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FIVE QUESTIONS FACING HABS

Team set to open training camp

STU COWAN scowan@postmedia.com twitter.com/ Stucowan1

The quality of play in Quebec university hockey is impressive.

So it's not surprising that a team of Quebec university all-stars gave the Canadiens rookies a good test Tuesday afternoon at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

The Canadiens rookies ended up winning the game 5-3, but the victory wasn't certain until Kaiden Guhle scored an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left on the clock.

Joshua Roy, Mike Cyr, Brendan Sirizzotti and Isiah Campbell also scored for the Canadiens, while Concordia's Alex Katerinakis and Tyler Hylland scored for the university all-stars, along with Mcgill's Samuel Tremblay.

Guhle was a first-round pick (16th overall) at the 2020 NHL Draft and should have a future with the Canadiens. While the NHL dream is almost certainly over for the university all-stars, that doesn't mean they aren't talented players.

Tremblay, who was captain of the all-star team, played four seasons in the QMJHL with the Blainville-boisbriand Armada and Gatineau Olympiques before going to Mcgill, where he has played for four seasons. Katerinakis played five seasons with the Armada and has now played one season at Concordia. Hylland also played five seasons in the QMJHL with the Armada and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles before going to Concordia, where he has one season under his belt.

Scott Walford, a defenceman on the university all-star team, was the Canadiens' third-round pick (67th overall) at the 2017 NHL Draft and is heading into his first season at Mcgill after spending five seasons in the WHL with the Victoria Royals and Saskatoon Blades.

This was the last of three games at rookie camp and the first win for the Canadiens prospects after losing two games to the Ottawa Senators rookies by the same 4-3 score.

With rookie camp now over, the Canadiens' main training camp will open Wednesday in Brossard with 69 players reporting.

Players who were invited to the rookie camp who have also received invitations to the main camp are Guhle, Mattias Norlinder, Jesse Ylönen, Rafael Harvey-pinard, Jan Mysak, Daniil Sobolev, Tory Dello, Cédric Desruisseaux, Justin Ducharme, Gianni Fairbrother, Alexis Gravel, Cam Hillis, Joshua Roy, Xavier Simoneau, Joe Vrbetic and Arber Xhekaj.

Norlinder, a 21-year-old Swedish defenceman who was selected in the third round (64th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft, is the rookie with the best chance of making the Canadiens this season. He didn't play Tuesday against the university all-stars after playing in the first two games against Ottawa.

“Obviously, he's got some offensive talent and he's very good with the puck,” Guhle said about Norlinder after Monday's 4-3 loss to the Senators. “He's very smooth. He's a good player. He's fun to play with, fun to watch. He's a good person off the ice, too. Makes it a lot easier to root for him. He's obviously a very skilled player and he's got a great career ahead of him.”

Guhle is probably headed back to the WHL'S Prince Albert Raiders this season, where he is captain, and he could also be captain for Team Canada at the world junior championship.

“My focus right now is to make the team,” Norlinder said at the start of rookie camp. “That's why all the guys are here. So I'm looking forward to this week and then we will see what happens. So just fun to be here for the first time.”

Ylönen, the Canadiens' second-round pick (35th overall) at the 2018 NHL Draft, took part in the rookie camp despite refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, and he has been invited to the main camp.

“It's a personal decision, so we don't get involved in their decision,” Laval Rocket head coach Jean-françois Houle said Monday when asked about Ylönen's situation. “We will follow all the protocols that need to be followed and the management is going to probably meet with our coaching staff and then figure out a plan. We're going to go from there.”

The Canadiens did not have any media availability Tuesday to follow up on Ylönen's situation.

Of the 69 players invited to training camp, there are 39 forwards, 23 defencemen and seven goaltenders who will be split into three groups. The players will hit the ice for the first time Thursday in Brossard and the Canadiens will play their first of six preseason games Saturday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs (7 p.m., SN1, RDS, TSN 690 Radio).

The Canadiens will open the regular season on Oct. 13 against the Leafs in Toronto.

He's a good player. He's fun to play with, fun to watch. He's a good person off the ice, too. Makes it a lot easier to root for him.

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2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

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