The Habs Make Large Announcement Regarding Their Young Guns
The Montreal Canadiens announced this morning that Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, and Jordan Harris will be in the Habs' lineup on opening night. Many have debated whether Montreal's first pick in the 2022 draft should start in the AHL instead of the NHL. It appears that Canadiens coaching staff believes he is ready to play in the NHL.
Of the four players, Kaiden Guhle had the best training camp this year. The 20-year-old defenseman scored three goals in six games. Only Cole Caufield scored more goals (4) for Montreal in this year's preseason. Arber Xhekaj scored one goal and fought twice in the preseason. The undrafted defenseman has shown he can do it all on the ice and is never afraid to stand up for his teammates. Jordan Harris has shown that he is very mobile and is a good passer.
Montreal winger Juraj Slafkovsky finished with just two assists in six games during training camp. The Slovak showed promising signs and became more dangerous as the preseason progressed. The left-winger will probably need a few more games to get used to the NHL style of play. It will be interesting to see if he stays with Montreal for the rest of the season. As a first-round pick, he will have all the chance in the world to perform. Based on the lineup at practice this morning, Slafkovsky will likely start the season on the second line with Dvorak and Gallagher.
Shortly before that, it was announced that Justin Barron, Raphael Harvey-Pinard, Otto Leskinen, Cayden Primeau, and Jesse Ylonen were cut from training camp and sent to the Laval Rocket (Laval). Montreal will play its first game on Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Here is how Slafkovsky, Xhekaj, and Guhle reacted to the final lineup:
| POLL | ||
Who are you most excited to see with the Habs this year? | ||
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 33 | 26.8 % |
| Kaiden Guhle | 17 | 13.8 % |
| Arber Xhekaj | 19 | 15.4 % |
| Jordan Harris | 54 | 43.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
