By JD Lagrange – With the rookie camp over, Habs’ fans won’t have to wait long to get their hockey fix. As a matter of fact, the Canadiens’ main training camp opens on September 21st (Wednesday) with all players reporting for medicals and physicals in Brossard.
The first day of on-ice activities will begin the next day, on Thursday. Players will be split into five groups. They will be tested for speed and conditioning, with the skate tests scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM ET. Those will also be held at the Canadiens’ training facility in Brossard.
By Friday, the players will then be divided into 4 groups, allowing for scrimmages and practices. Then on Sunday, September 25th, the always popular Red vs. White scrimmage will be held at the Bell Centre. That final scrimmage will start at 3:00 PM ET.
Players invited
The Canadiens have announced that a total of 74 players have been invited to camp this year. The breakdown is as follows: 44 forwards, 21 defensemen and nine goaltenders. Of those, 47 have NHL contracts, 15 players have AHL contracts and four players were invited on a tryout basis. Listed as extras are Paul Byron, Logan Mailloux and Carey Price.
The four players on professional tryout (PTO) are forwards Pierrick Dubé and John Parker-Jones, as well as goaltenders Antoine Coulombe – who played the last game of the rookie tournament against Ottawa – and Riley Mercier (from the Drummondville Voltigeurs).
It is interesting to note that the 74 players is up four players from a year year ago, when they had 40 forwards, 23 defensemen and seven goaltenders.
Martin St-Louis, Alexandre Burrows, Trevor Letowski, Stéphane Robidas, Éric Raymond, Jean-François Houle, Kelly Buchberger, Martin Laperrière and Marco Marciano will be on hand to evaluate.
Here’s the Canadiens’ pre-season schedule:
| DATE | TIME | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUN, SEPT. 25 | 3:00 PM ET | Red vs White | Bell Centre |
| MON, SEPT. 26 | 7:00 PM ET | New Jersey | Bell Centre |
| WED, SEPT. 28 | 7:00 PM ET | Toronto | Scotiabank Arena |
| THU, SEPT. 29 | 7:00 PM ET | Winnipeg | Bell Centre |
| SAT, OCT. 1 | 7:00 PM ET | Ottawa | Canadian Tire Centre |
| MON, OCT. 3 | 7:00 PM ET | Toronto | Bell Centre |
| TUE, OCT. 4 | 7:00 PM ET | Ottawa | Bell Centre |
| THU, OCT. 6 | 5:30 PM ET | Ottawa | Steele Community Centre (Gander, NL) |
| SAT, OCT. 8 | 6:00 PM ET | Ottawa | J.K. Irving Centre (Bouctouche, NB) |
The Canadiens’ regular season starts on Wednesday, October 12th, as they will be hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 PM ET.
Click here for the full list of players invited.
More reading…
- Prospects Challenge: Eye Test Report by JAG
- Solutions on Right Defense by Bob Trask
- Rookie Tournament – The Recap by JD Lagrange