Those aren’t words I ever thought I’d put together in a sentence, but the possibility first became realistic to me in training camp when Pezzetta appeared to be among the only players with the Montreal Canadiens playing like this opportunity was life and death to him.
The notion of him graduating was easy to dismiss when Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme assessed Pezzetta’s game by saying that for a guy who wasn’t really an option for a roster spot, he was still impressing. But it was harder to ignore the notion of Pezzetta getting a look when the Canadiens shot out to a 2-8 start while he was turned the confidence he showed at camp into an excellent start with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Here’s a player who understands exactly what he is and stays true to himself — a six-foot-one, 216-pound crasher; an energy guy who took the long road to arrive at his desired destination.
Pezzetta was drafted by the Canadiens 160th overall in 2016. He racked up more than twice as many penalty minutes as he did points over his OHL career with Sudbury and Sarnia, toiled in the AHL for three full seasons, even did a small stint in the ECHL with Maine and never gave up on the idea he might one day lace ’em up in the best league in the world and in its most notorious arena.
On Tuesday, in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, that dream came true. Pezzetta made a tangible impact on the game over just 8:31 of ice-time in his NHL debut. He registered a couple of shots on net and a team-leading five hits, he forechecked and backchecked with authority, he would’ve have finished with a point or two had Jake Evans or Alex Belzile finished excellent chances he set for them, and he did it all in front of his parents, his girlfriend, 27 other family members and friends and a rink full of Canadiens supporters at the Bell Centre.
Pezzetta brought a few others to the game, too: his doubters, who he kept in mind prior to jumping onto the ice for his solo rookie lap.
The mullet- and mustache-wearing 23-year-old had a word for them after the game.
“There was a lot of times when people would sit there and tell me I wasn’t good enough and tell me that, ‘you’re never going to make it,’” said Pezzetta. “Teammates, coaches, you can hear them talking about your game in practice or this or that, and that pushed me every single day to be better and make sure that skills that I had that weren’t where they needed to be — I made them be good enough to make the jump to this level. So, for all those people that didn’t believe in me and thought I couldn’t do it: well, here I am now.”
So long as the Toronto native keeps doing what brought him here, it’ll be hard to bet against him.
Romanov taking a step back to move forward isn’t a bad thing
Alex Romanov has boundless energy, and it has served him very well up until this point in his career.
But, as is often the case, his greatest strength can also be his biggest weakness.
Is it so hard for some people to grasp that it’ll take Romanov time to find the proper balance that enables him to turn his energy into more of a strength than a weakness?
Sure, Romanov is in his fourth year as a professional hockey player. He’s a former second-round pick who played two full seasons in the KHL before accumulating 68 games (regular season and playoffs combined) of NHL experience over a shortened 2021 campaign and the early part of this current one.
But he’s only 21 years old. Going through what he did on Tuesday — being scratched from Montreal’s win over Detroit — is part of his development.
I know that, with the Canadiens starting off the season so miserably, people want the keys handed over to the youngsters. They want to see kids like Romanov be given the freedom to make mistakes and keep jumping over the boards.
But scratching him for a game doesn’t mean the Canadiens aren’t allowing him to do that. He’s averaged 18:18 through the first 10 games, and he played over 20 minutes in two of the last three games before he was finally pulled from the lineup.
But there’s a fine line between giving Romanov — or any other young player — the leash to make mistakes and knowing when to enforce discipline, and Ducharme has walked it properly.
Romanov’s energy led him to play what might be considered the best game of his young career in a 4-0 win over the San Jose Sharks last Thursday.
But his overexcitement went against him in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and it bled into a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Sunday and really bit him.
Sometimes taking a step back is necessary, and it was clearly necessary for Romanov after he made a glaring mistake on Troy Terry’s game-winning goal.
Ducharme may not have made the decision to scratch Romanov solely to ensure his confidence doesn’t slip too much — the coach said he needed a bit more predictability on his blue line — but that was at least part of the reason the young Russian was watching Tuesday’s game instead of playing in it.
“What we wanted tonight was for him to watch the game from up top,” said Ducharme. “We did some video with him, we showed him some things. (The idea was) just to take a step back, watch and see those situations.”
Romanov had to submit to that process much more than he’d hoped during last year’s playoffs, but he’ll be back in with the Canadiens soon enough to rebound this time around.
Sami Niku and Chris Wideman each played less than 12 minutes against the Red Wings and neither has been particularly consistent since the season started. The door for Romanov’s re-entry to the lineup is open, and perhaps he’ll be more equipped to step through it after this process.
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Expect Caufield back sooner than later
I was obviously wrong when I suggested that, coming off his best game of the season, Cole Caufield appeared poised for a breakout with the Canadiens.
Four games later, after having not seen his efforts produce goals, Caufield was sent to Laval . And this move, just like the one made with Romanov, was to preserve his confidence.
Watching the 20-year-old’s last two games, it appeared to be a necessary one.
You have to ask yourself: How many times has Caufield gone 10 games at any level of hockey without seeing the puck hit the back of the net off his stick?
The answer is probably never.
Going through it for the first time — in the NHL, and as the prohibitive favourite for the Calder Trophy — can be suffocating. It can’t feel good.
But the good feelings can come back to Caufield quickly in the AHL, with a good Rocket team. He’s there to recapture them, and it should help that he had almost a full week to get acclimated and build up his confidence in practice before appearing in a game on Saturday.
Caufield will play big minutes in Laval, he’ll have the puck on his stick more often and, if he gets back to doing what he’s always done, he’ll be back in Montreal soon enough.
I was wrong about Caufield busting out last week, but I’m confident he’ll do exactly what’s expected of him in Laval and find his way back to the Canadiens in short order.
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Poehling in the right place for now
With Mathieu Perreault down for up to three weeks following a procedure to fix a detached retina — and with Cedric Paquette serving a two-game suspension for an ugly hit on Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras — the Canadiens opted to recall Pezzetta and Belzile over Ryan Poehling.
It was the right move, with Poehling finding the mojo in Laval that was missing from his game at Canadiens training camp. Sources with the team said it was explained to him so he wouldn’t feel slighted, and Ducharme said on Tuesday morning that it was best to keep him in his current rhythm coming off an early-season injury and finally feeling his game.
We’re not sure if that’ll change if Jonathan Drouin can’t play against the New York Islanders on Thursday — Drouin was struck in the face with a puck on Tuesday and has since submitted to tests and been deemed clear of concussion symptoms — but the Canadiens are intent on giving Poehling an opportunity to really build his game and his confidence before testing him out in the NHL again.
Plus, they have Adam Brooks available to them if Drouin can’t go.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.
Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.
A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”
All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.
“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”
Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”
After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”
San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.
“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”
The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.
“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.
Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.
OTTAWA – Travis Green might not have liked the end result, but he’s counting on his team learning from the effort.
Green’s Ottawa Senators were handed a 3-1 loss by the New Jersey Devils Thursday night in a game that highlighted the importance of sticking with things.
“I thought both teams played pretty well,” said Green. “I thought we had a lot of the game that I liked, but I thought there’s a few moments where it got away. We got away from our game, and they stuck with their game a little longer.
“There’s always momentum back and forth for one team to create some chances. It’s a fine line between winning and losing in the league, especially when you’re playing, two good teams are playing.”
Jacob Markstrom’s 30 saves also played a part, with the Devils goaltender only getting beat with 65 seconds left in regulation as the Senators were on the power play with an empty net.
Brady Tkachuk tipped a Claude Giroux shot to spoil Markstrom’s shutout bid.
“Outstanding,” said Devils coach Sheldon Keefe of his goaltender. “Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here.
“You feel for him when they make that (penalty) call. You can just kind of feel like it’s going to give them a little extra life. But he was outstanding for us, no question.”
The two teams were scoreless after the first period, where each had to fight for every opportunity. Noah Gregor rang a shot off the crossbar for the Senators, but otherwise, neither team was able to generate much offensively.
The Devils capitalized in the second as a power play expired with Erik Haula redirecting a Johnathan Kovacevic shot past Anton Forsberg, who made 32 saves.
Less than four minutes later, Nathan Bastian took advantage of a Giroux giveaway and beat Forsberg low blocker for his first of the season with the Devils short-handed.
“I liked our second period a lot,” Keefe said. “We took hold of the game and didn’t give up much, and when we did, I thought it was really from the perimeter, only a couple there.”
The Devils tightened up defensively in the third and were able to make it 3-0 when Paul Cotter was left alone in the slot.
“I think for stretches of the game we played the right way and kind of get in on the forecheck and play that way,” said Senators centre Nick Cousins. “It seems like when we get down a couple goals, we kind of change our game, which isn’t a recipe for success in this league.
“I think we’ve just got to keep doing the right things over and over again, even when it’s 2-0.”
With the Senators just four games in and still learning and adjusting to a new system, Green understands there will be growing pains along the way.
“We’re also trying to define our game,” he said. “I think we’re getting there. Both teams play fast. It was a fast skating game. There wasn’t a lot of room to move out there for either team.”
In his short tenure behind the Senators bench, Green has seen his team play very different styles of games and knows there will be nights like this along the way, but learning from them will be key.
“There’s going to be a lot of nights where you kind of got to earn everything you get,” admitted Green. “It’s not going to be freewheeling. Good teams don’t play freewheeling hockey.
“You learn when you win, you learn when you lose games that you don’t play well. You learn when you lose games that you had a pretty good game but you still lose and you’ve got to find a way. Good teams find a way to win those games.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens fell 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. They also lost their top minute-muncher in the process.
Matheson logged 7:35 in ice time during the first period but did not return for the second because of an upper-body injury. When or how Matheson sustained the injury was not clear. The Canadiens said he would be re-evaluated on Friday.
The game was tied at 1 before he exited, forcing the Canadiens to play with five defencemen for 40 minutes.
“Mike is one of the biggest parts of our D core, and I think losing him — he’s playing against top line, playing power play and we want him on the ice — definitely losing him was a big loss,” teammate David Savard said. “We got to figure out a way to get the two points, even if a player goes out.”
The 30-year-old Matheson of Pointe-Claire, Que., led all Canadiens defencemen with 62 points and a 25:33 average ice time last season.
With his absence, rookie sensation Lane Hutson played a whopping 30:05 in only his seventh NHL game. The next closest player? Kaiden Guhle at 23:09.
Head coach Martin St. Louis was impressed with how the 20-year-old Hutson handled the challenge.
“Lane doesn’t take a shift off,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “I love the consistency of his compete level, and he drives possession. For a guy who played 30 minutes, I think he gave everything he could to try and help the team.
“I’m not surprised. I know it’s challenging at this level, losing Mike definitely made him play many minutes, chasing the game made him play many minutes, but I just love his compete level.”
Canadiens fans have been clamouring for Hutson — a five-foot-nine, 162-pound defenceman with world-class skill — to take Matheson’s spot on the No. 1 power play.
The Canadiens, however, went 0-for-3 with Hutson running the show after Matheson went down. In the first instance, Kirby Dach took a hooking penalty early in the man-advantage to end it. On the second, the Canadiens failed to generate any zone time.
The third came in the final minutes, but the Kings buried an empty-netter.
“It wasn’t a lack of opportunity, lots of ice time, lots of shifts,” Hutson said. “It was good, it was fun, but obviously you want to be on the other side of it, winning.
“Means a lot (to get that opportunity), but obviously, you want to get more out of that opportunity. It’s a lot of ice, and you want to keep taking steps in the right direction.”
‘IMMATURE EFFORT’
The Canadiens fell to a Kings team that had lost three straight games and was coming off a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
Under those circumstances, the Canadiens were brutally honest with themselves after the game.
“Definitely disappointed,” captain Nick Suzuki said. “It was an immature effort from us, especially with them playing yesterday and getting in late, so I think we gave them too much life, and let them feel comfortable in the game. It’s on us to be a lot better than that.”
Before the game, St. Louis stressed the need for a good first period against a fatigued Los Angeles side. That’s not what he saw Thursday night.
“I think we had 14 turnovers in the first period. It’s unacceptable. It gives them life,” he said. “Then you’re chasing the game for the second half of it — we didn’t play to our standard.
“I’m really disappointed. Really disappointed.”
BIG SAVE DAVE
Kings goalie David Rittich played his second game in two nights — an unusual occurrence in this day and age of the NHL. He made 25 saves after allowing four goals on 14 shots in Toronto.
“We always believe in him anyway, but he performed today pretty well and bounced back,” defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov said. “It’s probably like most important for himself, that’s huge, and for the team. He played outstanding today.”
LONG ROAD
The Kings are opening the season on a seven-game road trip because of renovations at Crypto.com Arena. They’ve collected six of a possible 10 points so far.
“Pretty much worse (than expected),” forward Phillip Danault said. “We’ve been on the road for three weeks … It’s good team-bonding, whether we should do it again I’m not sure, but it has turned out well let’s say with six points out of 10.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
