When Martin St. Louis was named head coach of the Canadiens three years ago, he said one of his biggest strengths was that he would be able to relate to what every player was going through.

St. Louis knew what it was like to not get drafted, to get cut from training camp and to be placed on waivers before going on to have a 16-year Hall of Fame career. So St. Louis understands how young prospects Adam Engström, Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck felt after playing in the Canadiens’ final pre-season game Saturday night at the Bell Centre — a 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Engström, Xhekaj and Beck all showed during training camp they’re ready to play in the NHL — but there probably won’t be spots for them on the roster when the Canadiens open the regular season Wednesday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports).

The Canadiens will announce their final cuts on Sunday and the fact those three players don’t have to clear NHL waivers in order to report to the AHL’s Laval Rocket will factor into management’s decisions. The Canadiens have some tough decisions to make, but that’s a good problem to have.

“I feel like, yeah, I can relate,” St. Louis said after Saturday’s game. “It’s not all negative … the feeling you’re going to get — you’re allowed to have that feeling. You can’t control that … it’s normal. And you should feel that moment of disappointment. It doesn’t mean you failed.

“I think a lot of these guys are proving that they’re going to play in the NHL,” St. Louis added. “It’s just keep working on your game and keep convincing people. I think they did a great job at convincing all of us that they’re on their way.”

While much of the focus at training camp was on Xhekaj with his physical style of play and ability to fight, Engström quietly showed he’s ready to play in the NHL. The 21-year-old Swedish defenceman is silky smooth in everything he does. The Canadiens selected the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft with one of the picks they received as compensation for Jesperi Kotkaniemi signing an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes.

St. Louis noted Engström took a big step last season as an AHL rookie when he posted 5-22-27 totals and a plus-14 rating in 66 games with the Rocket.

“He’s a gamer,” St. Louis said. “He played a good game tonight. He showed everything it takes to play in the league. I won’t be surprised if he has a long career.”

St. Louis said he would prefer to keep 13 forwards instead of 14 to start the season, meaning only one extra spot that will probably be filled by Joe Veleno. The Canadiens won’t want Beck or Xhekaj to be watching games from the press box since they would be much better off playing in Laval.

Same thing with Engström, who has impressed new Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson.

“Coming in I didn’t really know much about him at all,” Dobson said. “But just watching him in practices and in the games, he plays with a lot of poise, a lot of confidence for a young player, which is great to see, and he’s got a great skill set. He’s been impressive, for sure.”

Dobson knows what it’s like to be in Engström’s skates, wondering at the end of training camp if you’re going to make the team. The New York Islanders selected Dobson with the 12th overall pick at the 2018 NHL Draft and he made his NHL debut the next year after helping the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies win the QMJHL championship and the Memorial Cup.

“It’s tough,” Dobson said. “But if you’re here playing in the last game (of the pre-season) you’re doing something right, right? At the end of the day, you can’t control decisions that management and coaches are going to make. All you can control is making it as hard as possible on them. That kind of has to be your mindset. I feel like every guy in this room has kind of done that throughout the camp and played really well. I’m sure there will be some tough decisions for management and coaches to make.”

Dobson said the way he found out he had made the Islanders was when he saw his name on the 23-man roster to start the 2019-20 season.

“Nothing too special with Lou (Lamoriello, the former Islanders general manager),” Dobson recalled with a chuckle. “I basically just showed up after the 23-man roster was named and wasn’t told I was going home. Showed up, had a different number on my helmet and away we went. No special story. I had just a basic training camp number … you kind of get the high ones, I think I had 45 maybe, and then I showed up and had 8 on my helmet. That was it.”

That day of making an NHL roster will eventually come for Engström, Xhekaj and Beck.

But it probably won’t be on Sunday.

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