Habs’ Plan FINALLY Paying Off! What’s Next for the Montreal Canadiens?
[Music] Well, hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Canadians Connection podcast right here on Rocket Sports Radio. Every week, we’re here talking with you about the Montreal Canadians, keeping you informed, engaged, and entertained all about your favorite franchise. Uh my name is Amy Johnson. I am your host for today’s show. This is episode 370 of the Canadians Connection podcast entitled Habscore Locked In. What’s next? We’re going to be posing that question today. It’s a question I’m going to pose to my co-host, who also happens to be our founder and president here at Rocket Sports. His name is Rick Stevens. What’s next? What’s next? Well, it was uh a thrilling week. Canadians, not to spoil anything, but the Canadians, spoiler alert, won three games. And um and what’s next? Well, they head on the road for a Western Road trip. But no, that isn’t what you’re asking. What next? What’s next? Um what can this team, this dynamic team, this thrilling team do um as the years move on uh now that the core is locked up? Um well, we’re going to talk about that in the second segment. We are before we get there, however, uh just want to quickly recap the three games that have taken place uh be between now and our previous Canadians connection podcast. Uh give you the highlights of all of those, select our three stars of the week, as well as get you caught up on uh the Canadians roster news. There is an awful lot of it this this week. Uh we’ve got some kind of semi-breaking uh injury updates to discuss as well as contracts signed and and all sorts of roster things happening. Um we are going to of course take a look at the Habs prospect report. Uh we’ve got some uh exciting updates on a couple of uh prospects who are uh playing in um the CHL uh this this season as well as the Laval Rocket uh continues their first week of play. We’ll get you caught up on how they’ve been doing uh both home and on the road. And then we’ve got some uh interesting things uh NHL headlines to to discuss. All of that, of course, before our first break on the show. When we get back after that, it’ll be time for our big topic segment. Uh this week, that big topic is the Canadian’s blueprint is taking shape. The core is locked in. Uh and as Rick alluded to a moment ago, we are going to analyze the core that is now in place. the core group of young players who are um signed to extensive contracts who will be Montreal Canadians for the foreseeable future and hopefully through kind of the the the the golden age of what this current roster can be. Uh we’re going to talk about how that roster might change with some additions and maybe some subtra subtractions over the next few years. the leadership uh who who is surrounding and guiding and and at the helm of all of these changes and and taking them through the next course of of this journey. Uh so we’re really going to take a look at what is next now that all of the the core players are signed to big contracts. Uh and then finally in our third segment this week, not only will we have a very uh very fun Canadians connection question of the week to ask you for this week, we’ve also got some great answers that you submitted to last week’s question of the week that we want to read out to you and get you all set. Uh we’ll have the preview for what’s ahead for the week for the Canadians. Uh and it’s going to be a busy week. I hope that you’ve all got your coffee machines ready to go. late starts late starts this week. All right. Um so that’s that’s it’s going to be a great show. There are lots of good news to talk about. Lots of fun things to talk about. So let’s get right into it. Uh starting with a quick recap of the games uh that that took place this past week going all the way back to a week ago last Saturday night uh when Montreal wrapped up their uh season opening road trip at yet another original six franchise uh taking at the United Center taking on the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday night. Uh Canadians once again coming out victorious in that one as they had against the Red Wings two nights before that. Uh winning that one three-2. Is there anybody better? No. I I’m going to answer the question. The anthem singer as he’s as uh he’s known on X. Best in the business. Best not only in the NHL, in all of sports. Um absolutely amazing. Um, he had the full tux on for the home opener, too. Jim Cornelson. Jim Cornelian. We we saw him at the in person. Um, heard him in person at the draft. Um, that was in Chicago. But, um, yeah, just incredible. Um, so another original six as as you said, um, um, lineup for a team lined up in the early part of the Canadian schedule. Um the scoring, it was Cole Coughfield that opened the scoring. And it’s funny when you look back um just a week ago that that was his first goal of the season. Um and considering where he is now um that that was uh that goal was on the power play. Uh Zack Bulldook uh his his third goal of the season also third consecutive game also on the power play. Um and this was um a week of thrillers. Um, and it was uh Kaden Gooey who was the hero here, scoring with 15 seconds left to give the Canadians the win. Very, very uh big win for the Canadians. Uh, setting them up for their Tuesday night home opener uh against, you know, I loved that the Canadians open the season against three fellow original six teams. So, you know, that was really just fantastic viewing to watch backto backto back uh original six versus original six games. Then they come off for their home opener. And we’ve been saying this all all summer. I don’t understand why Seattle Kraken was was their home opening opponent. Um but okay. Uh certainly if you weren’t super thrilled about, you know, if if the if the opponent for the home opener didn’t excite you, the game certainly did because nine goals in total scored went to overtime. Montreal ekking out yet another win, third one in a row uh after after losing their first one uh five to four in overtime. In overtime again. Yeah. Alex New Hook getting his first of the season, Kirby Doc getting his first of the season, Ivan Deidov getting his first of the season. Uh, and it was the rest of the scoring was uh all done by Cole Cfield. Uh, both um the second period in regulation and uh then in overtime uh to give the Canadians the win. Um yeah, did this need to be that hard? Uh the we’re talking about good news this week, but um concern there must be concern uh for Sam Montbo who has not been very good. Wasn’t it didn’t have a good training camp um and he was awful in this one. Um three of the four goals, Seattle goals were stoppable uh pucks and um he’s struggled so far um that to to start the season. Um now his his one loss record uh he’s start made three starts he has two wins uh one loss uh but a save percentage 870 uh goals against 297 um and and compared to Yakab Dobish Yakabish also has two wins but has a 940 save percentage and 146 goals against. So um if there’s some areas of concern it would be with Sam Montbo at this point. Two nights later, the Canadians remained on home ice, uh, hosting the Nashville Predators. This one also went to overtime. Yakob Dobish was, uh, backstopping the Canadians in in this one. Uh, but they did come out with the win 3-2 over the Predators. Uh, Oliver Kain um got the scoring underway for the Canadians. And that wasn’t uh that was uh early in the third period. uh Oliver Bapen with his third goal um of the season and and leading all rookies in that particular category. Um then it was well we should say that uh there was a a lineup change and that was Jaden Strubal got into uh the lineup for his first game of the year replacing uh Arbor Jackie. Um and then chaos like two to one for for um uh Nashville uh going into the dying seconds of the game. Um with about 20 seconds left, it was Lane Hudson blocking uh Jonathan Marsh’s show shot who was directing a a puck at the empty net. He made the block. Uh the puck dropped to his feet and he immediately fed Cole Coughfield for the tying goal with just 20 seconds left in in the third period and then it was and then Cole Caulfield um 3 seconds left for the gamewinner. It was all set up. Um it was Mike Mat who uh pinched in and and kind of got all tangled up with uh two predators. Um and and it was Nick Suzuki who uh went in, grabbed the puck um the loose puck. Um and a backhand feed to Cole Coughfield, a one-timer. 3 seconds left in in overtime for the gamewinner. Um unbelievable, exhausting. And do in overtime, however. Well, and and I was just going to say the first thing after scoring that goal, Cole Caulfield turned and headed to um to Jakob Dobbish, pointing to him because it was Jacob Dobish that kept the overtime alive with an incredible twoon. It was twoono for Nashville and and Dobish made the spectacular save. So, needless to say, there’s definitely been some standouts this week. Uh, the Rocket Sports selection for the three stars of the week. I think number one is the no-brainer with Cole Cfield. Yeah, Cole Caulfield. Um, I mean, how many? One, two, three, four, five goals this week. Two of them OT winners. In three games, he had five goals, one assist for six points, was a plus five. Had two power play goals. He had four even strength. He has four even strength uh goals. Um and two overtime goals this week. All right, then I need to pull out what did I have on our bold predictions for Caulfield’s goal scoring total for the year. Yeah, to take a look. While you’re while we’re taking a look, uh Cole Coughfield is now tied for the most overtime goals in franchise Canadians franchise history uh with 10 I believe. Now that’s a little bit little bit of a suspect uh stat because remember um ties were not eliminated until um the 20 2004 2005 season. So, um that you know prior to that, uh you could only get those overtime goals in the playoffs. So, he has had a bit of an advantage there. Um anyway, it’s still it’s still fabulous. Yeah. In in a very short period of time. That’s right. Uh a fabulous mark. Second star of the week would be I picked Nick Suzuki. um didn’t score, but he had five assists uh for five points, was a plus five, two power play points, and of course uh set up um went and dug the puck um and and set up Caulfield for that allimportant win against the Predators. Uh and we’re going to talk about this young man a little bit more here momentarily, but uh something seems to have set Lane Hudson ablaze this week as opposed to last week. He’s a different guy. different wonder why uh four points uh four assists this week plus four um yeah um remember we were talking about him last week that he he wasn’t playing his game he was pressing um he wasn’t very effective at that point. Well um that’s all been turned around and uh happy to see it. Uh you have an honorable mention for this week as well. won uh one well he had a game winner a week ago. Yeah, we talked about uh the gamewinner for Kaden Ghoulie and uh he gets my honorable mention. Love it. Uh before we um wrap up this segment, just want to take a step back to the home opener for just a moment just to acknowledge um you know, we had said on last week’s show that the season opening game for the Canadians was at held at Toronto and it was one of the most boring Leafs rivalry or not, it was just one of the most just blah um home opening ceremonies that we had seen. It was very boring. It was just kind of very run-of-the-mill. There wasn’t anything special that special about it. Detroit’s was better because they were, it’s their centennial season. Uh they had, you know, a little bit of history, rolling out some some special uniforms, that type of thing. Chicago also celebrating their centennial. Uh so there’s and of course Jim Cornellison pretty decent. That’s pretty good. But the Canadians, well, I can’t say that they hands down do the best opening cere because their opening ceremonies used to be better. I will complain every year until they bring it back that the torch needs to come back. I I’m still had a virtual torch this year doesn’t work. I’m sorry, but the virt the the actual physical passing of a torch engulfed in flame from either one generation to the next or an alumnest to a captain or whoever. That tradition needs to be restored. I I still don’t understand why they’ve got gone away from that and I will complain about it every year until they bring it back. But with all that aside, the Canadians of course with a very entertaining home opening ceremony and uh had some special guests in the house. Carrie Price was in the Carrie and Angela Price were in the building. Um which was I think everyone was a little surprised to see. San Jose had a game that night. Carrie Price was at the Bell Center. That’s that’s all right. Um, loved the individuality in this that uh, every player when they were announced basically had their NHL equivalent of a baseball walk up song. They got to choose the song that they would skate out to, uh, which made it pretty fun. Some of the choices were very good, some of the choices were eh, some of the choices were funny. Um, yeah, I liked it. Yeah, it was. Um, they’re getting back to You’re right. Um the Canadians have always been build as having having the best ceremonies, not only opening night ceremony, but ceremonies period in in the league. And um they had they had lost that title uh for the past few seasons. Um I think I think um this one was was back uh to not not all the way maybe, but but back in the direction of of the ceremonies of the past. Um Ken Dryden that that uh tribute at the beginning was very touching. Um having the the net um lit up, Ken Dryden’s mask on the back of the net, Ken Dryden’s banner, number 29 banner and the rafters lit up. Um, and while that was going on, it was um, he was never identified, but you could people that know know it was Bob Gayy’s voice reading a passage of Ken Dryden’s book, The Game. Um, that was that was all really well done. They had kind of a pumpup video which was was pretty good. Um and then um the the individual walkout songs which were some of them were good. I like ending uh Suzuki ending on Fix You. Okay, that’s that’s appropriate. Gallagher walking out to enter Sandman like that. Um I don’t understand uh Sam Monbo um walking out to the this was a French song called The Goal Machine. Um yeah, you would think that he would want to be the opposite of that. Yeah. Well, you you’d think so. Uh, some of the other choices I bet I Cfield’s Money for Nothing by D was good. Um, Josh Anderson, Sweet Child of Mind by Guns and Roses was great. Um, uh, who was, uh, Patrick I should Why am I not surprised that Patrick Lina had Titanium by David Geta? Like that was the most Patrick Lina choice. Yeah. Uh, that could have been. Um, I liked Jake Evans, uh, The Stroke by Billy Squire. That was pretty good. Uh, Oliver Kapan, never go, you can never go wrong with a beachy Oliver Kapan. So, some levels right there. That absolutely great. Mike Mat’s Mr. Bright Side by the Killers just made me and that’s not I that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m not a Mike Mat fan. I was just That’s not a good ch song choice. Um, Kate and Ghoulie surprised me with a little Kanye. Yeah. Where’s Where’s the country? I was expecting the country and I like they they’re oh, you know, they’re announcing number 21. I’m like, uh, this is going to be country. And Kanye starts playing. I’m like, all right. All right, Kate and Ghoulie, I see you. We hear you. Uh, and I liked uh the the way that they introduced the training staff, the um the off ice staff uh with the players presenting um presenting them. The only thing there is they forgot to um hook up the the the Jumbotron mic with the with the broadcast mic. Um that was that was unfortunate, but I like the the concept um of that. So, all in all, I thought it was a a pretty good uh pregame ceremony and and u back to the right direction. Um, I think sort of it’s like sticks in my crawl, let me tell you. Uh, the torch. Yeah, I don’t I don’t I don’t get the Well, you know, the they answer the question, why aren’t you using the torch? And the question was from one of those executives saying, “Canadians fans don’t care about the past.” Um, guess again. Guess again. Yeah. And if there are Canadians fans who are too young to care about that part of the past, then you’re doing a poor job in educating them about it. Anyway, Canadians five games in with a beautiful 4 and one record. They’ve got eight points, putting them second in the Atlantic Division, fifth overall in the NHL. That is not a bad start to the season. They lost on opening night to the Leafs and have done nothing but win-win win ever since. Now, um, yeah, points in in October are count just the same as as points in in April. Um, you know, they’re they’re benefiting right now. They’re benefiting for from some late night heroics. And you you’d want to see them um, you know, turn up the offense a little bit earlier in games uh, so they don’t have to rely on those late game heroics. um they’ve benefited from the the fact that they haven’t really beaten yet a a a a playoffbound team, a top tier team. Um their their schedule’s been been pretty good, but that’s all about to change. And um you know, Marty St. Louis has talked about that they’re going to need um more touches in in the offensive zone. They’re going to need more offensive pressure. Uh their focus on defense seems to be working. Now they got to get the offense ramped up. So that was all the good news, right? Mhm. Sorry, but when the pendulum swings one way, it inevitably has to swing back in the other direction. And unfortunately uh Saturday morning, the Canadians just decided to drop a gigantic hand grenade on everybody with uh not one, not two, but three injury announcements uh Saturday morning. The most significant of which is that defenseman Kaden Goully is going to be out four to six weeks with a lower body injury. Uh looks like he hasn’t practiced all week. So I don’t know if this is something that’s been nagging at him that got worse in the game against Nashville on Thursday night or there were other reasons he wasn’t practicing and then something big happened. Yeah, something definitely got worse uh in that Thursday night game. um he sat out he was on the bench for the the last seven minutes of uh Thursday night’s game again against Nashville and um so as you say whether he whether it’s a new injury or he aggravated um something that was already bothering him um no more details than a lower body injury but out for six four to six weeks is uh is a bit of a blow um for the Canadians absolutely um so that now means uh Strugal will pair with Hudson, Jackie will pair with Kerier. Um and then we have to start looking ahead to the fact that they’re not just going on the road next week, they’re going on the road out west next week. So there’s yeah, you know, there’s um we we talked last week about the Canadians playing under uh the 23man cap and uh so far uh to replace uh Kaden Goully. They haven’t made um a recall from Lavel and and that’s that that’s understandable with them playing at home and Laval being down the street if they need if they need uh a player. But going out west, they’re going to have they’re going to need an extra defenseman. Um so, you know, the question speculation starts, who would that be? Um and Adam Ingstrom. Um there’s there’s others that you know, Mark Delgazo, Nate Clurman, those are um players who are eligible um who have the contracts to be able to be recalled. Um, Adam Ingramstrom was a very very late cut in in camp. Um, would he be along on the trip for insurance? And what what effect would that have on uh Laval who I think are um a little bit thin on the the back end and and to prove the point of that they they offered a PTO to a former prospect bringing him back, Josiah Ddier. Uh and we’ll talk more about DDA when we get to the Laval portion of the show. Uh along with the Ghouie announcement, uh the Canadians announced that two of their forwards are also day-to-day with lower body injuries. That being Kirby Dock and Patrick Lina. Uh both of them out dayto-day. They won’t play on Saturday night. Uh that means that Owen Beck has been recalled from the Laval Rocket. Did we have a bold prediction of which one was going to be the first one recalled? We did. I got See, I don’t have I don’t have I don’t have my answers with me. They’re down in my office uh in my other office. So, in a different notebook, but the answer to it is officially Oh, and back is first one. Um and it also means that Joe Valeno is going to uh make his debut tonight as well. An emergency call recall for Owen Beck. So, um that doesn’t count against the the um roster number. Um now that there there’s got to be some juggling obviously u with the with the pairs with with the trios. Uh New Hook, Kapinet, Senator Deidov, that’s going to remain unchanged against the Rangers on a Saturday night. Um Anderson and Evans um had been playing with Patrick Lina. Uh Brendan Gallagher, who is very familiar playing with those two, will return to the fourth line to play with them. And that sets up a a new third line of Zack Buluk uh with Joe Valeno and Owen Beck. Uh Beck and Valeno uh played together in one preseason game in Quebec City, so they have some familiarity with each other. Um Owen Beck is um he was interviewed um on Saturday morning. Um he said he’s certainly very excited uh to to be in Montreal. Um he was um maybe expecting a call up but not so not so quickly uh from Lavel. Um and he said he was um not so much disappointed by being sent to Lavel because he was very happy with his performance in training camp and and he should have been. He was excellent in training camp and has certainly um certainly merits the the uh recall uh today. Definitely. Uh switching back to the on the good news front, of course, uh we have to talk about the fact that uh way back on Monday, we you know, last week’s last week’s podcast was all about uh all of the drama that was starting to get kicked up about Lane Hudson’s contract and stuff that was getting leaked to the media. Uh things that were, you know, start was it starting to affect Lane Hudson’s performance? Was it getting out of hand? This, that, and the other. Uh, and we had actually, you had had me read a tweet from someone, um, David Eddge. Yeah. Yeah. Etigy from uh, BPM. Uh, who had speculated that he he was pretty sure that they were going to get a deal for Lane Hudson locked up before the home opener on Tuesday night. Well, that came true. And the numbers were pretty close and his numbers were very close as well. And you had said normally, you know, don’t take a lot of stock in these kinds of guesses and speculation, but that he’s been just about right on in the past about a couple of important things. Yeah. Player agent, player advisor. So, I said, um, t take note of this one and and it’s one of the reasons why, um, we asked you to read it because it had some, um, I thought it it it all made sense that, uh, a deal would be done before the home opener. And of course it was. So, uh, take that, uh, though we’ll be keeping an eye on his, uh, speculation, of course. But yes, uh, announcing on Monday morning that Lane Hudson inked an 8-year, $70.8 million contract that locks him in through the 20334 season uh, with an average annual salary of $8.85 85 million and lots of money um devoted to to signing bonuses and um front-loaded um and some um tax avoidance kind of measures uh built in as well. Um 8.85 85 is is a little less than than um yeah than than most were speculating and and listen when when the deal was announced um you know I think universally people said this is um a teamfriendly contract it’s it’s a bargain it’s a steal characterize it as you wish but um there you have um Lane Hudson signing a contract and you know that’s the 8.8 85 is a lot of money for a young player. It’s it’s well shy of Noah Dobson’s um 9.5. and and uh you got to wonder um that that if if this, you know, if all goes fine and and uh it allows uh the Canadians to um to to maximize their cap and and bring in the the supporting players uh to be able to to to to get these core players to a championship. I don’t think anybody’s going to be complaining. Um but uh a deal like that might turn might start looking ugly um u for Kent Hughes if uh they they can’t achieve their goal and and he’s um you know underpaying um one of the league’s best defenseman certainly the Canadian’s best defenseman um and um the only the only quibble I’ll have with this is is the tactics. Um, I didn’t like I didn’t like um Kent Hughes’s leaks to the media. Were they from Do we know for certain they were do we have the paper trail? No, of course not. But um knowing what we know about the media, knowing what we know about Kent, knowing what we know with Kent, what Kent has said publicly about leveraging the media, the amount of pressure that he put on the Hudson camp um by what came out, we talked about that last week. Um there’s a little little gamesmanship. Yeah, it wasn’t wasn’t crazy about um about how um that all came together, but it was Lane Hudson started feeling the pressure, said it was affecting his play, didn’t want this to carry on. Um and and hang over the team the the entire season. Um, so he was the one who who broke the stalemate and said uh to his agent, “Get a deal done.” Well, that they did and it was a big one and obviously uh the team was pretty stoked about that as well. Um at the end of morning practice on Monday, uh Lane Hudson absolutely swarmed by all of his teammates. gigantic group hug at one end of the ice up against up against the boards uh as they all celebrated the fact that Lane was locked up for eight years. Yeah. Near the end of practice, Marty St. Louis sent Lane Hudson on a solo lap. Um and when he did, uh he said uh the deal was was done. He didn’t he didn’t reveal the terms, the anything. He just said um that that the deal was done. And then by the time that Lane Hudson was rounding uh the the back of the ice, they were all over him uh celebrating with him and and yeah, that that he he’s just he’s a a humble he’s a naive maybe call him naive uh but he’s just a guy who loves playing hockey and loves playing um hockey in Montreal. And he said, quote, “Every time you get to throw on this jersey, it’s special. whether it’s practice, games, preseason, playoffs, it always means so much to me. So, it’s pretty special that I get to do it for a while now. He wanted it signed. He wanted to stay in Montreal. He wanted the team to have the ability to bring in the supporting players um and and as as much credit uh that is going um to to management uh on this and Kent Hughes, the most credit has to go to Lane Hudson for getting this deal done. and he was still the first one on the ice at practice. Yeah, that the work ethic doesn’t go away just because he’s got the big paycheck. Now, uh Nick Suzuki also um commented on, as you referred to it, the the team friendly nature of the contract, saying, quote, “We’ve built a culture here where guys aren’t trying to break the bank. All Lane wants to do is win. I think he’s definitely set us up for that possibility down the future.” Yeah. And that makes sense. That’s right. Um, also once that got done, well, Canadians didn’t waste any time because also prior to the home opener on Tuesday night, the very next day, Tuesday afternoon, the Canadians announced that they had agreed to multi-year contract extensions for both Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes. Uh, we believe they are five-year term. I believe five years for both of them. And Jeff Gordon got a little bit of a promotion as well. Jeff Gordon is now the president of hockey operations. Remember, we complained about this when it happened that um Jeff Molson didn’t want to relinquish that title when when he hired Jeff Gorton. uh he kept the president of of not only the president of the Montreal Canadians but president of hockey operations. He had been so involved with decision-m the Mark Berseran era um that that he kept that a little bit anyway we won’t go back there. uh but finally finally finally relinquished uh the title so that Jeff Gordon is now the president of hockey operations instead of just the executive VP. Um and it was funny when Molson um was asked, you know, this uh the the Lane Hudson deal came out before the home opener. uh the the extensions for his management group came out before um right away um as as if it was in um their back pocket waiting. Yeah, they can’t announce extensions for Kent Hughes and and Jeff Gorton when they haven’t signed uh one of their most important pieces. Uh so uh Jeff Molson was asked coincidence? Oh, no, no, no. Yeah, it all just came together organically. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um, of course, it was it was just waiting to be be announced and uh yeah, it was going to happen and and nice that it all came together with both all all of the signings um ahead of the home opener so that fans could celebrate uh when um when the when the roster was announced. One last bit of roster news. roster of a different sort. Frank Saravelli uh this week on Twitter announced on X announcing quote go Havs go Lane Hudson Kucks Thatcher Demco and Brock Besser all listed among the skaters on USA Hockeyy’s expanded preliminary 2026 Olympic roster submission. Interesting. remember they did not attend the Olympic orientation camp held by USA Hockey back in August and I think I remember you and I discussing back then uh it didn’t Lane Hudson didn’t seem to be overly bothered by it but I think his dad was his dad was but that there was still it didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to be included but obviously yeah we reinforce that point don’t don’t get outraged now because uh he could still be added to the roster for consideration and and um it seemed that that has happened. It has. All right, let’s uh take a quick peek at the Habs prospect report. Now, it’s time for the Rocket Report. The Rocket Sports Media team is your premier source for information about the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadians, as well as Habs prospects playing in the CHL, NCAA, and leagues around the world. So, instead of just highlighting one Canadian’s prospect playing outside of the Pro Leagues uh this week, we’re actually going to hit on two prospects playing outside the Pro Leagues. In fact, these two young men were selected just 12 picks apart in the third round of the 2025 NHL entry draft this past summer. And they are the the pick number 81 and pick number 69 uh from this past summer. First, we’re going to start with defenseman Bryce Pigford. Uh he plays for Medicine Hat in the WHL. Happens to be their captain as well. And uh holy man, uh Rick, has he just been maybe he was listening to Sam Montenbo’s goal machine song because he’s been just on a rip. Uh Bryce Pikford has uh six goals, three assists for nine points in nine games. um for Madison at as you said he’s the captain uh he’s a plus nine and um show we remind you that he’s a defenseman um nine points in nine games and uh remember he we we talked to you uh about uh his um his catapult to to uh offense last year. He was a a defenseman uh for the first two years in the WHL. is a defenseman for the Seattle uh Thunderbirds. Right shot defenseman um in the 2020 uh 324 season, 17 points in 65 games, two goals, 15 assists. That’s that sounds about right. And then it was last season uh that he was he was uh on a a better uh well a point a game uh pace uh during the season. 47 u points in 48 games. 20 goals. Um and then in the playoffs, uh he had 24 points in 18 games. Uh so his his offense just exploded and that has continued uh this season. Uh remarkable for a third round pick as you said, 81st overall uh by the Montreal Canadians in 2025. 12 places before that at number 69 overall this summer. uh Habs prospect uh Hayden Papankis was drafted by the Canadians. He is also playing in the WHL uh this season. He’s playing for the Colona Rockets, but this week was a big moment for him in a game that he played for Colona. It was his first game um playing for Colona against the Victoria Royals. one goal, one assist. And we remember, if you remember the name, um he wasn’t able to participate um in the uh in the rookie camp, the development um the rookie camp because he had contracted monucleiosis. Um and so he’s he’s missed uh the early part of uh the Colona uh season. Um but um two points in his very first game. And remember, this is the player that um kind of went against the grain of of the kind of players uh that the Canadians have been uh selecting. 6’5, 203 lbs. Um and uh this is is uh his fourth season um at third season, I’m sorry, in the um WHL. Switching gears now to the Lavel Rocket and the prospects that are playing there. Lavel uh wrapped up their uh season opening road trip against the Manitoba Moose in Manitoba on Sunday afternoon last week. Uh putting up a very nice 5-2 victory over Manitoba. Um and it was a special teams carousel in this one. two uh two short-handed goals, a power play goal, and an empty net goal. Yeah. And Noan Beck called up this morning. We had one of those short-handed goals. Uh Laurent Al fan with another shorty, Joshua Wah both with a power play goal and an empty net goal. And Shawn Frell got in there with an even strength goal as well. Uh really nice job offensively by the Laval Rocket. Uh and it was Kapukakinan who was in net for this one. This was a a second game of the weekend. uh and he had an impressive 25 sha saves on 27 shots. He’s been looking solid uh behind Yakob uh excuse me, behind Jake Fowler. Um then of course with the travel they got back to Quebec had the week to prepare for their home opener on Friday night. Uh now this was I think a a great selection for a team to have their home opener against. Remember Laval home opening ceremony? They got to reveal their banner for being the regular season champion last year. The McGregor uh Kirk Pat Kilpatrick uh banner being revealed and they opened their season on home ice against the reigning CER cup champions, the Abbottzford Canucks. So a very big test to start the season on home ice. Uh and on Friday night, uh it was well they came out on they came out victorious. Uh handing Abbottzford their first loss of the season so far. Um Jared Davidson scoring on the power play, Philip Meshar and Xavier Simino scoring even strength, but this was a nasty affair in particularly in the second period. Uh things got very physical. Lots of fights, lots of roughings, lots of you name it. Uh, and it was uh it was a little bit of a doozy. And they are set to rematch on Saturday afternoon, which I’m sure is going to be uh mustwatch television. Yeah. Uh it was really ugly um ugly incident. Um Josiah Ddier uh who we um mentioned earlier uh signed uh last week um by the the Rocket to beef up their defense beef up uh is is the operable award. A big uh solid stay-at-home defenseman uh was playing on the first pairing with Adam Instrom. Um and uh it was Chase Stillman that that um was mixing it up with Jacob Fowler um in the in the crease a couple of um uh slashes with his stick after after Fowler had made the save and and Josiah Ddier went in to move him out um and and awkward fell awkwardly. It was Stillman that upended him uh after he had already lost his helmet. He didn’t have his helmet on. Didn’t have his helmet. um and flipped over and Josiah Ddier landed on hit the back of his head on the ice. Uh and then Stillman uh hovering over him and just nailed him with a a sucker punch right to the mouth. Right. Yeah. And there was blood all over the place and and um the cameras panned away. Um and they brought out a stretcher. Fortunately, he didn’t need that. no uh word on on his condition, but he was able to skate uh to the dressing room under his own power. Um so hopefully we’ll have some uh good news on on Ddier, some supplementary discipline on Stillman. Um but this was a a a three nothing win for Laval. Uh I like that Davidson power play goal. Great um uh setup from Florian Jai. Um and Jacob Fowler um 19 saves on 19 shots, his first AHL career shut out. Um and it seems to be that that um the for now the starts are being evenly split uh between the two goalenders. And yes, if you are a rabid Laval fan, you’ll say no, that’s not his first career AHL shutout. He had a shut out in the playoffs. Yes, that doesn’t count as your first career regular season shutout. So that’s why the distinction is there. Overall, I think he was pretty happy about it either way. Uh so Laval after three games are two- one with four points. They are in first place in the North Division, seventh overall in the AHL. It’s a great start for them. As I mentioned, they will rematch against Abbottzford uh Saturday afternoon. That’d be uh just in a little bit as we record this at 3 pm. Uh then they head out for a little bit of a three-game road trip to the usual suspects this coming week. Uh they’ll be playing uh in Belleville on Wednesday night in Rochester on Friday and they’ll be playing in Udica next weekend as well. So uh some familiar foes and some pretty tough gritty matchups coming their way uh coming up soon. Uh and we’ll just also quickly note that on Friday night uh the 12 Rivier Lions uh played won in overtime against the Reading Royals on home ice six to five. And of course this is the season that they defend uh their ECHL championship championship. That’s right. Um all right, before we wrap up this first segment, just a couple of NHL headlines. First up, The Athletic has put out their first edition of their NHL power rankings. Uh, and the Montreal Canadians are in the top 10. Yeah, that’s that’s new. Uh, the Canadians number eight in the uh the athletic power rankings uh this week. Um they note that Cole Cfield is not just a scorer and and makes up a very important line for the Canadians who are um providing uh the Canadians with strong five on five play. Also, um, just before the start of the regular season, the NHL and the NHLPA of course always hosts their their player media tour where a select group of players uh, co to what Vegas usually uh to do to do a bit of media tour. So while they were there, uh they did a North American player media tour poll and asked them which is the toughest NHL road arena to play in of the guys who were there for the media tour. So this isn’t a poll that that polls all uh NHL players, but it’s a NHL NHL PA poll of the representatives that um that were in Vegas. Um and they asked which is the toughest NHL uh road arena to play in. Um maybe a surprise um at the the top uh selection of of those of the players that were there. They selected the Lenovo Lenovo Center. Is that the Lenovo Center? Yeah. In in Raleigh. That’s the the home rink for the Hurricanes. Um Sam Reinhardt said it’s it’s just the whole setup in there. They pack the fans in there. It kind of makes the rink feel smaller. Um, and it’s a different feeling. He said the road locker room is bad, so that doesn’t help. And it’s just a rough rink to play in. Uh, second though is none other than the Bell Center. Tough to play at the Bell Center for road teams. And, uh, Dustin Wolf uh, the rookie sensation for uh, Calgary says uh, quote, “Everyone knows everything about hockey there. they care so much about hockey and know so much about the game.” End of quote. And uh coming in third place is the TD Garden uh is TD Garden in Boston, home of the Bruins. Nick Suzuki saying, quote, “Boston’s always a hard place to go into and win. The fans there are always pretty rowdy, especially against our team.” Should be no surprise. Should be no surprise. All right, we’re going to take our first break here on the Canadians Connection podcast. When we come back, uh, you’re going to hear, well, first you’re going to hear from our sponsors over at DraftKings. They have a special incentive for a brand new app, uh, that DraftKings is has launched just in the last couple of months called Pick Six. This is completely different from their daily fantasy app or their casino app or their sportsbook app. This is DraftKings Pick Six. Uh, so you want to hear that. Check that out. There’s a special incent incentive just for our listeners where you could get some, you know, make a small bet. You’re going to get a bunch of bonus bet cash. Uh so check that out. Sign up if you haven’t done so already. It’s a fun way to play. And then on the other side of this break, we are going to dive into our big topic of the week. The Canadians blueprint is taking shape and the core is locked in. We’re going to talk about what happens next. So say stay with us. You’re listening to the Canadians Connection podcast on Rocket Sports Radio. Football is back and so is your shot at big wins. With DraftKings Pick Six, the official Daily Fantasy partner of the NFL, your game day instincts can score you real money fast. Here’s the play. Just pick more or less on two or more player stats from breakout rookies to elite QBs and unlock the upside every snap brings. The better your calls, the bigger your payout. And here’s the kickoff bonus. New DraftKings customers get $50 in bonus picks with just a $5 entry on your first pick set this season. Play your player instincts. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app now and use code THPN. That’s code THPN. Play just $5, get $50 in Pickix bonus picks. Make the call. Ride the upside. In partnership with DraftKings Pick Six. The crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1800Gambler. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888789-7777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be 18 plus. Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pix not available everywhere including New York and Ontario. Voidware prohibited. One per new customer. bonus awarded as non-withdrawable Pix bonus picks that expire in 14 days. Limited time offer. See terms at pickix.draftkings.com/promos. And welcome back to the Canadians Connection podcast on Rocket Sports Radio. Once again, my name is Amy Johnson. Uh hey, if you want to follow my hockey coverage over on X, in fact, I was uh doing some updates for the Laval Rocket game uh on on X last night. If you’re not able to to watch those games, uh feel free to follow me over on X. My handle there is FlyersRrule. Come along uh for for the adventures in hockey over there. And of course, you want to be following Rick as well, our president and founder here at Rocket Sports. You definitely want to follow his account on X. It is our main Rocket Sports account. uh it gives you all of the links to all of our content on all of our different platforms, whether it’s written, whether it’s video, whether it’s podcast, whether it’s audio, whatever it is, that’s where you want to find it. So, follow him at Rocket Sports on X. Uh and hey, go ahead and follow this podcast, particularly on X, Facebook, and Instagram. The handle for that is Habsconnection. And don’t forget, while you’re at it, subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. just however you’re listening right now, just look down and tap that subscribe button. That includes if you’re watching on YouTube as well. So, you know, it was a really important week uh for the Canadians franchise, not just because they did a lot of winning, but more importantly, they locked up their Calderinning dynamic young defenseman for the next eight years. uh extended their leadership group another five years. Uh the the the dynamic duo of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton who have uh traversed the early years of the rebuild to get them to where they’re at right now. Um, and that means that the architects of of this whole blueprint that they are have built the rebuild around as well as the core parts of the roster who have the responsibility of putting that plan into action on the ice. All of these different important components are going to be around in the Canadians organization until at least 2030. at least 2030. So that’s going to start begging the big question of can the ultimate goal and which many will argue including us here on the show should be the only goal of an NHL franchise of winning a Stanley Cup, the Canadian’s 25th Stanley Cup finally come to fruition over the next five years. And and of course that question’s difficult to answer. Um it’s not automatic that the the players being put in place will um will lead that to happen. Um and and that question only only ignites other questions. Um yes the core is in place but is it the right core? Um are is everyone on in the core on a compatible timeline? because it’s not only assembling the right players, but they all have to be on the on a timeline to peak together at the same uh time. And then u we got to talk about the complimentary pieces. Uh they would would be prospects who who are needed uh to be transitioned. You got to you can you have to add um young players um to maintain to to fit under the the cap and to allow you to go out and add the right veterans um that are going to be needed to support the core um and and can you add all of those pieces in while maintaining team unity. So it just there’s there’s there’s more questions uh ahead. Um and and I say that is that is the challenge now. Um the the the team management has moved from uh building the core up to tuning the roster in order to achieve uh this goal. Um they and and they’ve been clear about the goal. It’s to be perennial Stanley Cup contenders um as many times a as over over as many years as possible in order to um have chances to win a Stanley Cup. So So what does that mean exactly when we say the core is locked up? Well, I said that, you know, this group is going to be around until at least 2030. Well, that’s the earliest that one of the young core pieces of the roster uh will will run out of contract space, and that’s the captain, Nick Suzuki. He’s 26 years old, and he is signed until 2030. So, they’ve got another five years of of the captain under contract. And um let’s also look at Nick’s line mates, at least his linemates for now. Cole Caulfield is is just 24. He’s signed till the till 2031. Uh Yuri Slavosski, the youngest of the trio, age 21, he’s signed until 2033. And arguably, um Suzkowski is is is the player on that line who has yet to uh make an impact this season. They’re still waiting for him. U Marty St. Louis is still trying to be patient with him. Um he’s doing some good things away from the puck, but he hasn’t joined in the offense uh of the other two players. The core pieces on the back end, Kaden Goully, 23 years old, he is signed uh through the same year that Caulfield is 2031. Uh newly acquired Noah Doppson, 25 years old. He’s signed until 2033, same as your yoursky. And we know that Lane Hudson just at the young age of 21 just signed an eight-year deal locking him up until 2034. Who else is going to be added to that core? Well, um there’s a couple with the Canadians now and a couple uh that are yet uh to arrive and and the two um the two who are are with the the Canadians and already making an impact. Um Ivan Deidov, Zack Bulldo, um they will be Deidov of course just 19, Buluk 22. Um they haven’t been they’re with the team but they haven’t been extended yet. That should happen uh next summer and then they’ll be added to that core list that uh is locked up uh for at least as you said uh the period until 2030. So that takes care of who’s on the roster right now who either already has a long-term contract or is set to renew for another few years at the very least uh in in in the notsodistant future. That then moves us to what’s right around the corner in terms of what’s next and that’s going to be the top prospects in the Canadians organization who are set to make an NHL jump and play a big piece and likely earn a big contract that’s at some point in the near future. Uh and there are two of those who are just about a lock uh sooner rather than later. Michael Hage, that second line center spot, um is is more or less still open. Michael H is a candidate uh to to fill that spot, age 19. Um he’s we he’s been featured a couple of times already. He’s ripping it up uh in the NCAA um and and will graduate uh at some point. Uh can he be added to the core? I think everyone expects uh Jacob Fowler um just 20 years old to be be added to the core and and should be um if all goes as as it’s projected to uh the Canadians goalender of the future. Um so Ha and Fowler will be two uh that are added to the core uh in in in the future. Mhm. So the next natural step after that is okay, pretty certain about Michael Hig and Jacob Fowler. What about the next tier of prospects who maybe not a definitive lock yet, but definitely have the potential to play a part and make an impact for the Canadians at some point over the course of the next five years or so. Um, and there’s there’s four or five guys here who definitely I think have have a a decent amount of upside that they could really do something. Yeah, these are the guys that you wouldn’t say um will be necessarily core players. Uh, but they’re certainly part of the puzzle and and um um some of these maybe not all but but um some of these will play a role. Adam Ingramstrom, uh, the best prospect on defense right now. Alexander Zarovski, I remember how excited the Canadians, uh, were to to get him early in the second round of the draft, uh, considered him a first round player. Owen Beck, um, the most NHL ready of of all of their players in Lavel, and that was evidenced by his call up today. Florian Jakai, lots of excitement about the grit that he would bring to a lineup. uh Atos Quu who uh was really good um at the the development camp um and on the goalending side Jakob Dobish and and will YaKob Dobish be uh the goalender from the organization that becomes part of the tandem with Jacob Fowler. So, lots to ponder there. And when you really look at what is currently on the Canadians roster and what they’ve got on deck and and kind of brewing and developing uh just on the outside edges, it’s it’s a kind of a pretty exciting prospect of of the talent that could all come together in 3 four years. Um and and lots of excitement there. That’s also going to mean that there’s going to be some veterans who will likely need to move on to create space for the younger talent as they become ready. Um, and one of those obviously is going to be Josh Anderson is is going to reach the end of his Canadian’s run uh in in in a shorter term. Yeah. the um there’s some contracts that are ending um a at the end of the 2026 27 season. They would include Josh Anderson. Josh Anderson, a a a veteran who can can supply physicality and energy and and a bit of a scoring touch, maybe valuable in the playoffs. Um but, you know, his his cap hit uh would certainly uh open up opportunities to bring in other players. Brandon Gallagher um looks rejuvenated this year and uh for short periods of time can move up in the in the lineup but now is back to that fourth line role uh and maybe making a little bit too much money for that role. Sam Montbo is uh was always a placeholder. uh we we talked about that uh his contract up at the end of uh the 2026 27 season as well and and um yeah you know fans get attached uh to the placeholders but the Canadians have have better talent that they can move on to. So then that leaves the question marks the players who on paper should be making an impact whether it’s now or whether it’s in the near future or down the road but who have either not lived up to their potential or there are doubts or concerns about whether they ever will reach that potential or if they’ve hit a ceiling that wasn’t predicted uh at at a former time. Um, obviously Kirby Doc falls into that category. He does. Um, yeah, I I think that, you know, at the time, uh, Kirby Dock, that move was questioned. Um, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, uh, were were entering into a reclamation kind of project. Um, and, uh, they thought they knew better, um, than than Chicago and, uh, that they saw something that the Blackhawks didn’t. um and that they wanted to um advance fast forward the the rebuild um by giving up some uh draft capital and and bringing in uh a player that they could um they could work with and and um you know turn into um a second line center or there was talk at the beginning that that maybe a you know 1B center um and and that hasn’t that hasn’t happened obviously Um, and you know, the the moves that that uh were most criticized at the time that they happened, um, a lot of fans weren’t happy with Kirby Doc um, acquisition. Same can be said for Alex New Hook. Um, and the the two big uh, picks that they gave up for New Hook. Um, and again, it was a a situation where the Canadians said, “We know better than than Colorado.” Uh but it seems that um it seems that that the the home clubs um knew better in this case for both New Hook and Doc. And then um Canadians fans didn’t like the David Rybacker pick and um we don’t know yet if David Ryenbacker will ever reach the potential that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton saw in him. Um but it hasn’t turned out uh that way so far um because of his his injury history. So, uh, those those three players big question marks. Um, how what role that they’re going to play. Um, there’s also other, you know, what to do with Patrick Lina and Mike Mat, whether they should be, you know, extended or what’s going to happen there. But, but those players that the ones we just mentioned, Doc New Hawk, New Hook and Rybacker, were expected to play a huge role uh, in the rebuild um, and haven’t done so. So far, one thing is for certain uh moving forward is that the leadership is confirmed for the organization with Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes have being having been extended for 5 years. that stability of the decisionmaking about the path that the Canadians roster is going to take and how it’s going to be shaped is going to stay in place at least until 2030, which I think stability at this point is probably the best medicine for the Canadians. Yeah. And and uh Jeff Molson has bought into the the plan. um he seems to to um he said we’re we’re not uh we’re not necessarily um in in the Stanley Cup vein uh right now. Uh but I can see it coming together. I can see the plan coming together. Um and so that’s why he went ahead and and made that um those contract extensions. Um and and so expect more of the same from from them. Although, as we said, their their focus kind of changes uh a little bit. Uh the other thing that’s going to change is um you know, the the Canadians fans have been, you know, pretty forgiving up until now because uh not much was expected when when the rebuild plan started. Uh but that all changed with them making the playoffs last year. Um and uh with with uh the additions that they’ve made um th this this organ the the leadership is going to be put under more scrutiny. Players are going to be um held more accountable. Um all of that the Canadians as as as their performance uh improves the expectations also um uh are elevated. And I think the accountability, yes, is going to come from the fans. Obviously, the media is going to put that accountability pressure on on the team as well. But we’ve already seen, you know, we had talked many times about, you know, whether St. Louis would be extended and that type of thing because was he ready for the next phase? And I think we were both pleasantly surprised to see that he does seem he did seem to have a shift in mindset coming into training camp this year that he’s kind of taken his game up a little bit of a level. And I think that um that’s going to extend to accountability on the bench as well, not only behind the bench, but on the bench of of him keeping players accountable, the coaches keeping each other accountable. Um and so you know the stakes are just a little bit higher now. Yeah. And I I I think um I think we should watch the bench. Um do the Canadians have the right uh is the right coaching staff in place for um the Canadians to take the next step. Not saying that Marty St. Louis is is under um any pressure, but um what about an an addition uh to the bench? I know Roger Guerrero was hired as a consultant, but there’s still kind of an open position uh on the bench. Do they have the right uh certainly those the coaches coaching staff seems to enjoy working together uh but they could they use a little bit more experience as those uh expectations are are ramped up. So we can celebrate that core is locked in. the executive leadership is locked in and it seems to be all business with the Canadians at least for these this first five games of the season. We’ll see if that can be sustainable and consistent. Those are things that those are two words that the Canadians in recent seasons have had difficulty with and struggled maintaining. Sustainability and consistency. We’ll see if they can do that. Um, but all systems are firing right now. Uh, and it’s it’s pretty exciting. And what’s coming next also seems to be pretty exciting for for fans uh all over Habs Nation. Uh, so the Canadians Connection question of the week going to put your thinking caps on a little bit because we want to know this week which Canadians prospect, this is a multiple choice question. Which Canadians prospect is going to be the most important addition to solidifying Montreal’s core? Is it going to be Michael H, David Rybacher, or Jacob Fowler? We got a forward, we got a defenseman, and a goalender. Who’s the most important to solidifying the current core? Let us know which one you think and why. Um, it’s a really interesting one. And so, how do you answer that question? Well, you can text us anytime, 247 on the on the Rocket Sports tax line. That’s 5853 Rocket. Again, 5853 Rocket. You can also drop a comment on our YouTube channel. You can find our YouTube channel very easily just by uh typing in the URL insidethecanadians.com. That takes you straight to our YouTube page. Hit subscribe and drop a comment uh with your answer to this question. If you are listening on Spotify, hello, we hear you. We see you. You can drop us a comment on Spotify and leave your answer there. Uh or you can also just hit us up on social media, Habsconnection on X, on Facebook, on Instagram. You can leave a comment in any of those places with your your answer to this week’s Canadians Connection question of the week. We’ll take all of those responses, pick out the best few of them, and read them on next week’s show. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do after this next break to your with your answers to last week’s Canadians Connection question of the week. So, don’t go anywhere. Maybe we picked yours. Stay with us. You’re listening to the uh Canadians Connection podcast on Rocket Sports Radio. Football is back and so is your shot at big wins. With DraftKings Pick Six, the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, your game day instincts can score you real money fast. Here’s the play. Just pick more or less on two or more player stats from breakout rookies to elite QBs and unlock the upside every snap brings. The better your calls, the bigger your payout. And here’s the kickoff bonus. New DraftKings customers get $50 in bonus picks with just a $5 entry on your first pick set this season. Play your player instincts. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app now and use code THPN. That’s code THPN. Play just $5, get $50 in Pix bonus picks. Make the call. Ride the upside. In partnership with DraftKings Pick Six. The crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1800 gambler. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888789-7777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be 18 plus. Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere including New York and Ontario. Void were prohibited. One per new customer. bonus awarded as non-withdrawable Pix bonus picks that expire in 14 days. Limited time offer. See terms at pickix.draftkings.com/promos. And welcome back to episode 370 of the Canadians Connection podcast on Rocketsportsradio. Yes, 370 episodes. Can you believe it? If you’ve missed one or two or three of those, uh we should mention we have a full archive of all of our shows. Uh if you head over to Canadiansconnection.fm FM. That’s the uh homepage for the podcast. We have a complete archive of every single episode right there. You can listen to anything if you’ve ever missed it. So, it’s a great place to catch up if you’re looking for something else to listen to and you’ve already listened to the most recent Canadians Connection podcast. Uh and don’t forget to hit subscribe so you don’t ever miss an episode uh each and every week. We’re here every single Saturday on podcast platforms. The video version of the podcast then comes out on Mondays on our YouTube channel over at insidethecanadians.com. So be sure you’re subscribed in all places and uh we’re just glad you’re here with us each and every week all year long, not just during hockey season. Also be sure you’re keeping an eye on our new home for written content this season, hockeyhottove.com. Uh we are providing uh the Canadians content over at Habs uh excuse me, over at hockeyhottove.com. Just click on the Canadians logo from the homepage. It’ll take you right there. Um, and dive into the discussion with other Habs fans about your favorite team over on the forums tab at Hockey Hot Stove. Uh, lively discussions taking place over there. You can even start your own conversations and threads um of of topics to talk about about the Montreal Canadians. So, definitely check out that. It is tons of fun. And as we had mentioned uh just a few moments ago, be sure to get in your answers to this week’s question of the week. Which Canadians prospect will be the most important addition to solidifying Montreal’s core? Is it going to be Michael H? Is it going to be David Rybacker? Or is it going to be Jacob Fowler? Uh let us know which one you think is going to be the most important addition to shore up Montreal’s current core and why. Now, last week was a timely question because we asked, “Do you think Lane Hudson’s contract situation is going to be resolved quickly or could this drag on and affect his performance?” And then he signed the contract two days later. So, it did happen quickly. And we said, “Be on the alert because we expected it to happen prior to the Canadians home opener.” And we had some great um comments come in uh this week on YouTube about this question. Um Frank Huber9912 says Hudson will continue to be a happy and productive HAB for the foreseeable future. Uh he also put out some predictions of despite all the chatter both Mat and Strubel will battle as Habs in this year’s playoffs. So, he’s not only saying that the Habs are going to make the playoffs, but that Matis and his dro will still be in a CH uniform. He also says that Michael Hayes will join the team near season’s end and will make an immediate impact. That’s a lot of of predictions in there. It’s a lot of predictions in there, Frank. We’ll we’ll keep hope you’re going to keep tabs. See how many you get right. Um at habanations also replied uh this was after the terms of Lane Hudson’s contract had come out and he says I think we have the best capologist in the league. It’s under 10. I’m happy 10 million. I’m happy. Go Habs go. And that capologist would be uh none other than John John Sedick, the assistant general manager of the Montreal Canadians. That’s right. Um, and then we have a comment from our dear friend center 7948 and he says, “Well, Lane’s contract got done and it’s great because it seemed to be affecting his game in the first three games of the season.” Um, yeah, we agree. Um, that was that was pretty apparent and he’s been completely back to his same self uh since uh the contract was signed. Um, and Senator Heis uh ends saying, “Great job, my friends.” Uh, thank you. Well, thank you. We, uh, we’re always glad to hear that you’re enjoying the podcast. But we also hope that you’ve got plenty of caffeine ready for this week. It’s going to be a busy week for the Canadians and it’s going to be some late games because they are doing a western swing this week. Kicking things off Saturday night, uh, another game at home in the Bell Center, uh, 7 PM start. So, it’s all, you know, everything is as it should be for later tonight on Saturday night, 7 p.m. start facing off against the New York Rangers. Then things get weird because it’s a Monday night game at home against the Buffalo Sabres and I believe that’s a 7:30 start. 7:30 start. I’m wondering if that’s going to be a Prime Canada uh broadcast Amazon Prime Canada broadcast. Then on Wednesday, Montreal starts their road trip heading out to Calgary. That is an 8:30 p.m. Eastern time start followed by Thursday night. So, why not kick out a kick off a Western swing with a backtoback? Uh, Wednesday night, Montreal in Calgary, 8:30 p.m. Eastern start. Thursday night, Montreal visiting Edmonton, a 900 p. p.m. start. So, we’re going to see Jakob Dovish. There’s a backtoback there. Uh so we’re obviously going to see him at least once. Uh probably more if if uh Sam Montto continues uh going the way he’s going and hopefully he’ll get things turned around for himself. Absolutely. We’ll see what happens playing against the Rangers. He might have an opportunity to do that. Uh and then of course we will be back here with another episode of the Canadians Connection podcast next Saturday, October 25th. We’re looking forward to it. I’m sure there’s lot there was a lot of juicy stuff to to talk about in this week’s show. I’m going to bet there’s going to be plenty more for us to cover next week. So, you are not going to want to miss it. Don’t forget to subscribe so that you don’t miss out on the next episode or any episode after that. Enjoy your week of hockey and we’ll see you next week here on the Canadians Connection podcast on Rocket Sports Radio. Click subscribe so you never miss an episode of Canadians Connection. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Rocket Sports.
The Montreal Canadiens are RED HOT to start the season — and so is their front office. With Lane Hutson signing an eight-year extension and management duo Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton inking multi-year deals of their own, Montreal’s long-term plan is coming into focus. We break down what these moves mean for the future of the franchise — and whether this outstanding start is proof the rebuild is finally working.
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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
00:00 – Show Open
01:23 – Coming Up On This Week’s Show….
04:21 – Habs Week in Review: News, Prospect Report, NHL Updates
53:08 – Big Topic: Canadiens Blueprint is Taking Shape: Core Players Are Locked In
01:11:03 – Fan Question of the Week
01:16:10 – Reacting To YOUR Comments!
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About this video: Rick and Amy deliver all of the latest news and notes about the Montreal Canadiens and their prospects! In this week’s Big Topic segment: Canadiens locked up their dynamic young defenseman and extended their management. Can the goal of being a perennial Stanley Cup contender be achieved?
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