Author: Dose

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Training on December 26: the NHL is investigating Peter DeBoer and the Stars

The Christmas break is quite significant in the National Hockey League.

Every season, all the teams and therefore all the players in the NHL take a break from games, training, and travel on December 24, 25, and 26 for Christmas.

So there is no action and no activity in the NHL during these three days, allowing players to spend Christmas with their families.

This break is thus a mandatory rule to be respected in the NHL as it is part of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which is the basic contract between the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association.

Normally, all teams unequivocally adhere to this rule, but this year, we learned in recent days that Peter DeBoer, the head coach of the Dallas Stars, held an optional practice on December 26.

Indeed, DeBoer himself confirmed this during his press conference on December 27 after practice.

This naturally reached the ears of the NHL and the Players’ Association, which have opened an investigation into this “illegal” practice.

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DeBoer, who is an experienced head coach (17 seasons leading an NHL team), thus likely made a mistake.

He himself stated that if the NHL is investigating this optional practice on December 26, he probably made an error.

Even though it was just an optional practice, the rule is strict that no activities whatsoever can take place during the Christmas break (December 24-25-26).

In the end, DeBoer stated that the young players on the team showed up for this optional practice as they are supposed to.

In short, let’s see what happens with this situation, as the NHL could very well decide to take action and fine the Dallas Stars or directly fine DeBoer.

This would not be the first time a team has been fined, as in 2015, the Philadelphia Flyers received a fine, and two years ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs were fined $100,000 for traveling to St. Louis on December 26.

In Brief

– Phew.

– This will clearly be a nice three-way battle.

– Note for tonight’s game starting at 7:30 PM.

– CF Montréal will soon be back in action.

– Obviously.

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Two defeats in two days: the Rocket slips to 4th place in its division.

Yesterday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens truly delivered an excellent hockey match, showcasing one of their best performances of the season.

The players of the CH gave their all for Jakub Dobes, and it showed throughout the match, as the Tricolore won 4 to 0 against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Laval Rocket, who were also in action yesterday afternoon.

It really seems that every time one of the two teams performs well and wins a big match, the other loses.

Indeed, Pascal Vincent’s team lost at home by a score of 5 to 2 against the Syracuse Crunch.

This was, in fact, a second home defeat at Place Bell in as many days against the Crunch, given that the Rocket lost 4 to 1 on Friday.

These are two consecutive defeats against a division rival that hurt the Rocket significantly, as Laval has now slipped to 4th place in their division, which is the North Division.

The Rocket was actually in 1st place in the division just before the Christmas break.

(Credit: TheAHL.com)

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In fact, in terms of points percentage, with the two losses in two days, the Rocket has slipped to 4th place, and would therefore have to play one more preliminary round against the 5th in the division to then access the playoff bracket.

This shows that Laval is in a very tight and difficult division, as all the teams are competitive, except for the Utica Comets.

Each losing streak can be very costly, and the Rocket is currently paying the price after having suffered two defeats.

This is even more painful considering that these two games were played at Place Bell and thus at home in front of the Rocket fans.

In short, Pascal Vincent will have to find a way to get his troops back on track as quickly as possible to keep them in the hunt for a top-3 finish in the division, and this, without Jakub Dobes for some time.

The Czech goalie was also praised and applauded yesterday at Place Bell during the game.

In Brief

– Today’s matches at the World Junior Championship.

– Wow.

– To be continued.

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Top-5: Matvei Michkov was benched for the entire third period.

There were 11 games yesterday in the National Hockey League, as 22 teams battled for important points in the standings.

Of course, we mainly remember Jakub Dobes’ shutout in his first game in the NHL, but there were also other highlights throughout the other games.

Here is a summary.

1. Matvei Michkov was benched for the entire third period

Yesterday, we were watching the matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks, as Cutter Gauthier faced the team that drafted him for the first time.

Gauthier was eagerly anticipating this game, unlike John Tortorella.

However, in the end, Cutter Gauthier did nothing special in 13:19 of ice time in a game won 3-1 by the Flyers.

So it was quite an ordinary game, until we realized that the Flyers’ star forward, Matvei Michkov, was benched for the entirety of the third period.

The young Russian has been experiencing very difficult moments lately, and yesterday, John Tortorella decided to punish him and try to shock him.

Tortorella noted that Michkov has had less energy for several weeks now, and therefore, he stated he wanted to give him more time to rest so he can regain his energy and intensity soon.

This remains to be seen, as Michkov has slowed down, while Macklin Celebrini is now at the top of the rookie scoring and goals leaderboard with 12 goals and 27 points.

The Calder trophy is slipping out of Michkov’s hands.

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2. The Rangers lose again

What is happening with the New York Rangers?

After losing eight of their last 11 games before the Christmas break, we expected the Rangers to come back strong yesterday, but in the end, it was the same outcome.

Indeed, the Rangers fell 6-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov had a great time in this game.

And in goal, stopping 42 of the 44 shots directed at him, Andrei Vasilevskiy was far better than his counterpart Igor Shesterkin, who was chased from the game after allowing five goals on 13 shots.

In short, things are really going poorly for the Rangers right now.

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3. Alex Ovechkin scores in his return to play

The number 8 of the Washington Capitals was finally back in action last night after missing 16 games.

In his absence, the Caps were simply sensational, as they remained at the top of the entire NHL.

And this doesn’t seem likely to change with Ovi’s return, as the Caps could be even better, as they proved last night by winning 5-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ovechkin scored a goal in his return to play, finishing the score in an empty net.

This is his 869th career goal. He is now just 26 goals away from Wayne Gretzky’s record.

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4. Impressive last-minute comeback by the Kraken

We witnessed quite an ending yesterday evening between the Vancouver Canucks and the Seattle Kraken.

With less than five minutes left in the game, the Canucks were leading 4-1 at home and seemed to be on their way to a dominant victory.

But the Kraken had other plans, scoring three goals in four minutes.

Jaden Schwartz first scored with 4:45 remaining in the third period, and defenseman Vince Dunn added another a few minutes later, bringing the score to 4-3.

And then, 22 seconds later, Jaden Schwartz tied the game with 50 seconds remaining.

And in overtime, after a horrible pass from Tyler Myers, Vince Dunn broke away and secured the victory for the Kraken.

In short, what a crazy game the Canucks will regret letting slip away.

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5. Rod Brind’Amour becomes the fastest coach to reach 300 wins

By winning last night 5-2 against the New Jersey Devils, the Carolina Hurricanes allowed their head coach, Rod Brind’Amour, to record his 300th career victory as head coach.

And what’s fascinating is that Brind’Amour became the fastest coach in NHL history to reach this milestone.

He achieved it in 488 games.

Overtime

– Here are all the results from the previous day.

– Here are the top scorers from the previous day.

(Credit: NHLcom)

– On the agenda today: nine games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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CMJ: Latvians have twice as many players in the QMJHL as Canada.

Last night, we were in for a big surprise at the WJC, as the Latvian team triumphed over the Canadian team.

The Latvian goalie, Linards Feldbergs, was on fire against Canada.

That said, we can’t just attribute this to a goalie miracle: the Latvians were the better team on the ice.

However, when we look at the composition of the Latvian team, we notice that the club relies on four players who play in the QMJHL. There’s Feldbergs (Sherbrooke), but there are also Eriks Mateiko (Saint John), Peteris Bulans (Chicoutimi), and Harijs Cjunskis (Sherbrooke).

And that’s particularly impressive when you consider that it was these guys who helped the Latvians win yesterday… but also when we notice that Canada has only two players from the QMJHL: Ethan Gauthier (Drummondville) and Mathieu Cataford (Rimouski).

This raises the question, even in Prince Edward Island, of whether the CEC may have dismissed the QMJHL too quickly.

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I’m well aware that it’s not that simple (it’s not like the Latvian players in the QMJHL could have represented Canada), but seeing these guys shine against a strong Canadian team is quite impressive.

Could guys like Caleb Desnoyers or Justin Poirier have helped the CEC yesterday? We’ll never know… but we clearly saw that QMJHL players can shine on the international stage. And that’s perhaps something the CEC leaders will need to consider in the future.

In a nutshell

– I love it.

– Jakub Dobes reminds of Ron Hextall and Billy Smith, according to Anthony Marcotte. [BPM Sports]

– The Dallas Stars might be in hot water. Holding a practice, even optional, on December 26 is forbidden.

– It was a surreal game.

– Good news for the Japanese player.

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« Congratulations Jakub »: Carey Price sends love to Jakub Dobes

In Montreal, the story of the day is Jakub Dobes. The young Canadiens goaltender, who made his NHL debut today, blanked the Panthers to start his career in brilliant fashion.

After seeing Cayden Primeau struggle in net for the Habs this season, it was refreshing to see a #1 goalie come through.

Obviously, this was an exciting performance from Dobes. One must be cautious before assuming he is the savior, but he looked like a guy who belonged in front of the net.

And while the team’s fans were showering the young goalie with love, there was another person who did the same (via his account X) earlier in the evening: Carey Price.

Congratulations Jakub. It makes me happy to see a moment like that. – Carey Price

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For the young man, it must be a pretty cool feeling to see one of the greats of the modern Habs era give him public love like this. In what must already be a dream day for him, this is another sweet treat on top of it all.

We know that Price has also had his share of great moments in front of the Canadiens’ net, and seeing him take the time to give a little pat on the back to a young guy in the organization is a nice gesture on his part.

We will now see if Dobes can build on his first start and prove that he deserves to stay in the NHL, but for now, he has the public’s love… and Carey Price’s. Hard to ask for more, right?

Overtime

It’s worth noting that this is the second time today that Price has shown love to a young goalie. Last night, he also praised Linards Feldbergs, who had Canada’s number at the WJC last night.

I love seeing that.

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-3 in 7 minutes: it’s tough for Justin Barron in Nashville

It’s been 10 days since the Canadiens sent Justin Barron to Nashville. In return, Montreal acquired Alexandre Carrier, a right-handed defenseman who was supposed to (ideally) solidify the Montreal defense core.

Because clearly, things weren’t working out for Barron in Montreal.

That said, while Carrier is making the fans happy in Montreal, it’s a whole different story in Nashville.

After spending 13 minutes on the ice in his first game in town, Barron was playing as the seventh defenseman for his team yesterday…

And in just seven minutes of ice time, he managed to end his work night at -3.

(Credit: Screenshot/ESPN)

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And clearly, people are starting to get a bit tired of the young defenseman’s performances, as at practice today, Barron was a healthy scratch.

So we can think he will be left out on Monday. It didn’t take long.

Meanwhile, in Montreal, Carrier is exactly what the Canadiens hoped to get. Without being a spectacular player, he greatly stabilizes his team’s defense core, playing big minutes and being effective when he’s on the ice. And most importantly, he helps his team win games.

(Credit: Screenshot/ESPN)

I understand that the Preds wanted to get rid of Carrier’s contract ($3.75 million per year for this season and the next two), and the sample is still small. That being said, after only 10 days, I wonder if the Predators feel like they’ve been taken for a ride.

They bet on Barron’s potential, of course… but if they leave him out after just two games, that’s not a great vote of confidence.

We’ll see if things change, but for now, the Canadiens have no reason to regret their trade. For the Preds, it’s probably a different story.

In Brief

– Not bad, the kid.

– Oops.

– The loss for the Rocket.

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No, Cayden Primeau would never have won that match.

This afternoon, the big story with the Canadiens was Jakub Dobes. The goalie, making his NHL debut, had the heavy task of facing the Florida Panthers in his first appearance in the show.

With Cayden Primeau no longer in the organization’s good graces (and officially placed on waivers at 2 PM), the task of backing up Samuel Montembeault (at least in the short term) fell to Dobes.

And how did Dobes respond in his first test? With nothing less than a shutout, making 34 saves against the reigning champions.

Of course, we must be cautious before thinking he is already the savior. It was a very encouraging start for Dobes, but we shouldn’t fall into the Ryan Poehling syndrome either.

That said, for the occasion, let’s be positive: the young goalie looked like a confident guy in front of his net, something the Canadiens have not often obtained from their backup goalie this season.

At the very least, we can agree on one thing: Dobes has today won a game that Cayden Primeau would never have won. And that’s exactly what the team needs from its backup goalie.

However, even though Dobes is the story of the day, there are other aspects of the game that intrigued me. Here’s what I take away from this 4-0 victory over the Panthers:

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1. Dobes has proven to be a valuable acquisition, but what we notice is that the three guys who joined the Canadiens in December have all improved the team. Patrik Laine is scoring goals in abundance on the power play, Alexandre Carrier is the stabilizing presence the team’s blue line needed, and Dobes gives confidence to the guys in front of him.

This means that suddenly, the team is winning more and more games.

2. Jake Evans has now scored a goal in each of his last four games. Once again today, he hit the target with a beautiful goal.

He is having an exceptional season… and as he will become a free agent in a few months, he is playing like a guy who is going to land a nice lucrative contract.

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3. Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook really needed a game like today’s. Seeing the former score two goals and the latter get his first two assists of the season will do them good.

If they can build on that and have a strong finish to the season, CH wouldn’t say no.

4. By defeating the Panthers today, CH secured its fourth victory of the season against a team on track for the playoffs.

To be in the famous mix, that is something that will need to improve.

A victory that will do wonders for the team and demonstrates that this new version of the Canadiens can win games against top teams, even when Samuel Montembeault rests.

I look forward to seeing what it will yield tomorrow against the Lightning.

In a nutshell

– Jakub Dobes felt at home at the Bell Centre.

– Nice moment at Place Bell.

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Ignored by Team Canada, Zayne Parekh and Carter Yakemchuk enjoyed the loss against Latvia.

Canada could still have two or three teams and remain highly competitive on the international stage.

Of course, there will be omissions/cuts that will not sit well with many, and the non-selection of Carter Yakemchuk and Zayne Parekh is among them.

They actually sent a subtle message, which ultimately wasn’t very discreet.

Following yesterday’s infamous loss to Latvia, the two talented defensemen liked a Sportsnet post about the final result.

The news is increasingly spreading around the hockey world.

After Matthew Schaefer’s injury that will keep him out for the rest of the tournament, it’s Sawyer Mynio (19 years old) who was chosen over Parekh and Yakemchuk to fill Schaefer’s absence.

It all adds to the frustration, especially since Canada needs an offensive defenseman and these two players would have been a great addition.

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Another player who was overlooked by Team Canada, Beckett Sennecke, the 3rd overall pick in the last draft, has decided to make the club regret not selecting him.

Since being passed over, Sennecke has played three games and collected no less than 14 points.

Nearly five points per game, that’s incredible.

In my opinion, Sennecke should have been part of the team because he brings much more than just offensive production.

He is a big guy who doesn’t back down and could have definitely been a great help for Canada yesterday.

I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the Canadian tournament.

In Brief

– Indeed.

– Good news for the Leafs.

– Worth reading.

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The Junior World Championship in 5 questions for the Canadian fan

There aren’t many hopes for the CH in action at the World Junior Championship that has just started, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of interesting things to watch for fans of the Flanelle.

Here are five that deserve our attention!

1. Sandin-Pellikka or Reinbacher?

Several media outlets and fans have spent a good part of the fall debating between Michkov and Reinbacher, but assuming Michkov didn’t want to play in Montreal and/or that the CH scouts wanted nothing to do with him, the comparison with another excellent right-handed defenseman from this draft class, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, becomes 100 times more interesting and 1000 times more relevant in my eyes.

Craig Button had, against all odds, ranked the small Swedish defenseman (5’10) 5th on his final list in 2023, and I had said this while ranking him 14th in my mock draft for the Penguins (the Wings eventually drafted him in 17th place):

Sandin-Pellikka is the best player still available in the stands and could just as well become the best defenseman of this draft.

As fate would have it, the Penguins turned their attention to Brandon Yager (who has since been traded to the Jets for Rutger McGroarty) and mainly decided to bet on another Swedish player, more experienced, to support Letang, a certain Erik Karlsson…

Be that as it may, Sandin-Pellikka, with 22 points in 25 games in the top league in Sweden (SweHL), started the competition strong with a spectacular performance of 3 goals and 4 points against Slovakia, before taking it a bit easier yesterday against Kazakhstan…

Finally, even though he wouldn’t have been able to play at this WJC because he is already 20 years old, it’s such a bummer for everyone that Reinbacher is injured at the moment!

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2. Who is Rasmus Bergqvist?

Sweden is a team to watch for several reasons this year, and for fans of the Tricolore, Rasmus Bergqvist is another. He actually scored a nice goal on Thursday against Slovakia:

Bergqvist, a 6’1″ left-shot defenseman, was modestly drafted in the 7th round at 19 years old last June by Montreal, but he is already playing regularly in the SweHL.

However, no one is impatiently waiting to see him play in North America; it may very well be that it never happens.

At least we’ll have the chance to observe him closely until the end of the competition to get a better idea….

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3. Victor Eklund and Logan Hensler as top-10 picks?

Some lists place the young Swedish winger Victor Eklund, brother of William with the Sharks, in the top-10 for the upcoming draft.

With 15 points in 24 games, the good Victor has excellent statistics in the second league in Sweden, better in fact than those of Michael Brandseeg-Nygard at this time last year, my favorite player for the 2024 draft.

Unlike MBN, Eklund is rather slight at 5’11”, 163 pounds, but he compensates with more creativity and agility.

Shut out against Slovakia on Thursday, little #18 scored yesterday at the mouth of the net against Kazakhstan and also added an assist:

It will be interesting to take a closer look at his performances at the end of the tournament. We will then perhaps be better able to determine if it would be worth it for a team like the Canadiens – who are likely to “select” between 6th and 10th place – to pay a little more attention to Eklund.

That said, he will really have to stand out with his talent by the end of the season, as he does not meet a specific need for the CH de facto.

On the side of Logan Hensler, he is seen more as a future quality right-side defenseman, ultra-mobile with a good frame. Not a bad insurance policy, considering the numerous question marks that remain regarding the future of the right side of the Montreal defense…

But would it be a good idea to use a top-10 pick on this kind of rather sober profile? Hensler, who played about fifteen minutes against Germany, will need to have a strong tournament and especially a very good end to his NCAA season to convince me, as he has shown underwhelming statistics (0 goals, 7 assists, -3 in 17 games) in a rather ordinary club in Wisconsin…

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4. Cole Hutson or Michael Hage?

We won’t get carried away by Cole Hutson’s five-assist performance against Germany in a 10-4 blowout, but Lane’s brother is still quite a hockey player.

Nothing new here; I’ve been saying it for several months, ranking him 8th on my final personal list for the last draft and at 17th place (for the Capitals… who finally picked him in 43rd place!) in the mock draft created alongside Marc-Olivier Beaudoin.

Of course, Michael Hage won’t get the chance to prove himself against Hutson during this competition, having not even been invited to the Canadian junior camp, but it doesn’t matter; we’ll keep an eye on both of them in the upcoming seasons, as they are currently playing in the NCAA…

So far, Hutson, slightly bigger than his brother and a bit more orthodox in his defensive play and skating, has recorded a dazzling 14 points in 16 games “in place” of Lane at Boston University.

On his side, Hage, who we had at least touted at 21st place in the last draft (for the Kings, before the trade with the Tricolore), is shining as a center at Michigan with 10 goals and 18 points in 15 games.

In light of Kirby Dach’s season, the CH can’t regret their choice too much right now… But let’s admit that having both Hutson brothers on the same team would have been something that could revolutionize ice hockey! #justkidding

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5. Hagens, Schaefer, Martone?

Personally, with the overall improvement of defensive play, the production of Laine and the power play, as well as the stabilizing presence of Carrier, etc., I no longer see the CH drafting in the top-5.

But who knows exactly what might happen in the coming months with this team? We know, among other things, that there will likely be more “rebuilding” type trades that could weaken the team in the short term…

That’s why we need to keep an eye on this trio of high-level prospects at the WJC.

Hagens and Schaefer started the competition off strong on Thursday, but now, with the serious injury suffered by the Canadian defenseman, we unfortunately won’t have the chance to witness a great duel between the two on December 31. We simply won’t see Schaefer again in the tournament, as he will be out for two to three months…

On his part, Martone has played very little so far (only 7 minutes and some dust against Latvia…) and may perhaps drop a bit in the minds of scouts after this competition…

An ordinary, even disappointing tournament on his part could even “help” him fall out of the top 5. But let’s reserve judgment for now. Maybe the loss against Latvia will motivate Coach Cameron to give him a chance…

We’ll talk about all this and many other things at the end of the tournament!

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CMJ: Matthew Schaefer will miss the rest of the tournament.

Horrible news for Canada at the World Junior Championship.

And I’m not talking about yesterday’s loss to Latvia…

Aside from this national disappointment, the young 17-year-old defender Matthew Schaefer left the game yesterday after colliding with the post.

And today, we learn that one of the top prospects for the upcoming draft will miss the entire tournament due to this incident.

Schaefer fractured his collarbone and will miss at least two months, if not three months…

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As Bob McKenzie mentions in his tweet above, 19-year-old defender Sawyer Mynio is expected to join Team Canada.

Additionally, McKenzie also notes that even though it’s not confirmed yet, it’s possible to see Carson Rehkopf complete the 25-player roster.

Recently, Stéphane Leroux confirmed the addition of Mynio and Rehkopf to officially complete Canada’s final lineup of 25 players.

Rehkopf made the team last year and it is quite surprising not to have seen him make the team from the start.

It’s very rare to cut a 19-year-old for this tournament, especially when he was there last year at 18.

His experience will definitely be useful in this tournament.

Mynio and he will undoubtedly be good additions to the Canadian squad.

Two of the major omissions from this tournament, Carter Yakemchuk and Zayne Parekh, reacted following Canada’s loss yesterday.

On the Sportsnet post showing the final result, we can see that these two defenders liked that post.

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All to create controversy in Canada.

The frustration of most Canadian fans regarding the exclusion of these two young players is understandable.

Offensively, they have absolutely nothing to blame and are very electrifying.

However, their physical and defensive play is very limited and that can only harm a team like the Canadiens currently.

It must be kept in mind that there cannot just be the best prospects, or the best offensive players in a team. It needs to be balanced, and the decision not to take Parekh and Yakemchuk makes complete sense.

With Mynio to fill Schaefer’s spot and Rehkopf adding depth, Canada should manage, but will really need to step up their game.

In brief

– Dobes will have quite a test tonight.

– The sun is having an effect.

– To be continued.