Training camp: Jonathan Drouin alongside Nathan MacKinnon

It’s here: training camps are underway in the NHL. At the Habs this morning, some players have already faced off, and there will be more in the afternoon.

Feels good, right?

But it’s not just the CH that’s getting ready. Elsewhere in the NHL, you can also catch up on what’s going on with CH alumni for whom things aren’t going so well (on paper, at least) and for whom things are going well.

And on that subject, let’s talk about Jonathan Drouin.

When Jonathan Drouin signed in Colorado (despite more lucrative offers elsewhere), we suspected there was some Nathan MacKinnon behind it. After all, the two of them had a great run in the QMJHL in Halifax.

Seeing Drouin sign with Denver potentially opened the door to seeing them play together… and it happened this morning. That could change, of course, but it’s happening right now.

Over the summer, the guys were sometimes seen skating together. That said, everyone knows there’s a limit to saying, in the heart of July, that the two accomplices will play together based on informal practices.

But when a coach places them together as part of an official camp practice, that’s a bigger clue.

10 years after winning the Memorial Cup, they’re in a different position (Nathan MacKinnon has the highest average salary in the NHL this year… and Jonathan Drouin earns less than a million dollars), but what if they find their chemistry? Caution.

This morning, Mikko Rantanen was on their right. Will this trio be the club’s first in October? Watch this space.

Artturi Lehkonen and Tomas Tatar are also in Denver at the moment. It’s safe to assume that the former will be playing on the second line and the latter in the bottom-6. That said, as with Drouin, things can change quickly.

When will we see a trio with all three together? Drouin at center- ah pis laissez faire.

In a gust

– Oh boy.

All we need now is Nick Cousins as power play coach 😂

Source: Ontario Reign pic.twitter.com/zmlAXDw1aP

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) September 21, 2023

– Well done.

– Now that’s a good question.

– He was with the Cubs before moving to the Blackhawks. Now he’s a GM in the MLB.

– Ouch.