Habs Injuries: And now, there are three…

The Canadiens called up Yannick Weber to fill the team’s defensive injury woes.

The Montreal Canadiens infirmary added a pair of players after Saturday’s game vs. Buffalo.

First the team lost blueliner Ryan O’Byrne for up to six weeks with a knee sprain. The Canadiens then lost center Glen Metropolit with an upper body injury.

Metropolit is to be reevaluated in Calgary, and may have a rib injury.

The injury became apparent with his five straight losses in the faceoff circle in the first period of Saturday’s game.

The pair join Andrei Markov, who is out for four months with a lacerated tendon.

The Canadiens made one expected roster move Sunday by calling up defenceman Yannick Weber from Hamilton.

Coach Jacques Martin maintained after the loss of Markov, that the remaining defenders would have to work as a unit or step up in the all-star’s absence.

After O’Byrne’s injury, the remaining five players continued to do just that. With the exception of Hal Gill (19:40) the Canadiens defensive core all played over 20 minutes.

With Weber’s arrival Tuesday, that will add some puck moving skill, and a solid point shot that was lost with Markov going down.

If the team can continue to keep the opponents shooting outside the box, that should keep Carey Price happy. Price said Saturday that the high shot totals don’t bother him provided he has good vision. The Habs goalie praised the work done Saturday to do just that.

Kyle Chipchura will need to show what he’s made of now

Depending on the seriousness of Metropolit’s injury, it may now fall on Kyle Chipchura to show that he is the prospect that people have been told he is.

Recovered from shoulder surgery ,many feel that this will be a make-or-break season for the young forward in the Canadiens organization.

When I interviewed Habs’ assistant coach Kirk Muller over the summer, he even acknowledged that this should be Chipchura’s year.

It will be a true test on the remaining three games of this road swing, for the Canadiens, to see how the team handles these injuries.

Two of the three opponents (Calgary and Vancouver) are expected to be top contenders in the Western Conference and should give a better idea of how the team can perform over the coming weeks.

The smell of hockey is in the air!

Ahhh September. It’s almost time to embarrass myself on the ice for another season, and I have my hockey pools already registered.

And oh yeah, the new NHL season is slowly moving upon us as rookie camps open across the league.

Twenty-nine rookies reported in for the Montreal Canadiens camp Monday in Brossard.

A few of them (Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber, etc.) saw some time with the big club last season and will be working hard to earn a full time spot.

Pacioretty told RDS that he has been having problems getting sleep the last few weeks. Can you blame him?

P.K. Subban was a standout with the main camp last season and will be out to prove he is ready for the pros.

Barring injury, it’s safe to say that the star defenseman, in the OHL with Belleville last year, will start the season in Hamilton.

Subban is ever the optimist and will be ready to show Canadiens coach Jacques Martin that he will be ready if called upon.

Oh Canadiens weighs in on the key rookies to watch.

By Tuesday afternoon, eighteen veteran players, both new faces and old ones, had arrived and were participating in on ice workouts.

Carey Price, Andrei Kostitsyn and Ryan O’Byrne have yet to appear.

Twittering their lives away: Two notable Canadiens media members will be covering the Canadiens camps this season.

The Montreal Gazette/HabsInsideOut’s Dave Stubbs will be Twittering from the team’s golf tournament later this week as well as next week’s main camp.

CJAD’s Abe Hefter has already begun reporting in on the blue-bird site from rookie camp.

Mr. Hefter also gives his first impressions on his blog.

So which one is Hoss?: After this season’s training camp winds down, the Canadiens will spend three days at Teen Ranch, located about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto.  The Habs begin their season October 1, in Toronto.

The facility does boat an Olympic size rink so chances are it will be a working holiday.

CJAD’s Rick Moffatt put it this way in his column in Friday’s West Island Chronicle.

“Carey Price may be lovin it, but if one player gets bucked or "lower body injury" has to cover up a saddle sore, we'll have to put a black hat on Jacques Martin.

Happy trails, Habs fans! Martin's done it before with his Senators squad...and the Ice Corral at "Teen Ranch" in Caledon Ontario has also welcomed the Leafs and Panthers. We won't hold that against them.”

I may have to book a day or two off to hang out in the area. ;)

Blow out your candles, and wish for a deserved induction to the Hall of Fame: A happy 64th to one-time Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings star goalie Rogie Vachon.

A collection of articles compiled by HabsInsideOut’s Dave Stubbs can be found here.

King of the Cobb:  A quick shout out to Ian Cobb, a regular poster over on HabsInsideOut, who invited us to his home, this past weekend, for his annual corn boil.

It was great to meet up with a gracious host, enjoy some good food and beverages, and talk hockey with Ian and some of the other HIO regulars. Thanks again my friend!

Getting closer: Canadiens Rookie Camp starts Sep 7

 

In just three days, the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp begins.

The Official Press Release is below, with information pertaining to the team’s annual golf tournament and full training camp as well.

__________________________________________________________

PRESS RELEASE

MONTREAL -- The Canadiens announced Thursday that 29 players will participate in the team’s rookie camp from September 7-11, at the Bell Sports Complex, in Brossard.

From Monday, September 7 to Thursday, September 10, players will take to the ice twice a day using both surfaces of the Bell Sports Complex; practice sessions divided by position in the morning (8:15 to 11:15 a.m.), and a full practice session from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

An intersquad game is scheduled for Friday, September 11 at 9:00 a.m. Off-ice conditioning sessions will also take place every day.
Fifteen (15) of the 29 players at camp are Canadiens draft selections.

The group includes first-round pick Max Pacioretty, as well as prospects P.K. Subban and Yannick Weber. 

Twenty-three (23) of the 29 players also participated in the Canadiens’ 2009 development camp last July.

Players participating in the rookie camp will be available daily to the media following the afternoon practice session (17h30).

Canadiens' rookie camp roster

Annual Golf Tournament

The Canadiens will hold their annual golf tournament to benefit the Montreal Canadiens’ Children’s Foundation on Thursday, September 10 at the Club de golf Laval-sur-le-lac.

Main Training Camp

The Canadiens’ main training camp will debut on Saturday, September 12 as players report for medicals and physical exams at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard.

The training camp will run until Wednesday, September 30, and will include a stay in the Toronto area (September 28-30), in preparation for the season opening against the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Center on October 1st.

Habs Prospects gather next week for Development Camp

The Montreal Canadiens will hold their annual development camp from July 6 to 12.

Forty prospects will ascend on the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard made up of 25 forwards, 10 defensemen and five goalies.

Twenty-four of the prospects invited were selected by the Canadiens in the NHL Entry Draft, including the team’s 2009 first-round pick Louis Leblanc.

Twenty-four participants are returning from last year’s camp.

Max Pacioretty at the 2008 Development Camp 

Three invitees (Max Pacioretty, Ben Maxwell and Yannick Weber) all saw time with the Canadiens in the 2008-09 season.

The 40 Prospects attending the ‘09 development camp (click for a larger image) – habsinsideout.com

The event is open to the public with the first of the daily on-ice sessions starting Monday at 1:30pm.

The participants will also have daily off-ice conditioning sessions.

A detailed schedule of events will be posted at the complex.

An inter-squad game wraps up the event on Saturday.

Carey Price, Guillaume Latendresse, Kyle Chipchura, Matt D’Agostini, Sergei Kostitsyn and Ryan O’Byrne are some of the 2008-09 Canadiens who have taken part in past camps over the years.