The Montreal Canadiens kicked off the second phase of their training camp by grouping players labelled “NHL” together, but a few prospects have also joined the mix. Forwards Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck and defencemen David Reinbacher and Adam Engström therefore still appear to have a chance to make a case to the Montreal organization’s management. “I think it was an opportunity for them to participate in drills at an NHL pace,” Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis said Wednesday. “How well did they take it in? I don’t know. But for them, every day is important, no matter which group they’re in. There’s always an opportunity waiting for them.” Defenceman Kaiden Guhle practiced alone before the group session at the CN Sports Complex. However, he isn’t expected to return to action until mid-October. Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble aren’t necessarily having standout training camps, so the door seems wide open for Reinbacher or Engström to start the season with the big club. And while NHL training camps are shorter this season, the players certainly can’t use that as an excuse to say they lack time to shine. “If that’s how they see it…,” was all St. Louis said on the matter, with a look that spoke volumes. St. Louis himself experienced the disappointment of attending an NHL training camp only to eventually be assigned to the American Hockey League. However, he always believed in his abilities and eventually seized his opportunity, going on to enjoy a brilliant playing career that led him to the Hockey Hall of Fame. St. Louis said it could even be good for a prospect to compare himself to NHL players and to believe he’s better than some of them—even if that isn’t always true. “Having a good training camp is great, but it’s not enough,” St. Louis added. “For me, a young player who wants to make his mark has to work every day, consistently, and be disciplined in his work and his process. “It’s one thing to play in the NHL, but it takes another level to become a regular in the NHL, he continued. So you have to be consistent in your work to increase your chances of having an NHL career.” Players who carve out a spot in the NHL right from their first training camp are the exception, not the rule. Mike Matheson was selected 23rd overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, but he didn’t secure a regular spot with the Florida team until he was 22. “You have to make sure management has no choice but to make room for you or give you a chance,” Matheson said. “It’s not like one day they’re going to say, ‘OK, it’s your turn.’ You have to focus on what you can control. “And if a player starts the season with the Rocket, that doesn’t mean he won’t be called up a week later. So you have to keep working every day,” he added. When asked about the fact that Reinbacher was selected by the Canadiens with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft and whether expectations might be higher in his case, Matheson sought to downplay the situation. “It’s not easy to do what the best players in the world do, and not everyone follows the same path,” he said. Florian Xhekaj was the only one of the quartet of prospects with the big club to meet with members of the media on Wednesday. He made no secret of his enthusiasm at the prospect of still being with the main group at this stage of camp. “There are about five days left in camp, and I think I still have a lot to prove,” he said. “I want to show up every day and do what I have to do.” But what else? “I have to work hard and show what I can offer the team,” he added. The Canadiens players are scheduled to play an intrasquad game on Thursday, according to the schedule released at the start of camp. It will be interesting to see which positions Beck, Xhekaj, Reinbacher, and Engström end up in during that game. Note that Ivan Demidov did not practice on the ice at the CN Sports Complex on Wednesday. The team said he was taking a day off for treatment. Demidov was hit by a shot during Monday’s preseason game against the Ottawa Senators in Trois-Rivières. St. Louis said he was not concerned about the Russian forward’s condition. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 23, 2026.
