The third and final scrimmage of the Habs Rookie Camp was an 8-1 blowout win for Team Red. Connor Crisp scored a hat-trick while Erik Nystrom impressed with two goals of his own. While there was some personnel juggling amidst the team’s rosters from one scrimmage to the next, the win completed the 3-0 sweep for Team Red.
Zach Fucale stood tall in goal, stopping all 7 shots he faced in 30 minutes of play. He split duty with Michael Condon, who started the game for Team Red and allowed the team’s only goal when Team White forward Michael Bournival snapped a quick shot by him form the left side.
Team White forward Tanner Eberle, who had strong outings in the camp’s first two scrimmages, faded in his last opportunity to impress management.
Defenseman Dalton Thrower added a goal from a point-shot while fellow blueliner Joel Gervais-Chouinard pinched in to tap home Team Red’s eighth and final goal of the game. Forward Brady Vail also recorded a goal in the win.
Goaltenders Peter Delmas (3 goals against) and Christopher Festarini (5 goals against) took the loss for Team White. Both made 11 saves each through their 30 minutes of action.
G Delmas was shaken up when highly-touted forward Sven Andrighetto rang a hard wrister off the goaltender’s mask. Delmas would go down momentarily, but recovered and completed his stint in goal.
Delmas wasn’t the only player to take a beating. Steve Quailer and his 6’4, 209lbs frame was rocked by a thunderous hit by defenseman Greg Pateryn. As Quailer collected himself and returned to the bench, Pateryn was sent to the penalty box to serve two minutes for charging.
Quailer did not play another shift during the scrimmaged and has been listed as injured on the Montreal Canadiens official training camp list of invited players.
Michael McCarron was ineffective today. His skating remains a concern as he had trouble keeping up with some of the faster, skilled forward on the team. His game paled in comparison to Crisp who crashed the net and was rewarded with a trio of goals for his trouble.
McCarron’s passing was off, possibly due to an insecurity with the puck that saw him move it up-ice too quickly instead of skating with it. While McCarron’s confidence may have been lacking during the scrimmage, he has been officially invited to the Habs main training camp and will have an opportunity to learn from the veterans.
Both Bournival and Charles Hudon skated well and showed some offensive flair. I expected more from Tim Bozon, Jeremy Gregoire, and Patrick Holland, as nether player generated any chances.
Stephen MacAulay, who has an AHL only contract, was invited to the Habs official camp. MacAulay had a strong rookie camp, his smooth skating and playmaking abilities surely aided management’s decision to involve him in the next stage of training camp.
In general, the defencemen performed the most admirably of the players at the rookie camp. Jarred Tinordi, Nathan Beaulieu, Greg Pateryn – all of whom have a handful of games at the NHL level – proved to be the crème de la crème. Magnus Nygren continued his strong play and could be a potential call-up to the NHL this season if injuries arise.
Meanwhile, defencemen Morgan Ellis and Darren Dietz found themselves at the middle of the pack and will require further seasoning before they see their shot at some NHL action.
As we look to wrap up our coverage on the Habs Rookie Camp here at HabsWorld.net, we’re inviting questions from readers on particular players or general questions about the camp itself. You can write in or send your via Twitter @MTLMacaskill.
