Training camp: a closed retreat awaits CH players

With today’s Canadiens golf tournament, it was officially back to school for the Montreal club. Rookie camp will be held in the next few days, followed by the real training camp.

In fact, the CH season kicks off in exactly one month’s time, with a match against the Maple Leafs.

Compared to last year, the Tricolore will play only six preparatory games, having played no less than eight last year. There will be less action in the games, but this gives Martin St-Louis some leeway to fill his time.

And as it happens, St-Louis already seems to have a plan to make the most of this extra time: the Canadiens’ coach has stated that he plans to take his club into a closed retreat towards the end of training camp.

He spoke about this at the CH round table this evening. That’s around 4:00 p.m., for those interested:

St-Louis talked about his project, saying he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do some team-bonding, i.e. to work on chemistry and cohesion within the group.

The club will spend “2-3 days” in a closed retreat, and since the Tricolore has four days off between its games on October 2 and October 7, we suspect that’s when it will be in closed retreat.

And personally, I really like the St-Louis project. With the young pieces of the core increasingly with the big club, it’s a good idea to make sure to create links between them, given that the plan is to see these players form a team in Montreal for the next 10-15 years.

There already seems to be a good cohesion within the group, but if it can help even more, it’s not a bad idea.

In short, there will be a difference in the way training camp is run this year. St-Louis seems to be saying that the rest of the camp will be fairly similar to last year, but the reduction in the number of preparatory games opens up this window of opportunity to spend time as a team.

And it’s a great idea to take advantage of it.

In bursts

– It’s up to him to prove it.

Samuel Montembeault intends to rise above the fray among CH goaltenders! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4kkmVEr3yV

– RDS (@RDSca) September 12, 2023

– Catastrophe for the New York Jets: Aaron Rodgers injured in his first game in his new uniform. His return to the game is currently uncertain.

Rodgers had jumped onto the New York pitch with an American flag before the match.

Aaron Rodgers takes the field holding the American flag 🇺🇸 on 9/11.

The atmosphere is unreal.

pic.twitter.com/oIrSd4EnsH

– Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 12, 2023