Martin St. Louis Turns Canadiens' Training Camp Into Playoff Prep - The Hockey Writers - Montreal Canadiens

Martin St. Louis made his point clear: no more coasting through camp, no more easing in—the Montreal Canadiens have to be ready from day one. As a coach, he isn’t here for half-speed hockey. The Canadiens’ head coach made it plain: summer’s over, shinny hockey’s over, and the real work begins now.

The easy pace of scrimmages, the skill sessions, the loose flow of offseason training? Forget it. St. Louis wants urgency, edge, and game-like intensity from day one of camp.

As St. Louis noted in the video below, “I’ve been through it myself.” He admitted that he’s been in situations “where you kind of feel your way through camp, take a few weeks to really get your edge.” But for his team, it’s not gonna happen this time, not for this group. St. Louis is setting the bar: every drill, every shift, every rep has to matter.

For This Young Canadiens’ Team, Every Rep Counts

What does that mean in practice? St. Louis doesn’t want players just going through the motions. He wants every drill to feel like 60–70 percent real hockey. To do that, he’ll add some physicality. Raise the urgency. Create a sense of consequence.

For him, it’s not about polishing skills in a vacuum. It’s about learning to make decisions under pressure: when to move the puck in the neutral zone, when to flip from offense to defense, when to clamp down hard in your own end. Those choices, St. Louis says, can’t wait until October. They have to start now, in September, on the practice ice.

The Canadiens Need to Find the Competitive Edge Early

For St. Louis, the real secret to success is “the edge.” He knows there’s a temptation for players to think, “I’ll ramp up once the season starts.” But the Canadiens don’t have that luxury. They’re not good enough to cruise through camp and play catch-up later.

Cole Caufield Juraj Slafkovsky Montreal Canadiens — Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield celebrates with his teammates
(David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

That edge has to be earned every day, in every rep. If each player finds it individually, then collectively the team builds it too. That’s the formula: a daily, relentless commitment that raises the odds of success. Not guarantees—it’s hockey, nothing’s guaranteed—but tilts the ice in Montreal’s favour.

The Lessons From Last Season Have Made an Impact in Montreal

Why this urgency now? Simple: Last spring left a sour taste. Montreal made it back to the playoffs only to bow out early against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. That sting is still fresh. St. Louis doesn’t want a repeat.

The players did their summer work. They came back prepared. But preparation is just the ticket into training camp. What happens next—how fast they sharpen their competitive instincts, how quickly they find that “game feel”—will define their season.

There’s a Bigger Goal for the Canadiens This Season

St. Louis isn’t talking about squeaking into the postseason. He’s talking about setting a mindset. Playoff hockey starts in training camp. Every habit, every drill, every moment of intensity is a down payment on April.

If St. Louis is anything, he’s a straight shooter. His talk isn’t about gimmicks or motivational slogans. It’s about reps that feel real, about demanding that every skater treat practice like the games that count. He’s betting that if the Canadiens live that way now, they’ll be battle-ready when the real tests come. They are a young team on the rise, and their rise will be fueled by the attitude they adopt early in the season. This starts in training camp.

What’s All This Mean for the Canadiens?

Montreal has talent, youth, and a coach who won’t let them coast. The question is: Will the urgency St. Louis demands stick once the grind begins? If it does, the Canadiens could be one of the most disciplined, hard-to-play-against teams in the league. If not, they’ll find themselves chasing again.

And that’s where the big question lies. Are the Canadiens ready to buy into St. Louis’ vision from day one, or will they need another tough lesson before it sticks?