With the season now over for the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Habs have announced which players will be joining the big club to serve as extras for their playoff run. Suffice it to say, it’s a much smaller list than usual.
Six players have been added to the list of Black Aces, joining previously-recalled goalie Joey MacDonald. They are:
Goalie: Mike Condon
Defence: Darren Dietz, Brett Lernout
Forward: Daniel Carr, Charles Hudon, Christian Thomas
Of those six, only Thomas has spent time with the Canadiens this season, recording just a single goal in 18 games. Carr led all AHL rookies (and the Bulldogs) in goals while Hudon finished second in AHL rookie points and assists.
Meanwhile, Condon started the season as the Bulldogs’ backup but ascended to the #1 role fairly quickly. He posted a 23-19-6 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .921 SV% with Hamilton and will likely serve as the #3 goalie this postseason.
Dietz’s inclusion should come as little surprise. Because of the multitude of injuries, he was their #1 defenceman down the stretch. He also made a late run at a roster spot in training camp and it’s likely that the Habs would like to take a bit of a closer look at him. Lernout is the most surprising recall of the group, considering he was playing in the WHL playoffs just a short time ago. The 19 year old played the last six games of the season with the Bulldogs and didn’t look out of place.
There are quite a few notable omissions from the list but most of those players are currently batting injuries.
On defence, Bryan Allen is out until mid-to-late May at the earliest with a foot injury, Davis Drewiske is out for the year after undergoing wrist surgery, Magnus Nygren hasn’t skated since suffering a concussion several months ago, and Jarred Tinordi is out with a wrist injury. He was to be re-evaluated late in the season and presumably the prognosis wasn’t good since he wasn’t recalled with the rest.
Up front, Sven Andrighetto is probably the most notable player not on the list. He suffered a reported shoulder injury in their season finale against Lake Erie on Saturday. If the injury isn’t too severe, he’ll likely suit up for Team Switzerland at the upcoming World Championships.
Michael Bournival (concussion-like symptoms), Drayson Bowman (undisclosed), and Gabriel Dumont (foot) all spent time with the Habs but it appears their issues have prevented them from rejoining the team. Of the few remaining forwards actually under contract to Montreal, Eric Tangradi, who also had a brief stint with the Habs, is the biggest name to not be on the list of recalls.
The six recalled players will travel to Montreal on Monday and will begin practicing on Tuesday.
Hamilton also re-assigned a pair of players to ECHL Wheeling for their playoff run on Sunday, defenceman Morgan Ellis and forward Stefan Fournier.