Like any opening day of a National Hockey League team’s training camp, the Montreal Canadiens’ Thursday at the CN Sports Complex was full of intriguing elements. However, it was a player who is not expected in Montreal in 2024-25 who attracted the most attention.
Finnish center Oliver Kapanen, 21, stood out by beating Samuel Montembeault twice in a 4-2 victory for the Reds — the team he played for — against the Whites.
During this clash of two 30-minute periods, played in front of a hundred spectators and with a good pace, Kapanen scored his two goals in the first half of the match.
He first completed a play by defenseman Logan Mailloux, then beat the Canadiens’ number one goalie after serving a nice feint to defenseman Joshua Jacobs.
Kapanen seemed comfortable in the center of a trio completed by Emil Heineman and Alex Barré-Boulet.
“I didn’t know the players before, but I feel like it went well. We had fun,” Kapanen said in a press scrum.
“My goal today was to be myself. To play a complete game, in attack and defense.”
So even though he found himself surrounded by several NHL players, Kapanen didn’t seem intimidated at all.
“I felt good from my first time on the ice. I didn’t feel any nervousness. Of course, playing against NHL guys is something new for me, but I enjoyed the game.”
As surprises are always possible during training camps, especially within a team like the Canadiens who will be looking to climb the ladder of the Eastern Conference standings, Kapanen has the right to hope to carve out a position for himself in Montreal.
If he doesn’t succeed, he will drag his bundle to Sweden, the country where he was born, according to the clauses of his contract, he himself specified.
However, listening to him speak on Thursday, he did not show up in Brossard to play the tourist.
“I’m here to get a job [with the Canadiens]. Playing in the NHL is my life’s dream. I want to get a job.”
A trio well in the saddle
The way Martin St-Louis had divided the 57 players at his disposal into three groups, the intra-team game allowed spectators to see what the Canadiens’ first two trios could look like during the regular season.
Thus, for the Whites, Kirby Dach played his first match in ages at the center of the wingers Patrik Laine and Alex Newhook.
In reality, we should not necessarily have expected breathtaking performances from these three players who were playing together for the first time.
On the other hand, spectators were able to see that the synchronicity was very present within the trio formed by captain Nick Suzuki and wingers Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, reunited to their great pleasure, moreover, within the Reds.
Slafkovsky also took advantage of a nice cross pass from Caufield to score the insurance goal with just over four minutes left.
“I feel a lot more confident than I did last year [at this time]. I think in this league that’s the most important thing because everybody can prepare, get in good shape. But the way you play hockey, you have to be confident and that’s how I feel. I’m not starting where I started last year, I’m starting a lot higher and I want to keep progressing,” Slafkovsky said.
Reuniting with Suzuki and Caufield certainly won’t hurt the progression many observers expect to see from Slafkovsky.
“It helps everybody, not just me. I hope I help them. We feel good together on the ice. We have good chemistry, I would say. Today we had a lot of chances. I liked our line today.”
Suzuki felt the same way, and while he hopes that this trio will remain intact for as long as possible, he did not go knocking on Martin St-Louis’ door to express this desire in person.
“We had a lot of success in the second half of the season last year. You never know what can happen during a season, but the more time we spend together, the better it will be for all of us.”
On defense, Lane Hutson and Mailloux played a lot together for the Reds, while Arber Xhekaj and David Savard formed a pair for the Whites.
Guhle under the knife
The first day of on-ice activities at the Canadiens’ training camp was marked by a first absence, Thursday: that of Kaiden Guhle.
Team management announced that the 22-year-old defenseman had his appendix removed Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in a week.
A first-round pick in 2020, Guhle will begin his third season with the Habs. Last year, he had six goals and 22 points in 70 games with a minus-8 defensive rating and 56 penalty minutes.
In addition, the Canadiens announced the addition of defender Jacob Paquette to the list of players taking part in training camp.
Paquette, 25, is participating in the camp as a guest player. Last season, he suited up for Queen’s University and the Trois-Rivières Lions in the ECHL.
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