The first half of the Canadiens rookie camp wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with their final game of the London prospect tournament that saw the Habs young guns play against their counterparts from Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Toronto. The tournament provided a great opportunity to see how the Habs prospects measured up against real competition from opposing teams, as well as seeing the progress that the players made from the development camp in July until training camp.
Players on tryout who impressed:
Angelo Miceli - C -
Miceli, an undrafted small center who played his entire career with the Victoriaville Tigers of the QMJHL, attended the Canadiens development camp back in July and showed enough promise to earn an invite to the rookie camp. As Miceli is already 21 years old, he is ineligible to return back to the Tigers. His goal is to come away from with an AHL/ECHL contract and he performed well enough that it is hard to imagine that he won’t earn at least that from the Canadiens. Although Miceli centered the Habs 4th line throughout the tournament, he collected 4 assists during the tournament with 3 coming in the first game against Pittsburgh. Miceli showed skill and intensity and should be a nice addition to at least the Canadiens ECHL affiliate in Brampton.
Michael McNiven - G -
McNiven also attended the Habs development camp in July and earned an invite to the rookie camp. With only Zach Fucale and Hayden Hawkey as goaltending prospects in the Canadiens system and Hawkey unable to attend due to NCAA commitments, the Canadiens needed another goalie to join Fucale in London. McNiven won the OHL’s rookie goaltender award for the lowest Goals Against Average at the end of the 2014-2015 season but went undrafted in Florida. At 6’1… and 207 lbs, it was recommended by the Habs brass that he trim down in order to improve his fitness and mobility. He took those words to heart and dropped 10 lbs by September. In his win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, McNiven looked very comfortable making 47 saves. As McNiven is just 18 years old, the Canadiens have to decide whether or not they want to offer an entry level contract to McNiven.
Ryan Johnston - D -
Johnston actually earned and signed a minor league contract with the Canadiens following his performance as an invitee to the July camp. An undersized offensive defenceman at 23 years old, Johnston played with a lot of maturity and confidence with the puck. He proved that he is very adept at quarterbacking the powerplay, a skill that should play into his favour as not many of the Canadiens current prospects on defence really possess. Johnston should make an excellent addition to the St John’s Ice Caps. The question of how his size (5'10") will affect his game at the professional level will only really be measured at the Canadiens real training camp.
Prospects expected to shine:
Michael McCarron
While McCarron did not score any goals at the London tournament, he proved his worth in many other ways. McCarron was quick to defend his teammates, fighting twice. McCarron was called upon to check the opponent's top lines and defend on the powerplay, even in 5 on 3 situations. He is now a complete player that has vastly improved since he was drafted in the 1st round in 2015. During the tournament McCarron played center, a position he only started playing this past season. It looks like the Canadiens are happy with the switch and will continue playing him there for now.
Nikita Scherbak
While the 2014 former first round pick did not light it up in London, he showed flashes of the great skill that made the Canadiens draft him. Was Scherbak holding back, saving himself for the Canadiens main camp? Or is he still recovering from the injury that kept him out of the scrimmages during the July development camp?
Charles Hudon
Hudon’s professional experience in the AHL was quite evident throughout the tournament. He was looked upon to provide leadership and offense which for the most part he did. Hudon hit at least 5 posts before he finally scored in the 3rd period against the Maple Leafs. While he is expected to compete for a spot with the Habs during training camp, Hudon’s chances may have taken a hit with the the professional tryout given to Tomas Fleischmann.
Daniel Carr
After an excellent rookie campaign in the AHL, Carr is expected to compete with the other highlighted prospects to earn a spot with the Canadiens out of training camp. Carr’s best game was the 1st one against Pittsburgh. The rest of the tournament Carr was a little too quiet, not really making an impact on the game, one way or the other. It is possible that Carr is also pacing himself so that he makes a better impression at the Canadiens main camp.
Other prospects like Jeremy Gregoire, Brett Lernout and Dalton Thrower had a good but not great tournament. These players tried to leave a mark with their physical play. Each are destined for the minors.
2 notes on the rookie tournament:
- I would personally prefer if fighting was banned from these rookie tournaments. The fights are truly not necessary and I am sure that no team wants to see a prospect get injured during a fight. Let the players play and show their skills. I am not saying to take fighting out of hockey altogether. It is just that in this setting, the negatives far outweigh the positives.
- I am very excited for 3 on 3 overtime and cannot wait to see it for the first time at the NHL level. The Canadiens vs Penguins in overtime showed non-stop action, excellent chances and odd-man rushes until Pittsburgh finally won the game. While the goalies might be hung out to dry in 3 on 3 OT, I think this will be a format that fans will truly enjoy.
Lastly, rookies were given the day off on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday they will be back on the ice in Brossard. After the tournament, Dryden Hunt and Sam Studnicka were released and will most likely go back to junior hockey as overage players. 2015 draft picks Simon Bourque, Jeremiah Addison as well as 2014 pick Daniel Audette were returned to their respective junior teams.
Cheers and follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler