MONTREAL — Coach Joel Bouchard managed to turn two serious injuries that cast a long shadow on the Montreal Canadiens‘ rookie camp into a learning experience for his young players.
Montreal’s three-day rookie tournament started and ended on a sour note with injuries to Jake Evans on Friday and Jarret Tyszka on Sunday. Both players left the ice on a stretcher.
The Canadiens dropped both their games — 4-0 to the Ottawa Senators on Friday and 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
What angered Bouchard, coach of Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate, was that his players didn’t stand up for Evans or Tyszka. Ottawa’s Jonathan Aspirot and Toronto’s Hudson Elynuik skated away without reproach from a Canadiens player.
"We didn’t do anything both times," said Bouchard. "Enough is enough. I gave them a chance the first time, now they’re going to learn. The guys on the ice, nobody went to see the other team. Unacceptable. My players were warned.
"I’m not asking for my players to fight, but you have to stand up for one another. This is the Montreal Canadiens. I’m not promoting violence, but we’re not going to get walked all over either."
On Friday, Aspirot hit Evans on a zone entry at the blueline. The Canadiens prospect fell and hit his head on the ice and had to be taken away on a stretcher. The 22-year-old has since been released from hospital and is in concussion protocol.
That’s why Sunday’s incident was a bit of a deja vu for Montreal when Elynuik crushed Tyszka head first into the boards in the first period.
Tyszka was also rolled off the ice on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
"It’s a part of the game that we’re trying to get rid of, but there are always incidents like that," said winger Will Bitten on Sunday. "Jarret’s a really nice guy and all the boys respect him and I hope he’s okay."
Added first-round draft pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi: "The main goal on the ice shouldn’t be to hurt other players. That’s not so nice. I hear he’s in the hospital and moving his limbs, so that’s good."
Bouchard’s disappointment with his players’ response was evident.
He berated them at the bench after the hit on Tyszka, and again in the dressing room between periods. And the team appeared to respond with renewed purpose after intermission.
Montreal played the rest of Sunday’s game with more energy and they scored their first two goals of the tournament.
Down 2-0 after first-period markers by Toronto’s Carl Grundstrom and Jeremy Bracco, Cole Fonstad made it 2-1 with a goal at 13:29 of the second period and T.J. Melancon scored the equalizer for the Canadiens at 6:14 of the third.
Giorgio Estephan netted the winner at 12:15 before Grundstrom added his second of the game into the empty net in the dying seconds.
Despite the result, Bouchard commended his side’s fight.
"They woke up in the second period and started playing more physical hockey," said Bouchard. "So if we had won, it would have been too easy. That’s not the process. You have to do that from the beginning. I’m happy we lost. But I’m proud of how they reacted.
"I’m asking them to play like men. At one point, enough his enough. We lost two players. If you’re wearing the same colour sweater, it means you have to stand up for one another. I think they understood afterwards."
In the tournament’s second game Saturday, the Senators defeated the Leafs 6-5 in overtime.
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