The Montreal Canadiens have announced their Rookie Camp roster ahead of the 2024-25 season. There are several forwards that fans are excited to see such as Owen Beck and Filip Mesar. But like the competition on the blue line for the Canadiens roster, there aren’t many spots available up front with the forwards either.
Related: Canadiens Blue Line Spots Not as Open as People Believe
While there are several one-way NHL contracts at general manager (GM) Kent Hughes’ disposal, there is still a small opening that a young forward can push their way into and crack the roster.
Canadiens Lines
The construction of the lines by head coach Martin St. Louis tends to fall under two categories. Lines that play with energy and pace and lines that can play a possession game. While the top line can do both, and the second line below could also be constructed to do the same, the decisions on who to add to the lineup will rest on what style St. Louis wants to see from his bottom six lines.
The top line is essentially set with Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky. They scored 81 goals last season, finished one-two-three in goals for the team, and have the skill to become a line that can score 100 goals. The second line is almost set with newly acquired Patrik Laine and Kirby Dach. The question with this duo is who will complete the line. The answer rests on who will be the third-line center. Will it be Alex Newhook or Christian Dvorak? If St. Louis is looking to add a playmaker on the second line, Newhook would fit the bill, leaving the third-line center role to Dvorak, who is in the final year of his contract.
Assuming Dvorak is on the third line, this is where the roster could start to open up a possible position for a youngster to take control of. While Josh Anderson should be on this line, and he has a lot to prove after a disappointing 2023-24 season, he will still need a strong camp to cement himself in that spot. This is especially true since Joel Armia is coming off of a solid year with a career-high 17 goals last season. This means the left-wing role could be up for grabs, and that’s where the competition for the younger players will begin. Whoever loses the battle between Armia and Anderson will drop to the fourth line and join Jake Evans along with heart and soul player Brendan Gallagher. Due to the heavy mileage he has put on himself, there is a likelihood that Gallagher could injure himself again this season, which could open the door for others later in the year.
Canadiens Hopefuls
There is a role available as the 13th forward. Michael Pezzetta has the inside track because he has filled that role for a couple of seasons. He is a known quantity for St. Louis who can rely on him to be able to sit in the press box for several games, come in when called upon to play a fourth-line energy role, and bring some physicality to the lineup. Another player with a legitimate chance at that role is Alex Barre-Boulet who signed a one-year deal with his hometown Canadiens. Barre-Boulet is a skilled and competitive smaller forward, however, he is more likely to play with the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) where he will be a top-line player and provide veteran leadership to a very young team.
The role of third-line winger is where the real drama at training camp is likely to play out for the forwards. It is up for grabs and will be hotly contested by at least two forwards. The first is Joshua Roy, who is the incumbent as he had to step into the role last season. After an impressive start to his rookie AHL season with 32 points in 41 games, he earned the call-up where he scored four goals in 23 games while averaging 12:08 minutes of ice time. His reliable two-way play and ability to play a puck retrieval role give him a good basis to build on. The other player may seem like one from out of left field but really isn’t. That player is Oliver Kapanen.
While playing in Liiga, a notoriously defensive league based in Finland, Kapanen scored 34 points in 52 games playing in a top-six role at center. Adding a center to the wing provides another layer to his game for the Canadiens. His playoffs last season is when he lept up the depth chart for many watching, as he scored seven goals and 14 points in only 13 games.
His strong play earned him a contract in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), signing with Timra IK but also his entry-level contract (ELC) with the Canadiens. He was then told to skip rookie camp and prepare for just for main camp. His new coach in the SHL goes as far as to say that Kapanen can steal a spot on the Canadiens roster. He’s a gifted playmaker that has a good shot from the outside, is highly mobile, and plays with pace. If he can’t crack the roster, he’ll return to the SHL.
Canadiens Options for Call-Up
With the Canadiens’ recent history of injuries, the biggest opportunity this coming season for the very deep pool of forward prospects will be as injury call-ups. With several now graduating to the professional ranks in North America and adding significant youthful skill to the Rocket, there will be competition there to prove themselves ready for the call to fill a spot, even temporarily, in Montreal. Players such as Emil Heineman, Luke Tuch, Beck, and Mesar are some names to watch this season with Heineman already having some NHL experience as well.
This is all based on if there are no trades between the rookie camp opening in September and the start of the regular season. While it is unlikely to happen, a trade opens up more possibilities. What is more important than giving the prospects NHL playing time, however, is ensuring that the focus is placed on giving them the right tools, level, and location to fully develop their games.
