Unsurprisingly, it was announced this morning that Max Pacioretty is the 29th captain of the Montreal Canadiens. What was unexpected, is that the decision was made not by Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien, but by the players themselves as they voted on the captaincy. This decision by management displayed the high level of confidence and respect that they have for their players and leaders. It has been well discussed as to why Pacioretty was deserving of this honor. I will simply say that his maturity on and off the ice has grown by leaps and bounds. He has developed into one of the NHL's top scorers and become a consummate pro. Pacioretty fully understands what it means to represent the Canadiens and the city of Montreal. There is no doubt that he will make his teammates, coaches, management, owner and fans quite proud.
Max Pacioretty voted by the players as the 29th captain of the Canadiens.
DETAILS-> http://t.co/kSAoEbvEDR pic.twitter.com/jCe6KMb6XD
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 18, 2015Brendan Gallagher will join Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec and P.K. Subban as an alternate captain, a well-deserved honour for the young man. He has won every over with his heart and determination, a player who shows up night in and out. The Canadiens are preparing for the future and have a nice balance of veterans (Markov & Plekanec), young veterans (Pacioretty & Subban) and Gallagher representing the youth on the team. Not to mention Carey Price, the true leader of team. Hopefully with an A on his jersey, Gallagher will start to command a little more respect from officials who turned their heads the other way a little too often last season...
The first day of practice and inter squad scrimmage has come to an end and fans were given a slight glimpse into the plans of coach Therrien. The lines were:
Team White:
Fleischmann - Plek - Gallagher Kassian - Mitchell - Flynn Scherbak - McCarron - Carr Holloway - McNally - Grégoire
Defence:
Markov - Subban Beaulieu - Johnston Hanley - Dietz
Goalies:
Price Fucale Team Red:
Eller-Galchenyuk-Semin DeLaRose-Desharnais-Weise Andrighetto-Hudon-Smith-Pelly Bozon-Dumont-Thomas(Crisp)
Defencemen:
Emelin-Petry Tinordi-Pateryn Barberio-Lernout
Goalies
Tokarski Condon
One still has to be careful not to jump to conclusions. Only once the roster gets trimmed down will we have a better sense of how Therrien plans to use his blender this season. Yes, David Desharnais played center today and Lars Eller found himself on the left wing of Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Semin. While some thought that Eller was simply filling in for Pacioretty on the left side of Galchenyuk, Eller said afterwards that the plan as of now is for him to play left wing throughout training camp.
Lars Eller says he expects to play left wing throughout camp.
— Ðrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) September 18, 2015Playing on that line would give Eller a top-6 role, basically for the first time. "That's where I want to be," he said.
— Ðrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) September 18, 2015It appeared that Galchenyuk and Semin had instant chemistry, passing the puck deftly between them resulting in Semin scoring the 1st goal of training camp. Eller would provide sound defensive awareness on that line and gives him the chance to prove if he is worthy of a top six spot. So if this experiment works and the line of Eller-Galchenyuk-Semin are kept together to at least start the season, one has to assume that Pacioretty will find himself playing with Plekanec and Gallagher, the one effective line from the playoffs last season. In the meantime, Fleischmann is keeping Pacioretty’s place warm, trying to prove that he is deserving of a contract be it in Montreal or elsewhere.
The line of Carr-McCarron-Scherbak looked good and there is a real possibility that this could be the top line for the St. John’s Ice Caps. If Fleischmann does not impress early, I would imagine that a prospect would have the opportunity to play next to Plekanec and Gallagher in a pre-season game.
Gilbert is out with the flu, otherwise he would have played alongside Beaulieu today. Beaulieu played well and looks very much like the confident defenceman we saw finish the season. Pateryn was physical as well, laying a hard hit on Carr during the game. Tinordi must be feeling the pressure to perform… Still no word on 2015 first round pick Noah Juulsen, other than he is still recovering from a concussion. Unfortunately Michael Bournival is also suffering from a concussion. At this point, he is on the outside looking in…
The schedule for the next couple of days are:
Saturday, September 19th:
10 a.m. Practice (Group B) 11 a.m. Game A vs B 12:15 p.m. Practice (Group A)
Sunday, September 20th:
1 p.m. Game Red vs White (Bell Centre)
After Sunday’s squad, the first round of cuts will most likely be made. Until then, who else is thrilled that there’s finally real hockey to finally discuss?!
Cheers and follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler