The Montreal Canadiens will have a mostly familiar, but new look if indications from their first two days of camp are what they are. Firstly, superstars Nik Bergsfors and Kyle Wellwood have yet to even arrive, the players' status' as top dogs on the team, and in the league for that matter, leave Montreal with no real reason to call them in early. Michael Dal Colle also remains off the ice so far. Veterans Kyle Palmieri, Roman Josi, and Jonathan Ericsson have been in and out of drills however.
Mostly, focus has been on the up and coming, as management continue to look just a tad beyond the current contention window having two of the league's best ever players has graced them with.
Filip Chlapik has been skating very hard in defensive drills as he looks to hold on to the unlikely position he found himself in last year often playing with Nicklas Bergsfors. Perhaps a bit of that hard skating has to do with the fact that Kevin Porter surprisingly remains part of the camp roster. Several years ago Porter put up 48 points for the Habs, and found himself pushed off the pro roster the following season. He never made it back. Now, a 24 year old Chlapik will face the same pressure, as Porter will reportedly get a serious look in the pre-season before anything happens with the player who is otherwise on the outs for cap purposes.
5/11/2021 - 323 words
