The Bell Centre finally hosted some hockey again today, and the curtain drew on the Prospect Showdown pitting the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It wasn’t a full house, but it was still quite noisy for the rookies’ first test. Rearguard Logan Mailloux wore the C for the occasion, and Owen Beck and Sean Farrell sported As. Coaches decided for themselves and didn’t tell the players in advance, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
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Due to Quentin Miller’s injury, Samuel Richard tended net with Matteo Drobac acting as his backup, meaning both goaltenders now serving for the Habs are at camp on a tryout basis.
It didn’t take long for trouble to start brewing. Tyler Thorpe, the 130th overall pick at the last draft, snowed in Toronto’s goaltender, and the Leafs took exception. Enter Florian Xhekaj, who dropped the mitts and won his first fight in the Canadiens’ uniform, reminding everyone that he is indeed Arber’s brother. The Sheriff has a deputy in town.
Related: Canadiens: Rookie Camp Day 3
As expected, Mailloux showed how physical he can be, landing a big hit in the defensive zone early on, while Lane Hutson showed just how shifty he is. He fakes out defenders with disconcerting ease and dances along the blueline with moves we’ve not seen in Montreal since P.K. Subban was traded. The youngster also made a few breathtaking passes, including one cross-ice pass in the offensive zone, a thing of beauty.
Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent had this to say about Hutson’s performance:
We know his talent, I don’t know him, I’ve seen him in two practices and one game, we see what he does on the ice, the fans see what he does on the ice, but the energy he brings on the bench? I think that might well be his best quality. He wants to play hockey; he’s passionate about the game. He wants to make a difference, in important moments, we saw it in OT. He has that swagger to want to play the game and he wants impressive today.
David Reinbacher did look nervous at times, whiffing on a pass when he took his eyes off the puck for a split second, but the early nerves settled eventually. He also had a role to play in the first frame, diving to poke the puck and neutralize a breakaway, but he was sent to the box for tripping, and Toronto buried the power play goal through Braeden Kressler.
Montreal jumped right back into the game, however, as Charles Savoie and Justin Larose’s hard work deep into Leafs territory led to…