The Montreal Canadiens training camp is coming to a close. The regular season is slated to begin for the club on October 9th as they open at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team’s roster is nearly set with only a handful of cuts left to be made. With that being said, let’s hand out some training camp grades for the Montreal Canadiens players.
2024-25 Montreal Canadiens Training Camp Grades
Earned a Roster Spot: Lane Hutson, Oliver Kapanen, Alex Barre-Boulet
Lane Hutson and Oliver Kapanen have been the talk of the Canadiens training camp. Hutson has been dominant in transition and in the offensive zone. He has just one assist to show for his efforts but any time he’s had the puck on his stick he’s been dangerous. As for Kapanen, he scored his first of the preseason against the Senators in a losing effort. However, he has been the most impressive Habs rookie at camp outside of Hutson. With the Laine injury, his roster spot is all but assured. Hutson will start the year on the second pair alongside David Savard while Kapanen will likely slot in somewhere in the bottom six. For Barre-Boulet’s part, he had a solid camp and should earn himself a spot as the thirteenth or fourteenth forward.
Impressed at Camp: Kirby Dach, Emil Heineman, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux, Luke Tuch
Kirby Dach has been impressive at camp, especially when you consider that he hasn’t played hockey in a year. He’s had a pair of goals this preseason and is shaking off the rust quickly. Dach even dropped the mitts against Ridly Greig of the Ottawa Senators following a late hit from Greig that forced Dach to the dressing room earlier in the game.
As far as youngsters go, Tuch, Beck, Heineman, and Mailloux all have impressed at training camp. Tuch got on the board a couple of times this preseason. He and Heineman are projected as solid power forwards for the team’s bottom six in the future. Heineman is still with the Canadiens but is likely going to be ousted by Kapanen for the final roster spot. Tuch was just cut following the Habs last game. Nonetheless, a solid showing from the pair. Beck has been fighting with Kapanen for a job in the bottom six, but a year in Laval will do well for his development. As for Logan Mailloux, he has a chance to make the team, but with Hutson, Struble, Xhekaj, and Barron in the mix, he might be better served getting top minutes in Laval as well.
Alright Camps: Joel Armia, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Mike Matheson
None of the Canadiens veterans outside of Dach had very impressive camps. Suzuki had a couple of points but he and his linemates, Caufield and Slafkovsky didn’t impress much in their two contests. Mike Matheson was solid at even strength but struggled mightily as the powerplay quarterback. While he should stay there to begin the year, if the teams’ powerplay continues to struggle we could see Lane Hutson quarterbacking it sooner rather than later.
Joel Armia had a much better camp than he did last season where he got cut and was assigned to Laval. However, he wasn’t a huge factor in any of the games he played either. Armia did enough to keep his spot on the Canadiens but there are a plethora of youngsters breathing down his neck. In a contract year, it’s hard to see a world where Armia is on the roster beyond this season.
Surpassed at Camp: Christian Dvorak, Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron
One of the big storylines in this camp has been Christian Dvorak being in danger of losing his job. With Kapanen and Beck having strong camps, there’s been a lot of pressure on Dvorak. Outside of his one goal, he wasn’t dangerous or noticeable in any capacity. Dvorak should start as the third-line center but much like Armia, he has competition in the rearview mirror. This should also be his last campaign with the Canadiens.
This camp was a big one for Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron, but both players were disappointing in different ways. Barron continues to make too many mistakes in the offensive and defensive zone. His game doesn’t seem any more refined than what we saw last year. He will likely be starting the season as the seventh defenseman as a result. If not for his waiver eligibility, his spot on the roster would almost certainly go to Mailloux. Xhekaj on the other hand was noticeable at camp, but for all the wrong reasons. He took two major penalties, both of which ended up costing his team the contest. Xhekaj is there to protect his teammates and to that effect, he did his job, but if he continues to cost the team due to lack of discipline, he may find himself in the press box.
Disappointing Camps: Sean Farrell, Filip Mesar, Riley Kidney
This camp was a massive fork in the road for Kidney, Mesar, and Farrell. All three players are prospects that have been surpassed in the Canadiens depth chart. The three forwards are all primarily diminutive offensive players and it doesn’t appear that there will be room for them on the teams top nine. Following another disappointing camp, time is running out on these prospects to show they have what it takes at the NHL level.
Main photo by: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
