At the end of last season, Canadian prospect Jan Mysak was watching a NHL on TV when he saw something he found interesting. He’s not 100% sure who it was – he thinks it involved Tampa Bay Lightning center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare – but the most important thing isn’t who was involved, but rather what happened. passed.
The player was taking a face-off on his weak side. Except that wasn’t his weak side.
The player, whether Bellemare or another, had changed hands to make the face-off on his backhand.
Mysak, who doesn’t feel very comfortable taking faceoffs on his right side, decided to try doing the same with the Hamilton Bulldogs, his OHL roster .
“For a few games it was really bad, but I was confident that if I practiced it would get really good,” Mysak said. But I believe in that more than going there on my right side. »
Mysak, a southpaw, began using the ambidextrous hitting technique for right side faceoffs during the latter part of the regular season, the OHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup. During this period, just as Mysak had been drawn to the idea by watching someone else do it, another Canadiens prospect noticed what Mysak was doing and decided to incorporate that into his game as well. .
And like Mysak, he was someone for whom winning faceoffs was an important part of his identity as a player.
With his season with the Mississauga Steelheads over, the Canadiens’ recent second-round pick, Owen Beck, was determined to work on the new technique over the summer so that it would become an integral part of his game.
During the rookie tournament the Canadiens played in last weekend, every time right-hander Beck found himself in the left circle for a face-off, he turned his hands over his stick and made the face-off. on the left side. And he did pretty well.
Mysak and Beck spent time over the weekend discussing the nuances of this new way of playing face-offs, an aspect that could help make them much more versatile centers in the NHL if they ever succeed. to master this technique.
“I kind of stole it from him, and it’s kind of handy to have him here so I can learn from him,” Beck said. It’s worked well for me so far. »
When it was pointed out to coach Martin St-Louis watching from the stands, the latter had already noted it, which is hardly surprising. But St. Louis indicated that he would feel perfectly comfortable sending a center to take a face-off on his weak side if he was able to prove that he was effective in changing hands at the level of the NHL.
“It’s an art, so if they’ve mastered it, why not? he said. And then, we will have the data to support this decision. »
One of the benefits of switching hands, besides just being on your backhand, is that the curve of the stick is pointing in the same direction you want to send the puck in, as opposed to a bet. in traditional backhand play where you basically work against the curve.
“I really like taking them that way because the curve throws the puck back,” Beck said. So even if you put your stick there, the disc will just bounce off the curve. »
The difficult part in all of this is how much clumsiness it can entail.
“Strength is one thing, but you also have to coordinate everything well, because I’m not used to using the bottom hand,” says Beck. It’s just a lot of practice. Obviously you’re working both arms, so the strength is there, but it’s just the coordination that has to come into play.”
Beck was one of the most impressive players for the Canadiens over the weekend, consistently winning his face-offs in addition to playing effectively both ways and showing a bit more offensive skill than he did. that one might have thought a priori. In Saturday’s practice, Beck was on a drill when he received a pass in the slot and scored on a shot against the post on the far side of the goal. A member of the Canadiens scouting staff was watching him and a beaming smile spread across his face after he saw the shot.
“I wanted to come here and have an impact on the game and I feel like I did,” Beck said. I did what I am known to do, which is to win my faceoffs and play 200 feet. I’m trying to add offense, as a lot of people asked for last season. I think I did a pretty good job in that regard. »
A chance to create synergy between Montreal and Laval
Several factors put Martin St-Louis at a disadvantage when he arrived in Montreal to try to refloat a sinking ship. One of those elements was not having really had time to sit down with Laval Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle to discuss with him and his team how the Canadiens were going to play. and what Houle could do in Laval to prepare players for what was going to be asked of them once they were called up.
With the expected rotation of young defensemen this season, building that kind of synergy takes on added importance this year. That’s why St. Louis made sure this was all sorted out long before the rookie tournament started.
“We had meetings with the Martin St-Louis staff at the development camp, we sat down together, we looked at their systems,” Houle said. We will try to simulate what they do so that it is easier for the players when they are recalled, so that it is homogeneous and it is easier for them to play at the top. »
The Canadiens’ player development department, which continues to expand, will also have a role to play in Laval, Houle added, saying he expects to work with that squad “quite often.” The team recently added to that department Scott Pellerin, who served as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ director of player development from 2014 to 2021 and worked as a scout for the Arizona Coyotes last year. When he was with the Leafs, Pellerin was technically the boss of the new assistant coach of the Canadiens, Stéphane Robidas.
Houle himself acknowledges how much of a focus will be on development at Laval this season, but with the strengthened development staff at the Canadiens, it looks like he’ll be getting plenty of help.
(Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
What will become of Mattias Norlinder?
Mattias Norlinder is only 22 years old and has only played 17 professional games in North America. So he doesn’t really need to feel a sense of urgency heading into this season. But it’s also hard to avoid the feeling that this will be a pivotal season for the rest of his career and for where the rest of that career will be.
Not too long ago, Norlinder was one of the organization’s hottest prospects on the blue line. But this group has suddenly expanded with the arrival of Justin Barron by trade and the accession of Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris to the professional ranks, not to mention the others who are coming.
“We have a lot of talent at the back, agreed Norlinder. It’s a daily battle to get places here. »
What makes Norlinder an interesting case is that the reason he was considered such an intriguing prospect was his ability to act like a free electron, move across the surface of the ice and identify opportunities in offensive. But for him to succeed in North America, maybe that’s not the way he should be playing.
Again, Norlinder is only 22 years old, but the way he plays is already a huge part of his personality. Can he adapt? Or, perhaps more importantly, does it have to adapt?
“I have skills in the offensive zone, indicated Norlinder, but I still have to become tougher in my own zone. »
Houle noted how much he enjoyed Norlinder’s play in the rookie tournament, especially his work on the power play where his offensive instincts can really come through. But at 5-on-5, we feel that Norlinder needs to calm his game somewhat.
We had an interesting conversation in Buffalo with a talent screener about Norlinder. He suggested the Swede needed to play more in a straight line and more inside the face-off spots. Basically, he said if you follow all his paths during a match, that’s what they’re going for should look like, not a series of zig-zags and loops spanning the entire rink.
Norlinder’s contract does not include what is known as a European assignment clause, which would give him the option of returning to Europe if he is not retained by his NHL club. His compatriot Emil Heineman has such a clause, and this is why the latter is practically guaranteed to return home at some point or another during training camp.
There are still two years left on Norlinder’s contract, so maybe the urgency isn’t that great. But defining what type of defenseman he will become in North America, and seeing if he can practice a more straight-line style or find it stifling and ultimately boring, will all be something to watch in Laval this season.
Let’s not panic with performances at the rookie tournament
Consider this more of a public service announcement than anything else. While events like the one that took place in Buffalo this weekend have some utility, they also mean different things to different players. Juraj Slafkovsky did not score a goal? I doubt that the general staff of the Canadian regrets his decision in the repechage, especially since Slafkovsky showed several tools that attracted the CH to him in the first place (by the way, I had not realized for my except that the passing game was such a priority in his game).
The same goes for Justin Barron, who didn’t particularly stand out among a group of players he should dominate. But that’s the catch of a showcase like this for a player like Barron; if you dominate, well that’s what you were supposed to do. But if not? You look bad. I would wait to see how he behaves at the Canadiens camp.
But for many of the Canadiens’ prospects who were drafted in 2021 or even before, there was one reality: it was the first time the new management could really observe them. It was a chance to create a good first impression. Norlinder is part of this group, and I don’t think he harmed himself in any way. Players like William Trudeau and Xavier Simoneau left a very good impression with solid performances all weekend. Kaiden Guhle only played one game, but after shaking off some rust in the first period, he quickly demonstrated why he should be given a chance at a job in Montreal this fall.
Then there’s Riley Kidney. The 2021 second-round pick stood out in training camp last year by playing with energy, intelligence and above all, fearlessness. This year, however, there hasn’t been much of that in what we’ve seen. In the last game of the weekend, he had the opportunity to play with Slafkovsky and Owen Beck, and by the third period he was down on the third line.
I repeat, this is only an event and we must avoid making a big deal out of it. It’s not the end of the world for Kidney; he’s returning to juniors this season and may have another shot at the World Juniors. But for him, it was a bit of a missed opportunity to make a good first impression.
(Photo by Owen Beck : Éric Bolté/USA Today Sports)