It’s been a busy summer at the Montreal Canadiens training centre in Brossard. Several players, such as Nick Suzuki, Ivan Demidov and Patrik Laine spent a lot of time at the facility throughout the offseason. With training camp set to start during the week of September 15, more and more players have made their way in town. David Reinbacher, Joe Veleno, Alex Newhook, Jayden Struble, Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, Jake Evans, and Alexandre Carrier have also made appearances on the ice at Complexe Sportif CN.
“It’s great to have guys training all together through the summer,” Suzuki said. “It’s not usually the case. Guys have benefited a lot from training here […] It’s special to have this many guys stick around.”
The captain making Montreal home all year round certainly influences the number of players spending time at the Canadiens training centre. The organization’s culture is another significant factor. Usually, players without kids arrive in town in September, while those with children arrive in August due to the beginning of school.
“Everybody wants to be here. It’s the first time I see that,” said an impressed Carrier. “It shows how tight we are as a group, and how well the team treats us.”
“It shows how people love playing here. Montreal is a great city. The fans are behind us,” added the recently-retired David Savard. “Everyone is behind the team and want the young guys to perform. The young guys are sticking around and feel the love of the city, the fans.”
Will Montreal take the next step?
The Canadiens clinching a playoff spot surprised most watching from the outside. Eight wins in their first 24 games of the season wasn’t a start that gave hope to an extended season. Neither did one win in nine games heading into the Four Nations Face-Off. However, they turned things around and battled to the end, clinching the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Nick Suzuki led the charge with 37 points in 26 games and is excited about the next phase of the organization’s rebuild. “We’ve been trading players away for a long time, and now we’re adding really good NHL players to the team; it’s exciting for everyone.” The captain reached out to Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc at their acquisition.
“We want to be at the same spot or better. We have the team to do that,” the centre answered when asked about his expectations for the 2025-26 season. The captain’s objective resonates with his teammates and heard repeatedly until puck drops on October 8.
“The playoffs are the main goal, but then we have to focus and get further in the playoffs. It’s going to be harder because the teams will be paying more attention to us. It’s going to be a fun challenge,” Juraj Slafkovsky told TVA Sports.
“We lost in the first round last year, and it didn’t feel like we were just happy to be there. It’s seeing how we come together and build off what we were able to do last year. We have a really good team and made some good additions,” Struble said.
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