times, dominant player.
He just got a raw deal, in a sense. Here’s a player that was drafted 16th overall in 2011, a player who tore up the Finnish Liiga and showed how prolific he could be at the world junior championships, and a player who cut his teeth for parts of two impressive seasons with the AHL’s Rochester Americans. He was ready to rock in Buffalo, but after one game in a Sabres uniform he was thrown into the massive package that sent Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian to Buffalo and Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford and picks to Winnipeg.
Armia was going to have to work his way up a Jets lineup that, over the course of the years he was there, had tremendous offensive depth on the right wing. Think Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine and even Stafford, at times.
It was only normal that Armia got pigeonholed into a defensive role and had a hard time climbing out of it. Hence, the Canadiens pick him up virtually for free – they took on goaltender Steve Mason’s expiring cap hit and traded away a D-level prospect in defenceman Simon Bourque in June of 2018.
I guess I wasn’t too surprised to hear Armia reference the opportunity the Canadiens gave him — the one that might have never been available with the Jets — as the biggest factor in his success in Montreal.
"I think last year I got more of an offensive role here and got used to it a little more," said the big Finn who has scored 29 goals and added 24 assists in his 115 games with the Canadiens. "So probably just kind of going from there. I don’t know, it’s tough to say what it is (that’s gotten him to realize his potential). It’s probably not just one thing, it’s probably just a combination of things."
Like his improved skating, his lethal shot, his outstanding puck-protection skills… But yeah, it really does come down to opportunity.
Speaking of which, Armia said he can’t wait to get back to playoff-style hockey after playing the most fun hockey of his career in Winnipeg’s 2017 run to the Western Conference Final.
Keys for him?
"More speed, more physical," Armia said. "I think playoffs is more details, little details. You have to always be in control of what you do, you can’t just lose the puck everywhere and try all offensive plays. I think it’s more controlled hockey."
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It’s the kind of hockey that suits fellow countryman Artturi Lehkonen.
He broke Daniel Alfredsson’s Swedish Elite League playoff scoring record with Frolunda, scoring 11 goals and adding eight assists in their 2016 championship bid. And Lehkonen was Montreal’s best player not named Carey Price or Alexander Radulov in their 2017 playoff series against the New York Rangers.
What is it about playoff hockey that brings out the best in Lehkonen?
"I mean, it’s the best time to play hockey," he said. "It’s what it’s all about is the playoffs."
You couldn’t tell by the way Lehkonen said it — in a deadpan monotone, the way he says just about everything — but he’s definitely excited for this opportunity.
And the 25-year-old said that after serving two weeks in quarantine upon his return to Finland in March, he was able to train quite regularly. So he’s feeling prepared, too.
Drouin it
Of all the players I’ve seen in Brossard over the last two weeks, no one looks more prepared to play these games than Jonathan Drouin.
And the idea of him lining up with Armia and Nick Suzuki at five-on-five is tantalizing.
"If we play like we practise, we’re around the puck and we’re creating little plays," Drouin said on Wednesday. "Army’s obviously got that long reach, he’s very good in the corners. Suzy’s got great vision anywhere on the ice … We can play together, I think we like playing with each other. It’s just bringing more speed to the game. I think what we’ve got to add to our line is more odd-man speed and make sure we’re beating guys one-on-one when we have the chance with our legs."
About Suzuki…
I remarked this earlier this season, but it still stands out to me as a sign of how mature this player is: on a power-play unit that includes Shea Weber, Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher and Drouin, it’s quite something to see the whole thing run through this 20-year-old’s hands.
Also, when you see how Julien’s willing to depend on Suzuki as he has throughout the season, when you hear him say stuff like this (below), it really makes you wonder how this coach gained a reputation for not trusting young players.
"I think we see the same thing that we said right from the start of last year; he’s a cerebral player," said Julien. "He sees the ice well, he’s smart, he knows how to make the right plays and everything else.
"What we’re seeing right now from Nick is he’s got a little bit more experience now after playing X number of games. I don’t know exactly what number of games he played this year, but 60s, 70s… He’s gained experience in that department where it makes him even more of a better player and a more dangerous player on the power play."
