Canadiens Notebook: Management stresses compete level to prospects

Montreal Gazette

5 hours ago

Montreal Canadiens
Compete level is something Canadiens management will be harping on as their rebuilding project heads into Year 4.
'I think everyone's talking about size and Washington and the way they played,' Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice-president of hockey operations, said after the Canadiens lost to the Capitals in five games in the first round as the youngest team to make the NHL playoffs. 'Certainly, we're aware of that and as we move forward (GM Kent Hughes) and I had a lot of discussions about this … size.
'Compete is really the biggest thing,' Gorton added. 'Making sure we have people that are comfortable in a playoff environment to play in all situations.'
Compete level is something that was stressed during the Canadiens' three-day development camp, which wrapped up Thursday at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard with 31 prospects taking part.
'Did you watch the playoffs?' Rob Ramage, the Canadiens' director of player development, asked when he met with the media after Thursday's scrimmage. 'Holy smokes, especially that final. That was living colour. And so, yes, that was a big, big part of the message and I think the compete was very good out there today. Yesterday it was good. We were one day shorter in camp than we've previously been and I think that helped the energy level.'
Hayden Paupanekis is a 6-foot-5, 203-pound centre the Canadiens selected in the third round (69th overall) of last week's NHL Draft. He definitely adds size and also realizes the importance of compete level.
'If guys compete, you can do anything,' said Paupanekis, who had 22-21-43 totals in 71 games last season split between the WHL's Spokane Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets. 'Kind of like what they're telling us after practice and before and in the video room, they're saying: 'You got to compete. If you're not competing, you won't be sitting in a (Canadiens) jersey or in the dressing room.' So going forward, just my little habits and everything I do is really big and just trying to compete to get to the next level.'
Nos choix de 2025
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— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 3, 2025
Character is another thing Canadiens management has focused on during this rebuilding process.
'We've gone on some jaunts here on the bus (during development camp) and I always wait until they get off and they all say thank you to the bus driver,' Ramage said. 'And that's not provoked … no one said to do that. And it was the same with Laval. I was in Charlotte with (the Rocket) in the (AHL) playoffs, so it's pretty impressive. It's a great group to work with.
'We talk about culture all the time and I think we're building a good one here,' Ramage added.
Loving his job
Ramage, the No. 1 overall pick at the 1979 NHL Draft by the Colorado Rockies, joined the Canadiens as director of player development in 2017 after working as an amateur scout with the St. Louis Blues and as a coach with the OHL's London Knights.
When asked Thursday what he likes most about his job, the 66-year-old Ramage said: 'What don't I like about it? I feel blessed. It's fun. You know what, I was a stockbroker for 14 years (after retiring as a player in 1994, a year after winning the Stanley Cup as a defenceman with the Canadiens) and Sunday nights I was miserable. I was saying to myself: 'Oh, geez, what's wrong with you?' I was going to the salt mine the next day. This is hockey and these young men, they are a delight to work with. They really are.'
One player Ramage did a lot of work with was defenceman Logan Mailloux, who the Canadiens traded to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday in exchange for forward Zachary Bolduc.
'I'm happy for him,' Ramage said. 'When I spoke with him the other night I said: 'Hey, I got traded five times, expanded twice (claimed in NHL expansion drafts by the Minnesota North Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning). It's OK. I still got two Cups out of it (with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and the Canadiens in 1993), so don't worry.'
'I live in St. Louis, so we'll still be in touch,' Ramage added. 'I'll cook him a steak.'
Bolduc keeping No. 76
Bolduc has decided to keep the No. 76 he wore with the Blues.
The Trois-Rivières native will become only the third player in Canadiens history to wear No. 76 after Jozef Balej (2004) and P.K. Subban (2010-16).
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— NHL (@NHL) July 1, 2025
Last season the 22-year-old Bolduc had 19-17-36 totals in 72 games with the Blues.
The Russians are coming
The Canadiens had four Russian players at the development camp — forwards Yegor Goriunov and Makar Khanin, defenceman Bogdan Konyushkov and goalie Yevgeni Volokhin.
Forward Alexander Zharovsky, the first player the Canadiens selected at last week's NHL Draft (34th overall) didn't attend the camp because he doesn't have a Canadian visa yet.
️ Discours de Martyyyy
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Ramage said it's difficult keeping track of the team's Russian prospects because of travel restrictions with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
'But it was great having them in here,' Ramage said. 'They came in early. Got to know the city. I think they went up to Mont-Tremblant one day and got to jump in the lake, which was really cool. So it's just been getting to know each other, from their side and our side. But we get video.
'There is a language barrier,' Ramage added. 'We usually have to use an interpreter, so it's a little bit more difficult and hopefully peace will prevail and we'll be able to get over there and be able to see them.'
Ramage had high praise for Konyushkov, a 6-foot, 171-pound defenceman who shoots right. The Canadiens selected Konyushkov in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2023 NHL Draft and last season the 22-year-old had 3-14-17 totals in 67 games with the KHL's Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo.
'He speaks a little bit of English, so it was impressive when he's speaking to the other Russians on the ice, he was helping explain what the drills were,' Ramage said. 'So he's a very mature young man. He was a captain two years ago — one of the youngest captains in the KHL. He carries himself like a pro. I believe he's going to go back (to the KHL) this year and we'll see what happens next year. It would be nice to get him over.'
Finding a spot
Getting drafted by an NHL team is an accomplishment. Finding a spot on an NHL roster is even more difficult.
'So often a player gets drafted and he's not going to be what he was in junior or college,' Ramage said. 'He's got to find a seat that might not be that first power play or top-unit PK. What is going to get you to the next level? So that's part of the education process we have to do. And then, on their side, it's the buy in. And some push back and, you know what, they don't stick around very long. The others that buy in …
Tel père, tel fils :)
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— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 3, 2025
'I think of Guy Carbonneau all the time,' Ramage added about the last Canadiens captain to hoist the Stanley Cup in 1993. 'A prolific scorer in junior (posting 72-110-182 totals in 72 games during his last season with the QMJHL's Chicoutimi Saguenéens) and that's not what he was in the pros and he's a Hall of Famer and Stanley Cup winner multiple times. So you try and use examples.
'These guys are a little bit young for Guy, so I have to find more recent ones,' Ramage added with a chuckle.
Defenceman Trudeau re-signs
Hughes announced Thursday that defenceman William Trudeau has agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens.
The 22-year-old — selected by the Canadiens in the fourth round (113th overall) — of the 2021 NHL Draft had 5-14-19 totals in 68 AHL games last season and was plus-14 with the Rocket.